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Simon Wiesenthal Center Keynote Address 6/16/91 [OA 6034] [2]
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Simon Wiesenthal Center Keynote Address 6/16/91 [OA 6034] [2]
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Simon Wiesenthal Center Keynote Address 6/16/91 [OA 6034] [2]
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Document No. 244937SS
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 6/11/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: WEDNESDAY 6/12/91 NOON
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
N/C
DARMAN
ROGICH
N/C
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
(no yet this
DEMAREST was prior
SNOW
FITZWATER
to staffing
GRAY
N/V
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930,
no later than NOON, Wednesday, June 12, with a copy to this office.
Thank you.
RESPONSE:
MASTER
PHILLIP D. BRADY
(comments begin P. 3 n)
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
Again, Keep follow up
thenes of America
whole + good. - Smith (Hinchliffe/Blymire)
June 10, 1991 1 p.m.
SIMONW State IWOAM 8
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
Sunday June 16, 1991
7 p.m.
Los Angeles, California
Rabbi Hier, I'll cherish this sacred gift. To you: "I lift
up the cup of redemption in thanks and gratitude. " I've heard
that at Seder this Cup of Elijah is filled with wine and with
the promise of redemption. And I know the verse that says Elijah
"shall turn the heart of the parents to the children, and the
heart of the children to their parents." I hope this symbolic
gift can challenge us to do the same -- to reclaim our soul.
through love for our human family. A love born of remembrance.
The extraordinary hero this center honors is our living
embodiment of remembrance. The two pledges of Simon Wiesenthal's
life inspire us all -- "Never Forget" and "Never Again."
He reminds us that we can do nothing that matters until we
learn the lessons of the concentration camps. I've been to Ausch-
witz. The children's shoes. The rubble of ovens. The images of
human evil. When I left Auschwitz, I left part of me there. But
I took something away in its place -- the determination not just
to remember but also to act.
I say this to you as a World War II veteran as an
American and as President of the United States. We must never
forget. We must never deny. The haunting images compel us to
guard against tyranny and inhumanity. Remembering makes us
strong. And remembering makes us act.
But we must also remember something more powerful than the
2
horror -- the triumph of the inextinguishable human spirit.
Those who survived the Holocaust could have sunk into hate and
revenge. What world would have blamed them? But, instead, they
lifted themselves -- and all of humanity toward a greater
goal. I believe that the ultimate lesson here is the
transcendent glory of survival. Hope triumphed over horror.
Life triumphed over death.
Elie Wiesel dedicated his life to Holocaust victims because
"anyone who does not remember betrays them again." These must
become our days of remembrance. This freedom we enjoy carries a
terrible responsibility. The genocide of WWII is over, but the
victims of other human rights abuse call to us daily from across.
the globe. In the memory of the 6 million who died -- we must
not close our eyes. We must not block our ears. We must not
hold our tongues.
Holocaust survivors lead our way. When Saddam Hussein
unleashed his evil against the Kurds, Simon Wiesenthal was among
the first to speak out. He said: "Silence is admittance. "We
cannot tolerate silence. " It was because of Saddam's unimaginable
evil against fellow human beings that we made our stand in the
Persian Gulf. It was a moral imperative. The world had ignored
the brewing madness 50 years ago. Never forget. Never again.
We leapt to action again to protect another threatened
people -- the Ethiopian Jews. Rudy Boschwitz was my special
emissary. It was a proud moment of my Presidency when I awarded
him the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping in what turned
3
out to be one of the most intensive humanitarian airlifts in
history. We worked closely with our friends in the Israeli
30
N5C
government, and in less than 24 hours the Falashas had been
delivered from harm's way; reunited with loved ones; and given
NSC *VINSERT A
the opportunity to begin new lives in Israel.
We're here in honor of a place that drives us all toward
NSC
that kind of action. It shatters our complacency by showing us
what the face of human evil looks like For the Simon Wiesenthal
Center is not just a museum, although its vivid images will never
let the past fade. It's also an activist organization of more
than one million members. One million separate voices bound
together in single purpose -- the call for all lives to have
meaning, dignity, and hope.
I thought of that earlier tonight when the Holocaust
survivors brought in the Mauthausen flag. It was one of the most
moving moments of my life. What a story -- those men and women
creating out of scraps this symbol of the values that gave them
hope. Just think -- those values were the ones this country was
founded on -- ones we too often take for granted. I wish every
American could hear this story, could see this flag.
The values those courageous Jewish victims saw symbolized in
our flag became the ones on which they founded their new home-
land. These shared values unite our country and Israel in an ex-
traordinary kinship. Values like: Freedom. Democracy. Morality.
Respect. Deeply rooted traditions of tolerance. Individual rights
and liberties. Our countries have forged an unprecedented bond -
4
- a bond of shared ideals, shared struggles, shared commitments.
Tonight, I want to return to those essential, basic values
and pledge America's eternal vigilance for justice, peace, and
human rights throughout the world. As your President, I say:
There is no room in our America for indifference. The
Holocaust must never be dehumanized, dismissed, or forgotten. We
pledge to preserve forever its memory.
There is no room in our America for evil. We must search
out and expose every last Nazi fugitive or war criminal hiding in
the shadows. We pledge to bring them to justice.
There is no room in this country for hate crimes. We must
raise our voices and the full force of our law against every hate
group, desecrater and demagogue, brown shirt or white sheet. We
pledge not to be fooled by a change in disquise -- corruption and
inhumanity still lie buried in their hearts.
There is no room in our America for bigotry. We must stand
firm against ignorance, racism and discrimination in any form and
Mcclure
any place -- in our cities, in our music, in our media, in our
DOJ
minds, in our hearts. And in subtly subversive quota bills. We
Porter
pledge to point the finger of shame wherever the hatred of
(po more affirmative positive phrase -mchre
bigotry festers -- and to rid our land of it for our children.
There is no room in our America -- and our world -- for
anti-semitism. The insidious ugliness of this cancer destroys
the human spirit. We pledge to root it out and conquer it
wherever it may start to grow.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a people.
5
We must assure that security of Jewish opportunity and identity
is a reality. We pledge to give our hearts and aid to helping
Jewish people in despair wherever they may be.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a nation.
Israel's survival must be guaranteed. We pledge our unwavering
support for her and for our joint goal of just and lasting peace.
There is no room in our world for religious intolerance.
We will continue to press the human rights agenda until every
oppression of Soviet Jewry has been erased. We pledge never to
give up hope -- and never to cease to work for their freedom.
Above all, we must each of us embody in our lives the lesson
of this center -- the lesson so brilliantly expressed by its.
hero, Simon Wiesenthal, who reminds us: "Freedom is not a gift
from Heaven. One must fight for it every day. " That, my
friends, is our final -- and most important pledge.
Thank you for the privilege of sharing this evening with you
and for the warmth of your friendship. May God Bless us all.
#
Document No. 244937SS
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 6/11/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: WEDNESDAY 6/12/91 NOON
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
DEMAREST
SNOW
FITZWATER
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930,
no later than NOON, Wednesday, June 12, with a copy to this office.
Thank you.
RESPONSE: Sho comment
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
June 10, 1991 1 p.m.
SIMONW BILLN AWOAM 8:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
Sunday June 16, 1991
7 p.m.
Los Angeles, California
Rabbi Hier, I'll cherish this sacred gift. To you: lift
up the cup of redemption in thanks and gratitude." I've heard
that at Seder this Cup of Elijah is filled with wine -- and with
the promise of redemption. And I know the verse that says Elijah
"shall turn the heart of the parents to the children, and the
heart of the children to their parents." I hope this symbolic
gift can challenge us to do the same -- to reclaim our soul
through love for our human family. A love born of remembrance.
The extraordinary hero this center honors is our living
embodiment of remembrance. The two pledges of Simon Wiesenthal's
life inspire us all -- "Never Forget" and "Never Again."
He reminds us that we can do nothing that matters until we
learn the lessons of the concentration camps. I've been to Ausch-
witz. The children's shoes. The rubble of ovens. The images of
human evil. When I left Auschwitz, I left part of me there. But
I took something away in its place -- the determination not just
to remember but also to act.
I say this to you as a World War II veteran -- as an
American -- and as President of the United States. We must never
forget. We must never deny. The haunting images compel us to
guard against tyranny and inhumanity. Remembering makes us
strong. And remembering makes us act.
But we must also remember something more powerful than the
2
horror -- the triumph of the inextinguishable human spirit.
Those who survived the Holocaust could have sunk into hate and
revenge. What world would have blamed them? But, instead, they
lifted themselves -- and all of humanity -- toward a greater.
goal. I believe that the ultimate lesson here is the
transcendent glory of survival. Hope triumphed over horror.
