AJC Mourns Passing of Senator Lautenberg

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Jun 03, 2013, 01:10 ET

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organization, mourns the passing of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, a distinguished legislator who made a profound impact on American domestic and foreign policy. The New Jersey Democrat served 30 years in the U.S. Senate.

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For AJC, Lautenberg's signature initiative, an amendment passed in October 1989, that came to be known as the Lautenberg Amendment, facilitated entry into the United States for Soviet refugees soon before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Under the Lautenberg Amendment, Soviet Jews—as well as other religious minorities—were granted immigrant status based on religious persecution in their native lands under less stringent standards generally applicable under asylum law.

"Senator Lautenberg was a dynamic activist on behalf of freedom," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "The landmark Lautenberg Amendment was a major step in turning the tide for the exodus of Soviet Jews. As we heard him say at several AJC gatherings, this was among his proudest achievements. How many lives he transformed!"

Lautenberg's career was also marked by his passionate commitment to a robust U.S.-Israel relationship, strong support for separation of church and state as well as other civil rights and civil liberties issues, and, notably, a leadership role on gun regulation. Another Lautenberg Amendment, passed in 1996, banned the sales of guns to persons convicted of domestic violence.

A son of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Russia, Lautenberg never forgot his roots, serving at one time as chairman of United Jewish Appeal and long active in AJC. AJC honored Lautenberg twice – once with its Congressional Leadership Award and again with its Avraham Harman Leadership Award for American Jewish – Israeli relations.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee