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92_HR0033
LRB9204660KBkb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to express their sincere condolences to
4 the family, friends, and congregation of Am Yisrael, on the
5 death of Rabbi William Frankel, who recently passed away; and
6 WHEREAS, William Frankel was born in Vienna, Austria; he
7 was the son and grandson of rabbis; he grew up under the
8 anti-Semitic throes of Adolph Hitler and the Nazis; in May of
9 1939 he and his immediate family left Europe and headed for
10 New York City; Mr. Frankel's grandparents and other family
11 members perished during the Holocaust; these early influences
12 in his life led him to his lifelong fight against racism and
13 discrimination; and
14 WHEREAS, In 1963 Rabbi Frankel moved to Wilmette,
15 Illinois; in 1968 he founded Am Yisrael in Northfield; during
16 the 1960's he was a vital part of the Civil Rights Movement,
17 traveling to Selma to march with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
18 and bringing Dr. King in 1965 to Winnetka for a speech to
19 achieve fair housing on the North Shore; and
20 WHEREAS, In his struggle against discrimination, Rabbi
21 Frankel worked with the village of Wilmette to adopt a fair
22 housing ordinance; he also served on the Wilmette Housing
23 Commission and was chair of the North Shore Interfaith
24 Housing Council; in the 1990s he accepted an assignment from
25 the village to help abate opposition to group homes for the
26 mentally ill; and
27 WHEREAS, Rabbi Frankel was named the 1995 Senior Citizen
28 of the Year by the Wilmette Chamber of Commerce; he was also
29 an active member of the Wilmette Rotary Club; and
30 WHEREAS, Rabbi Frankel also had served as rabbi of Beth
31 Hillel Congregation in Wilmette; in 1994 he retired as rabbi
-2- LRB9204660KBkb
1 of Am Yisrael and received congratulations from President
2 Clinton; and
3 WHEREAS, Rabbi Frankel, who received an honorary
4 doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York,
5 was active in inter-faith communication by inviting members
6 of other religions to his temple and by joining in the
7 Catholic-Jewish Scholar's Dialogue; and
8 WHEREAS, The congregation of Am Yisrael honored Rabbi
9 Frankel and his wife, Toby, by naming their new school the
10 Rabbi William and Toby Frankel Education Center; and
11 WHEREAS, The passing of Rabbi William Frankel will be
12 deeply felt by all who loved and were touched by this man,
13 especially his loving wife, Toby Dubin Frankel; his children,
14 David (wife, Janice Gagerman) Frankel, Joshua Frankel, Daniel
15 (wife, Maxine) Frankel, and Deborah (husband, Mitchell)
16 Brigell; his grandchildren, Rafi, Ari, Elena, and Nathan
17 Frankel, and Rachel and Naomi Brigell; and his sister, Ceile
18 (husband, the late Irving) Dattelkramer; therefore, be it
19 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
21 we mourn, along with his family, friends, and the
22 congregation of Am Yisrael, the passing of Rabbi William
23 Frankel; and be it further
24 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
25 presented to the family of Rabbi William Frankel.