Life triumphed over death.
Elie Wiesel dedicated his life to Holocaust victims because
"anyone who does not remember betrays them again." These must
become our days of remembrance. This freedom we enjoy carries a
terrible responsibility. The genocide of WWII is over, but the
victims of other human rights abuse call to us daily from across
the globe. In the memory of the 6 million who died -- we must
not close our eyes. We must not block our ears. We must not
hold our tongues.
Holocaust survivors lead our way. When Saddam Hussein
unleashed his evil against the Kurds, Simon Wiesenthal was among
the first to speak out. He said: "Silence is admittance. "We
cannot tolerate silence." It was because of Saddam's unimaginable
evil against fellow human beings that we made our stand in the
Persian Gulf. It was a moral imperative. The world had ignored
the brewing madness 50 years ago. Never forget. Never again.
We leapt to action again to protect another threatened
people -- the Ethiopian Jews. Rudy Boschwitz was my special
emissary. It was a proud moment of my Presidency when I awarded
him the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping in what turned
3
out to be one of the most intensive humanitarian airlifts in
history. We worked closely with our friends in the Israeli
government, and in less than 24 hours the Falashas had been
delivered from harm's way; reunited with loved ones; and given
the opportunity to begin new lives in Israel.
We're here in honor of a place that drives us all toward
that kind of action. It shatters our complacency by showing us:
what the face of human evil looks like. For the Simon Wiesenthal
Center is not just a museum, although its vivid images will never
let the past fade. It's also an activist organization of more
than one million members. One million separate voices bound
together in single purpose -- the call for all lives to have.:
meaning, dignity, and hope.
I. thought of that earlier tonight when the Holocaust
survivors brought in the Mauthausen flag. It was one of the most
moving moments of my life. What a story -- those men and women
creating out of scraps this symbol of the values that gave them
hope. Just think -- those values were the ones this country was
founded on -- ones we too often take for granted. I wish every
American could hear this story, could see this flag.
The values those courageous Jewish victims saw symbolized in
our flag became the ones on which they founded their new home-
land. These shared values unite our country and Israel in an ex-
traordinary kinship. Values like: Freedom. Democracy. Morality.
Respect. Deeply rooted traditions of tolerance. Individual rights
and liberties. Our countries have forged an unprecedented bond -
4
- a bond of shared ideals, shared struggles, shared commitments.
Tonight, I want to return to those essential, basic values
and pledge America's eternal vigilance for justice, peace, and
human rights throughout the world. As your President, I say:
There is no room in our America for indifference. The
Holocaust must never be dehumanized, dismissed, or forgotten. We
pledge to preserve forever its memory.
There is no room in our America for evil. We must search
out and expose every last Nazi fugitive or war criminal hiding in
the shadows. We pledge to bring them to justice.
There is no room in this country for hate crimes. We must
raise our voices and the full force of our law against every hate
group, desecrater and demagogue, brown shirt or white sheet. We
pledge not to be fooled by a change in disquise -- corruption and
inhumanity still lie buried in their hearts.
There is no room in our America for bigotry. We must stand
firm against ignorance, racism and discrimination in any form and
any place -- in our cities, in our music, in our media, in our
minds, in our hearts. And in subtly subversive quota bills. We
pledge to point the finger of shame wherever the hatred of
bigotry festers -- and to rid our land of it for our children.
There is no room in our America -- and our world -- for
anti-semitism. The insidious ugliness of this cancer destroys
the human spirit. We pledge to root it out and conquer it
wherever it may start to grow.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a people.
5
We must assure that security of Jewish opportunity and identity
is a reality. We pledge to give our hearts and aid to helping
Jewish people in despair wherever they may be.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a nation.
Israel's survival must be guaranteed. We pledge our unwavering
support for her and for our joint goal of just and lasting peace
There is no room in our world for religious intolerance
We will continue to press the human rights agenda until every
oppression of Soviet Jewry has been erased. We pledge never to
give up hope -- and never to cease to work for their freedom:
Above all, we must each of us embody in our lives the lesson
of this center -- the lesson so brilliantly expressed by its.
hero, Simon Wiesenthal, who reminds us: "Freedom is not a gift
from Heaven. One must fight for it every day. " That, my
friends, is our final -- and most important -- pledge.
Thank you for the privilege of sharing this evening with you
-- and for the warmth of your friendship. May God Bless us all.
#
#
forthe files
(This
prior staffing)
DD changes read to
Christina 8:25am 6/11
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
June 10, 1991
1 p.m.
SB
SIMONW Draft Two
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
Sunday June 16, 1991
7 p.m.
Los Angeles, California
Rabbi Hier, I'll cherish this sacred gift. To you: "I lift
up the cup of redemption in thanks and gratitude." I've heard
that at Seder this Cup of Elijah is filled with wine -- and with
the promise of redemption. And I know the verse that says Elijah
"shall turn the heart of the parents to the children, and the
heart of the children to their parents." I hope this symbolic
gift can challenge us to do the same -- to reclaim our soul
through love for our human family. A love born of remembrance.
The extraordinary hero this center honors is our living
embodiment of remembrance. The two pledges of Simon Wiesenthal's
life inspire us all -- "Never Forget" and "Never Again."
He reminds us that we can do nothing that matters until we
learn the lessons of the concentration camps. I've been to Ausch-
witz. I've seen the mounds of human hair. The children's shoes.
The rubble of ovens. The images of human evil. When I left Ausch-
witz, I left part of me there. But I took something away in its
place -- the determination not just to remember but also to act.
I say this to you as a World War II veteran -- as an
American -- and as President of the United States. We must never
forget. We must never deny. The haunting images compel us to
guard against tyranny and inhumanity. Remembering makes us
strong. And remembering makes us act.
But we must also remember something more powerful than the
2
horror -- the triumph of the inextinguishable human spirit.
Those who survived the Holocaust could have sunk into hate and
revenge. What world would have blamed them? But, instead, they
lifted themselves -- and all of humanity -- toward a greater
goal. I believe that the ultimate lesson here is the
transcendent glory of survival. Hope triumphed over horror.
Life triumphed over death.
Elie Wiesel dedicated his life to Holocaust victims because
"anyone who does not remember betrays them again." These must
become our days of remembrance. This freedom we enjoy carries a
terrible responsibility. The genocide of WWII is over, but the
victims of other human rights abuse call to us daily from across
the globe. In the memory of the 6 million who died -- we must
not close our eyes. We must not block our ears. We must not
hold our tongues.
Holocaust survivors lead our way. When Saddam Hussein
unleashed his evil against the Kurds, Simon Wiesenthal was among
the first to speak out. He said: "Silence is admittance. "We
cannot tolerate silence.' It was because of Saddam's unimaginable
evil against fellow human beings that we made our stand in the
Persian Gulf. It was a moral imperative. The world had ignored
the brewing madness 50 years ago. Never forget. Never again.
We leapt to action again to protect another threatened
people -- the Ethiopian Jews. Rudy Boschwitz was my special
emissary. It was a proud moment of my Presidency when I awarded
him the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping in what turned
3
out to be one of the most intensive humanitarian airlifts in
history. We worked closely with our friends in the Israeli
government, and in less than 24 hours the Falashas had been
delivered from harm's way; reunited with loved ones; and given
the opportunity to begin new lives in Israel.
We're here in honor of a place that drives us all toward
that kind of action. It shatters our complacency by showing us
what the face of human evil looks like. For the Simon Wiesenthal
Center is not just a museum, although its vivid images will never
let the past fade. It's also an activist organization of more
than one million members. One million separate voices bound
together in single purpose -- the call for all lives to have
meaning, dignity, and hope.
I thought of that earlier tonight when the Holocaust
survivors brought in the Mauthausen flag. It was one of the most
moving moments of my life. What a story -- those men and women
creating out of scraps this symbol of the values that gave them
hope. Just think -- those values were the ones this country was
founded on -- ones we too often take for granted. I wish every
American could hear this story, could see this flag.
The values those courageous Jewish victims saw symbolized in
our flag became the ones on which they founded their new home-
land. These shared values unite our country and Israel in an ex-
traordinary kinship. Values like: Freedom. Democracy. Morality.
Respect. Deeply rooted traditions of tolerance. Individual rights
and liberties. Our countries have forged an unprecedented bond -
4
- a bond of shared ideals, shared struggles, shared commitments.
Tonight, I want to return to those essential, basic values
and pledge America's eternal vigilance for justice, peace, and
human rights throughout the world. As your President, I say:
There is no room in our America for indifference. The
Holocaust must never be dehumanized, dismissed, or forgotten. We
pledge to preserve forever its memory.
