Senator Bob Menendez to Speak at Temple B'nai Abraham

Senator Bob Menendez @ B'nai Abraham on Friday, March 2   

 Kabbalat Shabbat Services, 6:30 PM  
Guest Speaker: Senator Bob Menendez, 7:15 PM
Topic: The U.S. - Israel Relationship, the Middle East Neighborhood and the Threat of Iran

Bob Menendez’s story is a quintessential American story. He grew up the son of immigrants in a tenement building in Union City and has risen to become one of 100 United States Senators and a member of the Senate leadership. He has earned the reputation of a fighter for New Jersey families who puts their economic security and hometown security ahead of powerful special interests.

A product of New Jersey's public schools and a graduate of the state's universities, Bob first entered public service as a 19-year-old college student when he witnessed shortcomings in the public education system and launched a successful petition drive to reform his local school board. He learned then the importance of standing up for what's right, no matter how powerful the opposition.

He has served as a school board member, a mayor and a state legislator. Since 1993, he has been standing up for New Jersey families in Washington, where he rose to become the third-highest ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives and quickly rose to a prominent leadership role in the U.S. Senate.

He currently serves on the Senate Committees on Finance; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; and Foreign Relations. Bob is also the Chairman of the Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development; and the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Global Narcotics Affairs .

In Congress, Bob is working to make a real difference in the lives of New Jerseyans. That includes working to achieve economic security for families by creating jobs, promoting clean energy development, investing in education, making health care more affordable, and protecting consumers.

He has been a strong supporter of the State of Israel during his many years of public service and has consistently voiced his concerns for the security of that country as critical for peace in the Middle East.  Understanding the threat that a nuclear weapons capable Iran poses to the Jewish State as well as to the rest of the world, Bob has championed strong sanctions to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, including sanctions signed into law in December 2011 on financial institutions that do business with the Central Bank of Iran.  Bob has also stood shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community in support of Holocaust education and in ensuring that anti-Semitic and other hate crimes are dealt with toughly by federal law enforcement. 

Bob was born on New Year’s Day, 1954. He received his B.A. from St. Peter's College in Jersey City and his law degree from Rutgers University.