Remarks of
Richard Janvey
Vice President
JCRC-NY

The Jewish Community Relations Council which I represent is honored to participate in the “Torahs for the Troops” program of the Jewish Chaplains Council.

Yosef Haim Yerushalmi, a leading Jewish historian has written that:

“the Jews…have the reputation of being at once the most historically oriented of peoples and as possessing the longest and most tenacious of memories.”

Lt. Abe Janvey

For me today is about memory.  My father Abraham Janvey was a Jewish sailor.  He served in the United States Naval Reserves from December 1941 to October 1945.  On 29 August 1944 he was assigned as Fighter Director to USS Essex CV-9 which earned a Presidential Unit Citation.   On 29 August 1944, the registry of the Essex states, it was “sailing to dangerous waters.” 

Indeed, the waters were dangerous!

Abe Janvey served on the Essex when it joined in the attack on the Palau Islands and Mindanao, when it weathered a typhoon and when it took part in the battles for Leyte Gulf, Manila and the North Philippines Islands.  He was onboard when a Kamikaze plane in November 1944 hit the portside of the flight deck. 

60,000 Jews served in the Army, Navy and Marines in the Pacific during World War II.  I invite you to imagine with me the High Holidays on September 18, 19 and 27 in 1944 in dangerous waters.  We are on an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific; we Jewish sailors from all over the United States are at services, but there is no rabbi and there is no Torah. 

But there is a Navy Chaplain to assist the sailors in celebrating the Holidays and there are sailors proud to serve and to be Jews.   

These memories are present for me today during Fleet Week and on the eve of Memorial Day.  And I am especially honored and moved to speak today when we present this Torah which will have an honored place on the USS George Washington.  It will serve as a significant anchor for Jewish sailors onboard.

Mose Sexais, President of the Touro Synagogue in Newport, wrote a letter of congratulations to President George Washington that subtly confirmed the status of Jews in the newly established United States.    

On August 17, 1790, President Washington replied and said:

"For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction,
to persecution no assistance
requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; While every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid."

President Washington outlined the basic freedoms of Jews and all of us in the United States. And we remember these freedoms today.

Today we also recall the men and women aboard the USS Iwo Jima, the USS George Washington, the men and women in military service, the NYPD and the men and women of our system of justice who continue to protect the freedoms granted to all Americans and who allow us in the words of President Washington to sit in safety…and be where none shall make us afraid. 

We thank Rear Admiral Shelanski and Captain Chasse and all the men and women in uniform under your command, for granting us the honor of coming aboard this afternoon.

We thank Rear Admiral/Rabbi Robinson for facilitating this gift of Torah.

Most importantly, we are deeply grateful to each of you for your service which continues my father’s tradition of service.  With this Torah we commemorate the Jewish tradition of ‘ldor v’dor which means from generation to generation. 

The JCRC has been privileged to participate in a process that will allow this Torah to pass from generation to generation.

Remarks of
Michael S. Miller
Executive Vice President
and CEO, JCRC

As New Yorkers and as Jews, and for me, personally, as a former active duty U.S. Army Chaplain, and 3rd generation American soldier, we know that we can never repay the brave men and women of the armed services for the sacrifices they make for our country.

The Book of Proverbs (3:18) describes the Torah as a “Tree of Life for those who hold fast to it.”  May this Torah scroll we are dedicating today inspire and give comfort to the Jewish men and women of the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group.  And may it symbolize our deepest wish that G-d protect all those who proudly wear the uniform of the American armed forces as they protect us, our homes, our democratic values and our cherished freedoms. 

JCRC, NYPD and Manhattan DA present Torah to US Navy

Recovered Torah will be used on the USS George Washington

In a moving Fleet Week ceremony aboard the USS Iwo Jima on May 25, 2011, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC) presented a Torah to the Navy for use aboard the USS George Washington.

The Torah was recovered during a criminal investigation by the NYPD and the Manhattan DA’s office. The JCRC was given the responsibility of returning the Torah to an appropriate religious use by the courts.

At the ceremony, Richard Janvey, Vice President of the JCRC recalled his father, who served aboard an aircraft carrier and sailed into dangerous waters in the Pacific during some of the legendary battles of World War II. He explained the significance of the gift, saying,” These memories are present for me this Fleet Week and on the eve of Memorial Day. It is so fitting to present this Torah which will have an honored place on the USS George Washington.  It will serve as a significant anchor for sailors onboard, and be another link in our long chain of connection.”

Today’s presentation was made through the JWB Jewish Chaplaincy Council’s Torahs for Our Troops program. Rear Admiral (ret.) Rabbi Harold Robinson, its Director, noted that the Jewish Chaplaincy Council selected the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group because it is deployed off of Japan, further than any other carrier. “Religious services connect soldiers, sailors, airmen and airwomen to their homes and families, especially when they are far from home.”

The JCRC’s Richard Janvey saw another significant symbolism. “Mose Sexais, President of the Touro Synagogue in Newport, wrote a letter of congratulations to President George Washington that subtly confirmed the status of Jews in the newly established United States. On August 17, 1790, President Washington replied and said:

"For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.”

Janvey continued, “President George Washington outlined the basic freedoms of Jews in the United States. And we remember those today. Today we also recall the men and women aboard the USS Iwo Jima, the USS George Washington, the men and women in military service, the NYPD and the men and women of our system of justice who continue to protect the freedoms granted to all Americans and who allow us in the words of President Washington to sit in safety…and where none shall make us afraid.”

The ceremony was hosted by Capt. Chasse, Commander of the USS Iwo Jima, a LHC Carrier.

Presenting the Torah to Rear Admiral Herman A. Shelanski, Commander, Carrier Strike Group 10, Michael Miller, Executive Vice President and CEO of the JCRC observed, “The Book of Proverbs describes the Torah as a “Tree of Life for those who hold fast to it.” May this Torah inspire and give comfort to the Jewish men and women of the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group and may this Torah symbolize our deepest wish that G-d protect all of them as they protect our homes, our values and our freedoms.”