There is no room in our America for evil. We must search
out and expose every last Nazi fugitive or war criminal hiding in
the shadows. We pledge to bring them to justice.
There is no room in this country for hate crimes. We must
raise our voices and the full force of our law against every hate
group, desecrater and demagogue, brown shirt or white sheet. We
pledge not to be fooled by a change in disguise -- corruption and
inhumanity still lie buried in their hearts.
There is no room in our America for bigotry. We must stand
firm against ignorance, racism and discrimination in any form and
any place -- in our cities, in our music, in our media, in our
minds, in our hearts. And in subtly subversive quota bills. We
pledge to point the finger of shame wherever the hatred of
bigotry festers -- and to rid our land of it for our children.
And of all forms of bigotry, above all there is no room in
our America -- and our world -- for anti-semitism. The insidious
ugliness of this cancer destroys the human spirit. We pledge to
root it out and conquer it wherever it may start to grow.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a people.
5
We must assure that security of Jewish opportunity and identity
is a reality. We pledge to give our hearts and aid to helping
Jewish people in despair wherever they may be.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a nation.
Israel's survival must be guaranteed. We pledge our unwavering
support for her and for our joint goal of just and lasting peace.
There is no room in our world for religious intolerance.
We will continue to press the human rights agenda until every
oppression of Soviet Jewry has been erased. We pledge never to
give up hope -- and never to cease to work for their freedom.
Above all, we must each of us embody in our lives the lesson
of this center -- the lesson so brilliantly expressed by its
hero, Simon Wiesenthal, who reminds us: "Freedom is not a gift
from Heaven. One must fight for it every day. " That, my
friends, is our final -- and most important -- pledge.
Thank you for the privilege of sharing this evening with you
-- and for the warmth of your friendship. May God Bless us all.
#
#
#
#
#
Document No. 244937SS
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
91 JUN12
DATE: 6/11/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: WEDNESDAY 6/12/91 NOON
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
DEMAREST
SNOW
FITZWATER
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930,
no later than NOON, Wednesday, June 12, with a copy to this office.
Thank you.
RESPONSE:
see one comment from Justice. Manks.
Holls Williamson
PHILLIP D. BRADY
6-12-91
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
June 10, 1991 1 p.m.
SIMONW State AWOAM 8:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
Sunday June 16, 1991
7 p.m.
Los Angeles, California
Rabbi Hier, I'll cherish this sacred gift. To you: lift
up the cup of redemption in thanks and gratitude. I've heard
that at Seder this Cup of Elijah is filled with wine -- and with
the promise of redemption. And I know the verse that says Elijah
"shall turn the heart of the parents to the children, and the
heart of the children to their parents." I hope this symbolic
gift can challenge us to do the same -- to reclaim our soul
through love for our human family. A love born of remembrance.
The extraordinary hero this center honors is our living:
embodiment of remembrance. The two pledges of Simon Wiesenthal's
life inspire us all -- "Never Forget" and "Never Again.'
He reminds us that we can do nothing that matters until we
learn the lessons of the concentration camps. I've been to Ausch-
witz. The children's shoes. The rubble of ovens. The images of
human evil. When I left Auschwitz, I left part of me there. But
I took something away in its place -- the determination not just
to remember but also to act.
I say this to you as a World War II veteran as an
American and as President of the United States. We must never
forget. We must never deny. The haunting images compel us to
guard against tyranny and inhumanity. Remembering makes us
strong. And remembering makes us act.
But we must also remember something more powerful than the
2
horror -- the triumph of the inextinguishable human spirit.
Those who survived the Holocaust could have sunk into hate and
revenge. What world would have blamed them? But, instead, they
lifted themselves -- and all of humanity -- toward a greater
goal. I believe that the ultimate lesson here is the
transcendent glory of survival. Hope triumphed over horror.
Life triumphed over death.
Elie Wiesel dedicated his life to Holocaust victims because
"anyone who does not remember betrays them again." These must
become our days of remembrance. This freedom we enjoy carries a
terrible responsibility. The genocide of WWII is over, but the
victims of other human rights abuse call to us daily from across
the globe. In the memory of the 6 million who died -- we must
not close our eyes. We must not block our ears. We must not
hold our tongues.
Holocaust survivors lead our way. When Saddam Hussein
unleashed his evil against the Kurds, Simon Wiesenthal was among
the first to speak out. He said: "Silence is admittance. "We
cannot tolerate silence." It was because of Saddam's unimaginable
evil against fellow human beings that we made our stand in the
Persian Gulf. It was a moral imperative. The world had ignored
the brewing madness 50 years ago. Never forget. Never again.
We leapt to action again to protect another threatened
people -- the Ethiopian Jews. Rudy Boschwitz was my special
emissary. It was a proud moment of my Presidency when I awarded
him the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping in what turned
3
out to be one of the most intensive humanitarian airlifts in
history. We worked closely with our friends in the Israeli
government, and in less than 24 hours the Falashas had been
delivered from harm's way; reunited with loved ones; and given
the opportunity to begin new lives in Israel.
We're here in honor of a place that drives us all toward
that kind of action. It shatters our complacency by showing us:
what the face of human evil looks like. For the Simon Wiesenthal
Center is not just a museum, although its vivid images will never
let the past fade. It's also an activist organization of more
than one million members. One million separate voices bound
together in single purpose -- the call for all lives to have
meaning, dignity, and hope.
I thought of that earlier tonight when the Holocaust
survivors brought in the Mauthausen flag. It was one of the most
moving moments of my life. What a story those
men and women
creating out of scraps this symbol of the values that gave them
hope. Just think -- those values were the ones this country was
founded on -- ones we too often take for granted. I wish every
American could hear this story, could see this flag.
The values those courageous Jewish victims saw symbolized in
our flag became the ones on which they founded their new home-
land. These shared values unite our country and Israel in an ex-
traordinary kinship. Values like: Freedom. Democracy. Morality.
Respect. Deeply rooted traditions of tolerance. Individual rights
and liberties. Our countries have forged an unprecedented bond -
4
- a bond of shared ideals, shared struggles, shared commitments.
Tonight, I want to return to those essential, basic values
and pledge America's eternal vigilance for justice, peace, and
human rights throughout the world. As your President, I say:
There is no room in our America for indifference. The
Holocaust must never be dehumanized, dismissed, or forgotten. We
pledge to preserve forever its memory.
There is no room in our America for evil. We must search
out and expose every last Nazi fugitive or war criminal hiding in
the shadows. We pledge to bring them to justice.
There is no room in this country for hate crimes. We must
raise our voices and the full force of our law against every hate
group, desecrater and demagogue, brown shirt or white sheet. We
pledge not to be fooled by a change in disquise -- corruption and
inhumanity still lie buried in their hearts.
There is no room in our America for bigotry. We must stand
firm against ignorance, racism and discrimination in any form and
any
place in our cities, in our music, in our media, in our
(Justice)
minds, in our hearts. And in Subtly subversive quota bills. We
pledge to point the finger of shame wherever the hatred of
too jarring
bigotry festers -- and to rid our land of it for our children.
in this
There is no room in our America -- and our world -- for
Not ahate
speech.
anti-semitism. The insidious ugliness of this cancer destroys
the human spirit. We pledge to root it out and conquer it
crime
wherever it may start to grow.
issue.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a people.
5
We must assure that security of Jewish opportunity and identity
is a reality. We pledge to give our hearts and aid to helping
Jewish people in despair wherever they may be.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a nation.
Israel's survival must be guaranteed. We pledge our unwavering
support for her and for our joint goal of just and lasting peace.
There is no room in our world for religious intolerance.
We will continue to press the human rights agenda until every
oppression of Soviet Jewry has been erased. We pledge never to
give up hope -- and never to cease to work for their freedom.
Above all, we must each of us embody in our lives the lesson
of this center -- the lesson so brilliantly expressed by its.
hero, Simon Wiesenthal, who reminds us: "Freedom is not a gift
from Heaven. One must fight for it every day. " That, my
friends, is our final -- and most important pledge.
Thank you for the privilege of sharing this evening with you
-- and for the warmth of your friendship. May God Bless us: all.
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
June WASHINGTON 12, 1991 199191 JUNi2 All : 26
MEMORANDUM FOR TONY SNOW
FROM:
ROGER B. PORTER RBP
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Simon Wiesenthal Center
Dinner Keynote
This is an extremely strong set of remarks. We have only
one suggested change. On page four, we recommend deleting the
sentence, "And in subtly subversive quota bills."
Please let us know if you have any questions or if we may
help in any other way.
Really solid remarks.
