Alabama 2025 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HR263 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	HR263INTRODUCED
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3	3	HR263
4	4	MS8EI1W-1
5	5	By Representatives Faulkner, Garrett, Carns, Ensler
6	6	RFD:
7	7	First Read: 17-Apr-25
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12	12	5 MS8EI1W-1 04/14/2025 bm (L)bm 2025-1638
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14	14	First Read: 17-Apr-25
15	15	HR____ RECOGNIZING RIVA HIRSCH AS A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR.
16	16	WHEREAS, Riva Hirsch, born Riva Schuster, was only
17	17	seven years old in 1941 when her childhood was violently
18	18	interrupted by the Nazi occupation of her hometown of
19	19	Novaseletz, Romania, now modern-day Ukraine, during the
20	20	Holocaust, a tragedy that would take the lives of over six
21	21	million Jews and millions of other innocent people; and
22	22	WHEREAS, after receiving a warning from a family
23	23	friend, young Riva and her family attempted to flee to
24	24	safety but were instead captured and transported in
25	25	overcrowded cattle cars to a Nazi labor camp in Moghilev;
26	26	and
27	27	WHEREAS, she endured unimaginable horrors, witnessing
28	28	death and brutality, suffering from starvation, disease, and
29	29	the loss of her health, her home, and nearly her life; and
30	30	WHEREAS, separated from her family and later
31	31	transported to the Luchinetz labor camp, Riva survived
32	32	typhus, malaria, lice infestation, and extreme
33	33	malnourishment; and
34	34	WHEREAS, during one of many near-death experiences,
35	35	she was rescued by partisans, hidden in a wagon of hay, and
36	36	taken to a Catholic convent in Tul'chin where she lived in
37	37	isolation for two years in a six-foot-square bunker, with
38	38	rats and mice as her only companions, surviving only on
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68	68	rats and mice as her only companions, surviving only on
69	69	bread and pork provided every few days; and
70	70	WHEREAS, Riva Schuster was liberated in 1945, carried
71	71	to the roadside by nuns, and rescued by survivors who
72	72	brought her to Chernovitz, where she was amazingly reunited
73	73	with her father and, in time, her mother and two brothers;
74	74	and
75	75	WHEREAS, in her journey to rebuild her life, she
76	76	boarded a boat to Palestine in 1946, was detained by British
77	77	forces and spent two years in a refugee camp in Cyprus
78	78	before reaching Israel in 1948, where she was finally
79	79	reunited with her family and began the next chapter of her
80	80	life; and
81	81	WHEREAS, Mrs. Hirsch met and married her husband,
82	82	Aisic Hirsch, also a Holocaust survivor, in Israel in 1950;
83	83	they were blessed with two children, Harold and Sheryl, and
84	84	later moved to New York in 1962 to provide the education and
85	85	opportunities they had been denied; and
86	86	WHEREAS, in 1992, Mrs. Hirsch and her family
87	87	relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, where they built a home
88	88	and legacy rooted in resilience, remembrance, and hope; and
89	89	WHEREAS, throughout her life, Riva Hirsch has
90	90	remained a tireless advocate for Holocaust education and
91	91	remembrance, sharing her testimony with younger generations
92	92	to ensure that the horrors of the Holocaust are never
93	93	forgotten, and to urge the world to pursue peace, education,
94	94	and justice; and
95	95	WHEREAS, Mrs. Hirsch, now 91 years old, stands as a
96	96	living testament to the strength of the human spirit, the
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126	126	living testament to the strength of the human spirit, the
127	127	enduring will to survive, and the sacred responsibility of
128	128	ensuring the past is never forgotten; now therefore,
129	129	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
130	130	LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, That we do hereby honor and
131	131	recognize Riva Hirsch for her extraordinary courage, her
132	132	contributions to Holocaust remembrance, and her unwavering
133	133	commitment to ensuring that the lessons of history are never
134	134	lost to time.
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