Assembly Resolution No. 281

BY: M. of A. Lavine

COMMENDING Harry Rapaport, of Melville, New York,
for rescuing 38 hidden Torah scrolls from
Czestochowa, Poland, in 1988 and 1989

WHEREAS, From time to time this Legislative Body takes note of
certain extraordinary individuals it wishes to recognize for their
valued contributions to the success and progress of society and publicly
acknowledge their endeavors which have enhanced the basic humanity among
us all; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commend Harry Rapaport for rescuing 38 hidden Torah scrolls from
Czestochowa, Poland, in 1988-1989; and

WHEREAS, On Wednesday, May 1, 2019, Harry Rapaport will serve as
guest speaker at an event hosted by the New York Chapter of the National
Association of Jewish Legislators; and

WHEREAS, Harry Rapaport's mother, the former Rose Witelson grew up
in Lodz, Poland, a city with 223,000 Jews before World War II, 34% of
the city's population; at the age of 18, she and her parents and brother
lived in the Lodz Ghetto, the second-largest ghetto in all of
German-occupied Europe, from September of 1939 until August of 1944; and

WHEREAS, The Jewish population in the ghetto had been reduced to
approximately 86,000 and when Soviet soldiers finally liberated the
ghetto, only 1,200 Jews remained; and

WHEREAS, As the front approached, Rose Witelson was deported to the
Auschwitz Concentration Camp, followed shortly by her family who did not
survive; later, she married Moishe Rapaport, and together, they had a
son, Harry, while they were living in the Bad Reichenhall
displaced-persons camp in Germany; and

WHEREAS, Moishe Rapaport had been forced into the death camp of
Treblinka, from which he escaped; and

WHEREAS, From an early age, Harry Rapaport has been acutely aware of
the plight of the millions who suffered through the Holocaust; and

WHEREAS, Realizing he was part of the last generation that still has
any connections to actual survivors of the Holocaust, Harry Rapaport
traveled to Poland in 1988, and brought seven Torah scrolls back to the
United States, which he subsequently donated to schools, museums and
synagogues around the United States; and

WHEREAS, After learning of some hidden Torah scrolls from one of two
Jews who still lived in Czestochowa, he returned to Poland and found 31
Torah scrolls in an attic of a building that housed a knitting mill and
a bicycle shop; knowing that saving a Torah was like saving a soul, he
convinced the government to allow him to take the Torah scrolls to the

United States to be examined and donated to those who truly understood
the significance of this historic find; and

WHEREAS, Upon his return to New York, Harry Rapaport donated two
Torahs, including one more than 500 years old, to his synagogue, Temple
Beth Torah in Westbury, New York; another is at the Jewish American War
Veterans Museum in Washington, D.C., and another at the Mid-Island YM&W
Hebrew Association in Plainview, New York; and

WHEREAS, With him throughout have been his wife, Judy, and their two
children, who have shown him love and support and are rightly proud of
his many achievements; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is proud to recognize Harry Rapaport
for the determination and tenacity he displayed while recovering the
holy scrolls; with his tremendous pride for his heritage, he has truly
benefited this great Empire State in immeasurable ways; now, therefore,
be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend Harry Rapaport, of Melville, New York, for rescuing 38 hidden
Torah scrolls from Czestochowa, Poland, in 1988 and 1989; and be it
further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Harry Rapaport.