CC: Phillip D. Brady
Document No. 244937SS
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 6/11/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: WEDNESDAY 6/12/91 NOON
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
DEMAREST
SNOW
FITZWATER
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930,
no later than NOON, Wednesday, June 12, with a copy to this office.
Thank you.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
June 10, 1991 1 p.m.
SIMONW State IWOAM 8
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
Sunday June 16, 1991
7 p.m.
Los Angeles, California
Rabbi Hier, I'll cherish this sacred gift. To you: lift
up the cup of redemption in thanks and gratitude. " I've heard
that at Seder this Cup of Elijah is filled with wine and with
the promise of redemption. And I know the verse that says Elijah
"shall turn the heart of the parents to the children, and the
heart of the children to their parents." I hope this symbolic
gift can challenge us to do the same -- to reclaim our soul
through love for our human family. A love born of remembrance.
The extraordinary hero this center honors is our living
embodiment of remembrance. The two pledges of Simon Wiesenthal's
life inspire us all -- "Never Forget" and "Never Again."
He reminds us that we can do nothing that matters until we
learn the lessons of the concentration camps. I've been to Ausch-
witz. The children's shoes. The rubble of ovens. The images of
human evil. When I left Auschwitz, I left part of me there. But
I took something away in its place -- the determination not just
to remember but also to act.
I say this to you as a World War II veteran --- as an
American and as President of the United States. We must never
forget. We must never deny. The haunting images compel us to
guard against tyranny and inhumanity. Remembering makes us.
strong. And remembering makes us act.
But we must also remember something more powerful than the
2
horror -- the triumph of the inextinguishable human spirit.
Those who survived the Holocaust could have sunk into hate and
revenge. What world would have blamed them? But, instead, they
lifted themselves -- and all of humanity -- toward a greater
goal. I believe that the ultimate lesson here is the
transcendent glory of survival. Hope triumphed over horror.
Life triumphed over death.
Elie Wiesel dedicated his life to Holocaust victims because
"anyone who does not remember betrays them again.' " These must
become our days of remembrance. This freedom we enjoy carries a
terrible responsibility. The genocide of WWII is over, but the
victims of other human rights abuse call to us daily from across
the globe. In the memory of the 6 million who died -- we must
not close our eyes. We must not block our ears. We must not
hold our tongues.
Holocaust survivors lead our way. When Saddam Hussein
unleashed his evil against the Kurds, Simon Wiesenthal was among
the first to speak out. He said: "Silence is admittance. "We
cannot tolerate silence. If It was because of Saddam's unimaginable
evil against fellow human beings that we made our stand in the
Persian Gulf. It was a moral imperative. The world had ignored
the brewing madness 50 years ago. Never forget. Never again.
We leapt to action again to protect another threatened
people -- the Ethiopian Jews. Rudy Boschwitz was my special
emissary. It was a proud moment of my Presidency when I awarded
him the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping in what turned
3
out to be one of the most intensive humanitarian airlifts in
history. We worked closely with our friends in the Israeli
government, and in less than 24 hours the Falashas had been
delivered from harm's way; reunited with loved ones; and given
the opportunity to begin new lives in Israel.
We're here in honor of a place that drives us all toward
that kind of action. It shatters our complacency by showing us
what the face of human evil looks like. For the Simon Wiesenthal
Center is not just a museum, although its vivid images will never
let the past fade. It's also an activist organization of more
than one million members. One million separate voices bound
together in single purpose -- the call for all lives to have
meaning, dignity, and hope.
I thought of that earlier tonight when the Holocaust
survivors brought in the Mauthausen flag. It was one of the most
moving moments of my life. What a story -- those men and women
creating out of scraps this symbol of the values that gave them
hope. Just think -- those values were the ones this country was
founded on -- ones we too often take for granted. I wish every
American could hear this story, could see this flag.
The values those courageous Jewish victims saw symbolized in
our flag became the ones on which they founded their new home-
land. These shared values unite our country and Israel in an ex-
traordinary kinship. Values like: Freedom. Democracy. Morality.
Respect. Deeply rooted traditions of tolerance. Individual rights
and liberties. Our countries have forged an unprecedented bond -
4
- a bond of shared ideals, shared struggles, shared commitments.
Tonight, I want to return to those essential, basic values
and pledge America's eternal vigilance for justice, peace, and
human rights throughout the world. As your President, I say:
There is no room in our America for indifference. The
Holocaust must never be dehumanized, dismissed, or forgotten. We
pledge to preserve forever its memory.
There is no room in our America for evil. We must search
out and expose every last Nazi fugitive or war criminal hiding in
the shadows. We pledge to bring them to justice.
There is no room in this country for hate crimes. We must
raise our voices and the full force of our law against every hate
group, desecrater and demagogue, brown shirt or white sheet. We
pledge not to be fooled by a change in disquise -- corruption and
inhumanity still lie buried in their hearts.
There is no room in our America for bigotry. We must stand
firm against ignorance, racism and discrimination in any form and
any place -- in our cities, in our music, in our media, in our
minds, in our hearts. And in subtly subversive quota bills.
We
pledge to point the finger of shame wherever the hatred of
bigotry festers -- and to rid our land of it for our children.
There is no room in our America -- and our world -- for
anti-semitism. The insidious ugliness of this cancer destroys
the human spirit. We pledge to root it out and conquer it
wherever it may start to grow.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a people.
5
We must assure that security of Jewish opportunity and identity
is a reality. We pledge to give our hearts and aid to helping
Jewish people in despair wherever they may be.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a nation.
Israel's survival must be guaranteed. We pledge our unwavering
support for her and for our joint goal of just and lasting peace.
There is no room in our world for religious intolerance.
We will continue to press the human rights agenda until every
oppression of Soviet Jewry has been erased. We pledge never to
give up hope -- and never to cease to work for their freedom.
Above all, we must each of us embody in our lives the lesson
of this center -- the lesson so brilliantly expressed by its.:
hero, Simon Wiesenthal, who reminds us: "Freedom is not a gift
from Heaven. One must fight for it every day. " That, my
friends, is our final -- and most important -- pledge.
Thank you for the privilege of sharing this evening with you
-- and for the warmth of your friendship. May God Bless us all.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
91 JUNISHPNGTON
June 11, 1991
MEMORANDUM FOR TONY SNOW
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR
COMMUNICATIONS AND DIRECTOR OF SPEECHWRITING
FROM:
LEE S. LIBERMAN iss
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Simon Wiesenthal Center
Dinner Keynote
Counsel's Office has no legal objection to the above-captioned
draft speech.
ID #
CU
WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
O OUTGOING
H INTERNAL
I INCOMING
Date Correspondence
Received (YY/MM/DD)
/
/
Name of Correspondent: Phil Brady
MI Mail Report
User Codes: (A)
(B)
(C)
Subject: Presidential Remarks : Simon wiesenthal Center
Dinner Keynote
ROUTE TO:
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DISPOSITION
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ORIGINATOR 91,06,11
/ /
Referral Note:
CUAT 07
A 91,06,11
C 91,06,11
Referral Note:
Memo to Snow 2:00 NOON
/
/
/ /
-
Referral Note:
/
/
/
/
-
Referral Note:
/
/
/
/
-
Referral Note:
ACTION CODES:
DISPOSITION CODES:
A Appropriate Action
I Info Copy Only/No Action Necessary
A. Answered
C Completed
C . Comment/Recommendation
R - Direct Reply w/Copy
B - Non-Special Referral
S Suspended
D Draft Response
S. For Signature
F Furnish Fact Sheet
X Interim Reply
to be used as Enclosure
FOR OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE:
Type of Response = Initials of Signer
Code = "A"
Completion Date = Date of Outgoing
Comments:
Keep this worksheet attached to the original incoming letter.
Send all routing updates to Central Reference (Room 75, OEOB).
Always return completed correspondence record to Central Files.
Refer questions about the correspondence tracking system to Central Reference, ext. 2590.
5/81
RECORDS MANAGEMENT ONLY
CLASSIFICATION SECTION
No. of Additional
Correspondents:
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Individual Codes:
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Subject Code:
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PRESIDENTIAL REPLY
Code
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Time:
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DSP
Time:
Media:
SIGNATURE CODES:
MEDIA CODES:
CPn - Presidential Correspondence
n 0 Unknown
B Box/package
C Copy
n - 1 - George Herbert Walker Bush
D Official document
n - 2 George Bush
G Message
n 3 George
H Handcarried
L Letter
CLn - First Lady's Correspondence
M Mailgram
O Memo
n - 1 Barbara Bush
P Photo
n-2 Barbara
R Report
n 3 Bar
S Sealed
n - 4 - Mrs. Barbara Bush
T Telegram
V Telephone
CBn - Presidential & First Lady's Correspondence
X Miscellaneous
Y Study
n - 1 - Barbara & George Bush
n-2 . Barbara & George
COUNSEL'S OFFICE
RECEIVED
JUN 11 1991
Document No. 244937SS
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 6/11/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: WEDNESDAY 6/12/91 NOOI
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
DEMAREST
SNOW
FITZWATER
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930,
no later than NOON, Wednesday, June 12, with a copy to this office.
