IL SR1724

Rabbi Isaac Neuman, a 40-year Central Illinois resident, passed away on November 17, 2014, and was a Holocaust survivor who endured Nazi death camps including Auschwitz-Birkenau, Gross-Rosen, and Mauthausen.

Neuman was ordained as a Rabbi by Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio, and earned a Doctor of Divinity Degree in 1985 after receiving traditional Jewish education at prestigious Polish Talmudic academies.

Served as Rabbi of Sinai Temple in Champaign from 1974 to 1987 and as Rabbi Emeritus thereafter, while also serving as Auxiliary Chaplain at Chanute Air Force Base and ministering to U.S. Armed Forces personnel worldwide for 40 years.

Delivered opening prayers in the United States House of Representatives in 1970 and 1983, served on the board that created the United States Holocaust Museum, and participated in the 1965 civil rights march in Selma, Alabama with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Illinois State Senate extends condolences to his family and the Champaign-Urbana and University of Illinois communities.