Thank you.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
June 10, 1991 1 p.m.
SIMONW State AWOAM 8:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
Sunday June 16, 1991
7 p.m.
Los Angeles, California
Rabbi Hier, I'll cherish this sacred gift. To you: "I"lift
up the cup of redemption in thanks and gratitude." I've heard
that at Seder this Cup of Elijah is filled with wine --- and with
the promise of redemption. And I know the verse that says Elijah
"shall turn the heart of the parents to the children, and the
heart of the children to their parents." I hope this symbolic
gift can challenge us to do the same -- to reclaim our soul
through love for our human family. A love born of remembrance.
The extraordinary hero this center honors is our living
embodiment of remembrance. The two pledges of Simon Wiesenthal's
life inspire us all -- "Never Forget" and "Never Again."
He reminds us that we can do nothing that matters until we
learn the lessons of the concentration camps. I've been to Ausch-
witz. The children's shoes. The rubble of ovens. The images of
human evil. When I left Auschwitz, I left part of me there. But
I took something away in its place -- the determination not just
to remember but also to act.
I say this to you as a World War II veteran as an
American and as President of the United States. We must never
forget. We must never deny. The haunting images compel us to
guard against tyranny and inhumanity. Remembering makes us
strong. And remembering makes us act.
But we must also remember something more powerful than the
2
horror -- the triumph of the inextinguishable human spirit.
Those who survived the Holocaust could have sunk into hate and
revenge. What world would have blamed them? But, instead, they
lifted themselves -- and all of humanity --- toward a greater
goal. I believe that the ultimate lesson here is the
transcendent glory of survival. Hope triumphed over horror.
Life triumphed over death.
Elie Wiesel dedicated his life to Holocaust victims because
"anyone who does not remember betrays them again." These must
become our days of remembrance. This freedom we enjoy carries a
terrible responsibility. The genocide of WWII is over, but the
victims of other human rights abuse call to us daily from across
the globe. In the memory of the 6 million who died -- we must
not close our eyes. We must not block our ears. We must not
hold our tongues.
Holocaust survivors lead our way. When Saddam Hussein
unleashed his evil against the Kurds, Simon Wiesenthal was among
the first to speak out. He said: "Silence is admittance. "We
cannot tolerate silence." It was because of Saddam's unimaginable
evil against fellow human beings that we made our stand in the
Persian Gulf. It was a moral imperative. The world had ignored
the brewing madness 50 years ago. Never forget. Never again.
We leapt to action again to protect another threatened
people -- the Ethiopian Jews. Rudy Boschwitz was my special
emissary. It was a proud moment of my Presidency when I awarded
him the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping in what turned
3
out to be one of the most intensive humanitarian airlifts in
history. We worked closely with our friends in the Israeli
government, and in less than 24 hours the Falashas had been
delivered from harm's way; reunited with loved ones; and given
the opportunity to begin new lives in Israel.
We're here in honor of a place that drives us all toward
that kind of action. It shatters our complacency by showing us
what the face of human evil looks like. For the Simon Wiesenthal
Center is not just a museum, although its vivid images will never
let the past fade. It's also an activist organization of more
than one million members. One million separate voices bound
together in single purpose
the call for all lives to have
meaning, dignity, and hope.
I thought of that earlier tonight when the Holocaust
survivors brought in the Mauthausen flag. It was one of the most
moving moments of my life. What a story -- those men and women
creating out of scraps this symbol of the values that gave them
hope. Just think -- those values were the ones this country was
founded on -- ones we too often take for granted. I wish every
American could hear this story, could see this flag.
The values those courageous Jewish victims saw symbolized in
our flag became the ones on which they founded their new home
land. These shared values unite our country and Israel in an ex-
traordinary kinship. Values like: Freedom. Democracy. Morality.
Respect. Deeply rooted traditions of tolerance. Individual rights
and liberties. Our countries have forged an unprecedented bond -
4
- a bond of shared ideals, shared struggles, shared commitments.
Tonight, I want to return to those essential, basic values
and pledge America's eternal vigilance for justice, peace, and
human rights throughout the world. As your President, I say:
There is no room in our America for indifference. The
Holocaust must never be dehumanized, dismissed, or: forgotten. We
pledge to preserve forever its memory.
There is no room in our America for evil. We must search
out and expose every last Nazi fugitive or war criminal hiding in
the shadows. We pledge to bring them to justice.
There is no room in this country for hate crimes. We must
raise our voices and the full force of our law against every hate
group, desecrater and demagogue, brown shirt or white sheet. We
pledge not to be fooled by a change in disquise -- corruption and
inhumanity still lie buried in their hearts.
There is no room in our America for bigotry. We must stand
firm against ignorance, racism and discrimination in any form and
any place -- in our cities, in our music, in our media, in our
minds, in our hearts. And in subtly subversive quota bills. We
pledge to point the finger of shame wherever the hatred of
bigotry festers -- and to rid our land of it for our children.
There is no room in our America -- and our world for
anti-semitism. The insidious ugliness of this cancer destroys
the human spirit. We pledge to root it out and conquer it
wherever it may start to grow.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a people.
5
We must assure that security of Jewish opportunity and identity
is a reality. We pledge to give our hearts and aid to helping
Jewish people in despair wherever they may be.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a nation.
Israel's survival must be guaranteed. We pledge our unwavering
support for her and for our joint goal of just and lasting peace.
There is no room in our world for religious intolerance.
We will continue to press the human rights agenda until every
oppression of Soviet Jewry has been erased. We pledge never to
give up hope -- and never to cease to work for their freedom.
Above all, we must each of us embody in our lives the lesson
of this center -- the lesson so brilliantly expressed by its=
hero, Simon Wiesenthal, who reminds us: "Freedom is not a gift
from Heaven. One must fight for it every day. " That, my
friends, is our final -- and most important -- pledge.
Thank you for the privilege of sharing this evening with you
-- and for the warmth of your friendship. May God Bless us all.
#
#
#
#
McClue
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
June 10, 1991 1 p.m.
SIMONW Draft Two
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
Sunday June 16, 1991
7 p.m.
Los Angeles, California
Rabbi Hier, I'll cherish this sacred gift. To you: "I lift
up the cup of redemption in thanks and gratitude." I've heard
that at Seder this Cup of Elijah is filled with wine -- and with
the promise of redemption. And I know the verse that says Elijah
"shall turn the heart of the parents to the children, and the
heart of the children to their parents." I hope this symbolic
gift can challenge us to do the same -- to reclaim our soul
through love for our human family. A love born of remembrance.
The extraordinary hero this center honors is our living
embodiment of remembrance. The two pledges of Simon Wiesenthal's
life inspire us all -- "Never Forget" and "Never Again."
He reminds us that we can do nothing that matters until we
learn the lessons of the concentration camps. I've been to Ausch-
witz. The children's shoes. The rubble of ovens. The images of
human evil. When I left Auschwitz, I left part of me there. But
I took something away in its place -- the determination not just
to remember but also to act.
I say this to you as a World War II veteran -- as an
American -- and as President of the United States. We must never
forget. We must never deny. The haunting images compel us to
guard against tyranny and inhumanity. Remembering makes us
strong. And remembering makes us act.
But we must also remember something more powerful than the
2
horror -- the triumph of the inextinguishable human spirit.
Those who survived the Holocaust could have sunk into hate and
revenge. What world would have blamed them? But, instead, they
lifted themselves -- and all of humanity -- toward a greater
goal. I believe that the ultimate lesson here is the
transcendent glory of survival. Hope triumphed over horror.
Life triumphed over death.
Elie Wiesel dedicated his life to Holocaust victims because
"anyone who does not remember betrays them again." These must
become our days of remembrance. This freedom we enjoy carries a
terrible responsibility. The genocide of WWII is over, but the
victims of other human rights abuse call to us daily from across
the globe. In the memory of the 6 million who died -- we must
not close our eyes. We must not block our ears. We must not
hold our tongues.
Holocaust survivors lead our way. When Saddam Hussein
unleashed his evil against the Kurds, Simon Wiesenthal was among
the first to speak out. He said: "Silence is admittance. "We
cannot tolerate silence." It was because of Saddam's unimaginable
evil against fellow human beings that we made our stand in the
Persian Gulf. It was a moral imperative. The world had ignored
the brewing madness 50 years ago. Never forget. Never again.
We leapt to action again to protect another threatened
people -- the Ethiopian Jews. Rudy Boschwitz was my special
emissary. It was a proud moment of my Presidency when I awarded
him the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping in what turned
THE WHITE HOUSE
3
WASHINGTON
out to be one of the most intensive humanitarian airlifts in
history. We worked closely with our friends in the Israeli
government, and in less than 24 hours the Falashas had been
delivered from harm's way; reunited with loved ones; and given
the opportunity to begin new lives in Israel.
We're here in honor of a place that drives us all toward
that kind of action. It shatters our complacency by showing us
what the face of human evil looks like. For the Simon Wiesenthal
Center is not just a museum, although its vivid images will never
let the past fade. It's also an activist organization of more
than one million members. One million separate voices bound
together in single purpose -- the call for all lives to have
meaning, dignity, and hope.
I thought of that earlier tonight when the Holocaust
survivors brought in the Mauthausen flag. It was one of the most
moving moments of my life. What a story -- those men and women
creating out of scraps this symbol of the values that gave them
hope. Just think -- those values were the ones this country was
founded on -- ones we too often take for granted. I wish every
American could hear this story, could see this flag.
The values those courageous Jewish victims saw symbolized in
our flag became the ones on which they founded their new home-
land. These shared values unite our country and Israel in an ex-
traordinary kinship. Values like: Freedom. Democracy. Morality.
Respect. Deeply rooted traditions of tolerance. Individual rights
and liberties. Our countries have forged an unprecedented bond -
THE WHITE HOUSE
4
WASHINGTON
- a bond of shared ideals, shared struggles, shared commitments.
Tonight, I want to return to those essential, basic values
and pledge America's eternal vigilance for justice, peace, and
human rights throughout the world. As your President, I say:
There is no room in our America for indifference. The
Holocaust must never be dehumanized, dismissed, or forgotten. We
pledge to preserve forever its memory.
There is no room in our America for evil. We must search
out and expose every last Nazi fugitive or war criminal hiding in
the shadows. We pledge to bring them to justice.
There is no room in this country for hate crimes. We must
raise our voices and the full force of our law against every hate
group, desecrater and demagogue, brown shirt or white sheet. We
pledge not to be fooled by a change in disguise -- corruption and
inhumanity still lie buried in their hearts.
There is no room in our America for bigotry. We must stand
firm against ignorance, racism and discrimination in any form and
any place -- in our cities, in our music, in our media, in our
minds, in our hearts. And in subtly subversive (FredMc)) quota bills. We
pledge to point the finger of shame wherever the hatred of
something more afformative
bigotry festers -- and to rid our land of it for our children.
There is no room in our America -- and our world -- for
anti-semitism. The insidious ugliness of this cancer destroys
the human spirit. We pledge to root it out and conquer it
wherever it may start to grow.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a people.
THE WHITE HOUSE
5
WASHINGTON
We must assure that security of Jewish opportunity and identity
is a reality. We pledge to give our hearts and aid to helping
Jewish people in despair wherever they may be.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a nation.
Israel's survival must be guaranteed. We pledge our unwavering
support for her and for our joint goal of just and lasting peace.
There is no room in our world for religious intolerance.
We will continue to press the human rights agenda until every
oppression of Soviet Jewry has been erased. We pledge never to
give up hope -- and never to cease to work for their freedom.
Above all, we must each of us embody in our lives the lesson
of this center -- the lesson so brilliantly expressed by its
hero, Simon Wiesenthal, who reminds us: "Freedom is not a gift
from Heaven. One must fight for it every day." That, my
friends, is our final -- and most important -- pledge.
Thank you for the privilege of sharing this evening with you
-- and for the warmth of your friendship. May God Bless us all.
#
#
#
#
#
Document No. 244937SS
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
53
DATE: 6/11/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: WEDNESDAY 6/12/91 NOOI
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
DEMAREST
SNOW
FITZWATER
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930,
no later than NOON, Wednesday, June 12, with a copy to this office.
Thank you.
RESPONSE:
Tony / Beth-
theat speech!
Thanks Jos 6/11
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
June 10, 1991 1 p.m.
SIMONW Staten AWOAM 8:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
Sunday June 16, 1991
7 p.m.
Los Angeles, California
Rabbi Hier, I'll cherish this sacred gift. To you: "I lift
up the cup of redemption in thanks and gratitude." I've heard
that at Seder this Cup of Elijah is filled with wine -- and with
the promise of redemption. And I know the verse that says Elijah
"shall turn the heart of the parents to the children, and the
heart of the children to their parents." I hope this symbolic
gift can challenge us to do the same -- to reclaim our soul
through love for our human family. A love born of remembrance.
The extraordinary hero this center honors is our living
embodiment of remembrance. The two pledges of Simon Wiesenthal's
life inspire us all -- "Never Forget" and "Never Again."
He reminds us that we can do nothing that matters until we
learn the lessons of the concentration camps. I've been to Ausch-
witz. The children's shoes. The rubble of ovens. The images of
human evil. When I left Auschwitz, I left part of me there. But
I took something away in its place the determination not just
to remember but also to act.
say this to you as a World War II veteran as an
American and as President of the United States. We must never
forget. We must never deny. The haunting images compel us to
guard against tyranny and inhumanity. Remembering makes us
strong. And remembering makes us act.
But we must also remember something more powerful than the
2
horror -- the triumph of the inextinguishable human spirit.
Those who survived the Holocaust could have sunk into hate and
revenge. What world would have blamed them? But, instead, they
lifted themselves -- and all of humanity -- toward a greater
goal. I believe that the ultimate lesson here is the
transcendent glory of survival. Hope triumphed over horror.
Life triumphed over death.
Elie Wiesel dedicated his life to Holocaust victims because
"anyone who does not remember betrays them again." These must
become our days of remembrance. This freedom we enjoy carries a
terrible responsibility. The genocide of WWII is over, but the
victims of other human rights abuse call to us daily from across
the globe. In the memory of the 6 million who died -- we must
not close our eyes. We must not block our ears. We must not
hold our tongues.
Holocaust survivors lead our way. When Saddam Hussein
unleashed his evil against the Kurds, Simon Wiesenthal was among
the first to speak out. He said: "Silence is admittance. "We
cannot tolerate silence." It was because of Saddam's unimaginable
evil against fellow human beings that we made our stand in the
Persian Gulf. It was a moral imperative. The world had ignored
the brewing madness 50 years ago. Never forget. Never again.
We leapt to action again to protect another threatened
people -- the Ethiopian Jews. Rudy Boschwitz was my special
emissary. It was a proud moment of my Presidency when I awarded
him the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping in what turned
3
out to be one of the most intensive humanitarian airlifts in
history. We worked closely with our friends in the Israeli
government, and in less than 24 hours the Falashas had been
delivered from harm's way; reunited with loved ones; and given
the opportunity to begin new lives in Israel.
We're here in honor of a place that drives us all toward
that kind of action. It shatters our complacency by showing us
what the face of human evil looks like. For the Simon Wiesenthal
Center is not just a museum, although its vivid images will never
let the past fade. It's also an activist organization of more
than one million members. One million separate voices bound
together in single purpose -- the call for all lives to have:
meaning, dignity, and hope.
I. thought of that earlier tonight when the Holocaust
survivors brought in the Mauthausen flag. It was one of the most
moving moments of my life. What a story -- those men and women
creating out of scraps this symbol of the values that gave them
hope. Just think -- those values were the ones this country was
founded on -- ones we too often take for granted. I wish every
American could hear this story, could see this flag.
The values those courageous Jewish victims saw symbolized in
our flag became the ones on which they founded their new home-
land. These shared values unite our country and Israel in an ex-
traordinary kinship. Values like: Freedom. Democracy. Morality.
Respect. Deeply rooted traditions of tolerance. Individual rights
and liberties. Our countries have forged an unprecedented bond -
4
- a bond of shared ideals, shared struggles, shared commitments.
Tonight, I want to return to those essential, basic values
and pledge America's eternal vigilance for justice, peace, and
human rights throughout the world. As your President, I say:
There is no room in our America for indifference. The
Holocaust must never be dehumanized, dismissed, or forgotten. We
pledge to preserve forever its memory.
There is no room in our America for evil. We must search
out and expose every last Nazi fugitive or war criminal hiding in
the shadows. We pledge to bring them to justice.
There is no room in this country for hate crimes. We must
raise our voices and the full force of our law against every hate
group, desecrater and demagogue, brown shirt or white sheet. We
pledge not to be fooled by a change in disquise -- corruption and
inhumanity still lie buried in their hearts.
There is no room in our America for bigotry. We must stand
Hesition
firm against ignorance, racism A and discrimination in any form and
any place -- in our cities, in our music, in our media, in our
minds, in our hearts. And in subtly subversive quota bills. We
pledge to point the finger of shame wherever the hatred of
bigotry festers -- and to rid our land of it for our children.
There is no room in our America -- and our world -- for
anti-semitism. The insidious ugliness of this cancer destroys
the human spirit. We pledge to root it out and conquer it
wherever it may start to grow.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a people.
5
We must assure that security of Jewish opportunity and identity
is a reality. We pledge to give our hearts and aid to helping
Jewish people in despair wherever they may be.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a nation.
Israel's survival must be guaranteed. We pledge our unwavering
support for her and for our joint goal of just and lasting peace.
There is no room in our world for religious intolerance.
We will continue to press the human rights agenda until every
oppression of Soviet Jewry has been erased. We pledge never to
give up hope -- and never to cease to work for their freedom.
Above all, we must each of us embody in our lives the lesson
of this center -- the lesson so brilliantly expressed by its
hero, Simon Wiesenthal, who reminds us: "Freedom is not a gift
from Heaven. One must fight for it every day. " That, my
friends, is our final -- and most important -- pledge.
Thank you for the privilege of sharing this evening with you
-- and for the warmth of your friendship. May God Bless us all.
#
#
#
#
Document No. 244937SS
WHITE HOUSEUSTA 91 NGGMEMORANDUM
DATE: 6/11/91
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: WEDNESDAY 6/12/91 NOON
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
PETERSMEYER
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BRADY
SMITH
BROMLEY
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
DEMAREST
SNOW
FITZWATER
GRAY
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Tony Snow, Rm. 122, x2930,
no later than NOON, Wednesday, June 12, with a copy to this office.
Thank you.
RESPONSE:
again, /cap follow up theme
of America whole of
PHILLIP D. BRADY
good.
Assistant to the President
or
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
June 10, 1991 1 p.m.
SIMONW State IWOAM 8
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
Sunday June 16, 1991
7 p.m.
Los Angeles, California
Rabbi Hier, I'll cherish this sacred gift. To you: "I lift
up the cup of redemption in thanks and gratitude. I've heard
that at Seder this Cup of Elijah is filled with wine -- and with
the promise of redemption. And I know the verse that says Elijah
"shall turn the heart of the parents to the children, and the
heart of the children to their parents." I hope this symbolic
gift can challenge us to do the same -- to reclaim our soul
through love for our human family. A love born of remembrance.
The extraordinary hero this center honors is our living
embodiment of remembrance. The two pledges of Simon Wiesenthal's
life inspire us all -- "Never Forget" and "Never Again."
He reminds us that we can do nothing that matters until we-
learn the lessons of the concentration camps. I've been to Ausch-
witz. The children's shoes. The rubble of ovens. The images of
human evil. When I left Auschwitz, I left part of me there. But
I took something away in its place -- the determination not just
to remember but also to act.
I say this to you as a World War II veteran -- as an
American and as President of the United States. We must never
forget. We must never deny. The haunting images compel us to
guard against tyranny and inhumanity. Remembering makes us
strong. And remembering makes us act.
But we must also remember something more powerful than the
2
horror -- the triumph of the inextinguishable human spirit.
Those who survived the Holocaust could have sunk into hate and
revenge. What world would have blamed them? But, instead, they
lifted themselves -- and all of humanity -- toward a greater
goal. I believe that the ultimate lesson here is the
transcendent glory of survival. Hope triumphed over horror.
Life triumphed over death.
Elie Wiesel dedicated his life to Holocaust victims because
"anyone who does not remember betrays them again." These must
become our days of remembrance. This freedom we enjoy carries a
terrible responsibility. The genocide of WWII is over, but the
victims of other human rights abuse call to us daily from across
the globe. In the memory of the 6 million who died -- we must
not close our eyes. We must not block our ears. We must not
hold our tonques.
Holocaust survivors lead our way. When Saddam Hussein
unleashed his evil against the Kurds, Simon Wiesenthal was among
the first to speak out. He said: "Silence is admittance. "We
cannot tolerate silence." It was because of Saddam's unimaginable
evil against fellow human beings that we made our stand in the
Persian Gulf. It was a moral imperative. The world had ignored
the brewing madness 50 years ago. Never forget. Never again.
We leapt to action again to protect another threatened
people -- the Ethiopian Jews. Rudy Boschwitz was my special
emissary. It was a proud moment of my Presidency when I awarded
him the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping in what turned
3
out to be one of the most intensive humanitarian airlifts in
history. We worked closely with our friends in the Israeli
government, and in less than 24 hours the Falashas had been
delivered from harm's way; reunited with loved ones; and given
the opportunity to begin new lives in Israel.
We're here in honor of a place that drives us all toward
that kind of action. It shatters our complacency by showing us
what the face of human evil looks like. For the Simon Wiesenthal
Center is not just a museum, although its vivid images will never
let the past fade. It's also an activist organization of more
than one million members. One million separate voices bound
together in single purpose -- the call for all lives to have
meaning, dignity, and hope.
I thought of that earlier tonight when the Holocaust
survivors brought in the Mauthausen flag. It was one of the most
moving moments of my life. What a story -- those men and women
creating out of scraps this symbol of the values that gave them
hope. Just think -- those values were the ones this country was
founded on -- ones we too often take for granted. I wish every
American could hear this story, could see this flag.
The values those courageous Jewish victims saw symbolized in
our flag became the ónes on which they founded their new home-
land. These shared values unite our country and Israel in an ex-
traordinary kinship. Values like: Freedom. Democracy. Morality.
Respect. Deeply rooted traditions of tolerance. Individual rights
and liberties. Our countries have forged an unprecedented bond -
4
- a bond of shared ideals, shared struggles, shared commitments.
Tonight, I want to return to those essential, basic values
and pledge America's eternal vigilance for justice, peace, and
human rights throughout the world. As your President, I say:
There is no room in our America for indifference. The
Holocaust must never be dehumanized, dismissed, or forgotten. We
pledge to preserve forever its memory.
SENE
There is no room in our America for evil. We must search
>
out and expose every last Nazi fugitive or war criminal hiding in
the shadows. We pledge to bring them to justice.
AN
There is no room in this country for hate crimes. We must
WHOLE Good
raise our voices and the full force of our law against every hate
group, desecrater and demagogue, brown shirt or white sheet. We
pledge not to be fooled by a change in disquise -- corruption and
inhumanity still lie buried in their hearts.
There is no room in our America for bigotry. We must stand
firm against ignorance, racism and discrimination in any form and
any place -- in our cities, in our music, in our media, in our
minds, in our hearts. And in subtly subversive quota bills. We
pledge to point the finger of shame wherever the hatred of
bigotry festers -- and to rid our land of it for our children.
There is no room in our America -- and our world -- for
anti-semitism. The insidious ugliness of this cancer destroys
the human spirit. We pledge to root it out and conquer it
wherever it may start to grow.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a people.
5
We must assure that security of Jewish opportunity and identity
is a reality. We pledge to give our hearts and aid to helping
Jewish people in despair wherever they may be.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a nation.
Israel's survival must be guaranteed. We pledge our unwavering
support for her and for our joint goal of just and lasting peace.
There is no room in our world for religious intolerance.
We will continue to press the human rights agenda until every_
oppression of Soviet Jewry has been erased. We pledge never to
give up hope -- and never to cease to work for their freedom.
Above all, we must each of us embody in our lives the lesson
of this center -- the lesson so brilliantly expressed by its.
hero, Simon Wiesenthal, who reminds us: "Freedom is not a gift
from Heaven. One must fight for it every day." That, my
friends, is our final -- and most important -- pledge.
Thank you for the privilege of sharing this evening with you
-- and for the warmth of your friendship. May God Bless us all.
#
#
#
#
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
June 10, 1991 1 p.m.
SIMONW Staten AWOAM {
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
Sunday June 16, 1991
7 p.m.
Los Angeles, California
Rabbi Hier, I'll cherish this sacred gift. To you: "I lift
up the cup of redemption in thanks and gratitude. II I've heard
that at Seder this Cup of Elijah is filled with wine -- and with
the promise of redemption. And I know the verse that says Elijah
"shall turn the heart of the parents to the children, and the
heart of the children to their parents." I hope this symbolic
gift can challenge us to do the same -- to reclaim our soul
through love for our human family. A love born of remembrance.
The extraordinary hero this center honors is our living
embodiment of remembrance. The two pledges of Simon Wiesenthal's
life inspire us all --- "Never Forget" and "Never Again."
He reminds us that we can do nothing that matters until we-
learn the lessons of the concentration camps. I've been to Ausch-
witz. The children's shoes. The rubble of ovens. The images of
human evil. When I left Auschwitz, I left part of me there. But
I took something away in its place -- the determination not just
to remember but also to act.
I say this to you as a World War II veteran -- as an
American -- and as President of the United States. We must never
forget. We must never deny. The haunting images compel us to
guard against tyranny and inhumanity. Remembering makes us
strong. And remembering makes us act.
But we must also remember something more powerful than the
2
horror -- the triumph of the inextinguishable human spirit.
Those who survived the Holocaust could have sunk into hate and
revenge. What world would have blamed them? But, instead, they
lifted themselves -- and all of humanity -- toward a greater
goal. I believe that the ultimate lesson here is the
transcendent glory of survival. Hope triumphed over horror.
Life triumphed over death.
Elie Wiesel dedicated his life to Holocaust victims because
"anyone who does not remember betrays them again." These must
become our days of remembrance. This freedom we enjoy carries a
terrible responsibility. The genocide of WWII is over, but the
victims of other human rights abuse call to us daily from across
the globe. In the memory of the 6 million who died -- we must
not close our eyes. We must not block our ears. We must not
hold our tongues.
Holocaust survivors lead our way. When Saddam Hussein
unleashed his evil against the Kurds, Simon Wiesenthal was among
the first to speak out. He said: "Silence is admittance. "We
cannot tolerate silence." It was because of Saddam's unimaginable
evil against fellow human beings that we made our stand in the
Persian Gulf. It was a moral imperative. The world had ignored
the brewing madness 50 years ago. Never forget. Never again.
We leapt to action again to protect another threatened
people -- the Ethiopian Jews. Rudy Boschwitz was my special
emissary. It was a proud moment of my Presidency when I awarded
him the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping in what turned
3
out to be one of the most intensive humanitarian airlifts in
history. We worked closely with our friends in the Israeli
government, and in less than 24 hours the Falashas had been
delivered from harm's way; reunited with loved ones; and given
the opportunity to begin new lives in Israel.
We're here in honor of a place that drives us all toward
that kind of action. It shatters our complacency by showing us
what the face of human evil looks like. For the Simon Wiesenthal
Center is not just a museum, although its vivid images will never
let the past fade. It's also an activist organization of more
than one million members. One million separate voices bound
together in single purpose -- the call for all lives to have
meaning, dignity, and hope.
I thought of that earlier tonight when the Holocaust
survivors brought in the Mauthausen flag. It was one of the most
moving moments of my life. What a story -- those men and women
creating out of scraps this symbol of the values that gave them
hope. Just think -- those values were the ones this country was
founded on -- ones we too often take for granted. I wish every
American could hear this story, could see this flag.
The values those courageous Jewish victims saw symbolized in
our flag became the ones on which they founded their new home-
land. These shared values unite our country and Israel in an ex-
traordinary kinship. Values like: Freedom. Democracy. Morality.
Respect. Deeply rooted traditions of tolerance. Individual rights
and liberties. Our countries have forged an unprecedented bond -
4
- a bond of shared ideals, shared struggles, shared commitments.
Tonight, I want to return to those essential, basic values
and pledge America's eternal vigilance for justice, peace, and
human rights throughout the world. As your President, I say:
There is no room in our America for indifference. The.
Holocaust must never be dehumanized, dismissed, or forgotten. We
pledge to preserve forever its memory.
There is no room in our America for evil. We must search
out and expose every last Nazi fugitive or war criminal hiding in
the shadows. We pledge to bring them to justice.
There is no room in this country for hate crimes. We must
raise our voices and the full force of our law against every hate
group, desecrater and demagogue, brown shirt or white sheet. We
pledge not to be fooled by a change in disquise -- corruption and
inhumanity still lie buried in their hearts.
There is no room in our America for bigotry. We must stand
firm against ignorance, racism and discrimination in any form and
any place -- in our cities, in our music, in our media, in our
minds, in our hearts. And in subtly subversive quota bills. We
pledge to point the finger of shame wherever the hatred of
bigotry festers -- and to rid our land of it for our children.
There is no room in our America -- and our world -- for
anti-semitism. The insidious ugliness of this cancer destroys
the human spirit. We pledge to root it out and conquer it
wherever it may start to grow.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a people.
5
We must assure that security of Jewish opportunity and identity
is a reality. We pledge to give our hearts and aid to helping
Jewish people in despair wherever they may be.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a nation.
Israel's survival must be guaranteed. We pledge our unwavering
support for her and for our joint goal of just and lasting peace.
There is no room in our world for religious intolerance.
We will continue to press the human rights agenda until every_
oppression of Soviet Jewry has been erased. We pledge never to
give up hope -- and never to cease to work for their freedom:
Above all, we must each of us embody in our lives the lesson
of this center -- the lesson so brilliantly expressed by its:
hero, Simon Wiesenthal, who reminds us: "Freedom is not a gift
from Heaven. One must fight for it every day." That, my
friends, is our final -- and most important -- pledge.
Thank you for the privilege of sharing this evening with you
-- and for the warmth of your friendship. May God Bless us all.
#
#
Tony snow
fixes. I added apara a some e
\
word Fouier smithing I'll be glad to
see Jews. Dreswise,
explain it you want
Richard H.
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
June 12, 1991 5 p.m.
SIMONW Draft Four
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER DINNER KEYNOTE
Sunday June 16, 1991
7 p.m.
Los Angeles, California
Rabbi Hier, I'll cherish this sacred gift. To you: "I lift
up the cup of redemption in thanks and gratitude." I've heard
that at Seder this Cup of Elijah is filled with wine -- and with
the promise of redemption. I know the verse that says Elijah
"shall turn the heart of the parents to the children, and the
heart of the children to their parents. " I hope this symbolic
gift can challenge us to do the same -- to reclaim our soul
through love for our human family. A love born of remembrance.
The extraordinary hero this center honors is our living
embodiment of remembrance. The two pledges of Simon Wiesenthal's
life inspire us all -- "Never Forget" and "Never Again."
He reminds us that we as a people must study closely the
lessons of the concentration camps. I've been to Auschwitz.
I've seen the images of human evil. The children's shoes. The
rubble of ovens. When I left, I left part of me. But I took
something away in its place -- the determination not just to
remember but also to act.
I say this to you as a World War II veteran -- as an
American -- and as President of the United States. The haunting
images compel us to guard against tyranny and inhumanity.
Remembering makes us strong. Remembering makes us act.
But we must also remember something more powerful than the
horror: the triumph of the inextinguishable human spirit. Those
H we have betr aciong years to promole peram in the touer
Unim, melvdry he heeder. to practice one's Ml.gomand Am Freedom to
migrate. And our action has prod off. Jews to stay
in the forcer Unim Can now saudy 2 Hebrew; Jews who choise D leave can
who survived the Holocaust could have sunk into hate and revenge.
do
to.
Instead, they lifted themselves, and all of humanity, toward a
OVER
greater goal. I believe that the ultimate lesson here is the
#
transcendent glory of survival. Hope triumphed over horror.
have
made
Life triumphed over death.
Elie Wiesel dedicates his life to the Holocaust and its
aliyah to Iszel-
victims because "anyone who does not remember betrays them
This is
again." The freedom we enjoy carries a profound responsibility.
freelom
in
The genocide of WWII is over, but the victims of other human
action.
rights abuses call to us daily from across the globe. In the
memory of the millions who died -- we must not forget. We must
not close our hearts. We must not fail to act.
In the GUIE,
Holocaust survivors lead our way When Saddam Hussein
X
unleashed his evil against the Kurds
Simon Wiesenthal was among
the first to speak out. He said: "Silence is admittance. We
cannot tolerate silence." It was because of Saddam's
unimaginable evil against fellow human beings that we made our
stand in the Persian Gulf. It was a moral imperative. The world
had ignored the brewing madness 50 years ago.
We leapt to action again to protect another threatened
people: the Ethiopian Jews. Rudy Boschwitz was my special emis-
sary. It was a proud moment of my Presidency when I awarded him
the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping in what turned out to
be one of the most intensive humanitarian airlifts in history.
Thanks in considerable part to our efforts, led by Rudy, the
Falashas had been delivered from harm's way within 30 hours --
the Ethiopian JEWS
our is this to challenge refecure. ruly
3
reunited with loved ones -- and given the opportunity to begin
new lives in Israel.
These events remind us that Israel was created as a secure
refuge for Jews who face or flee persecution. We've learned the
hard lesson that geography alone cannot guarantee security for
Israel. We've learned that military power alone cannot guarantee
security. Israel and her neighbors will enjoy true and lasting
security only when they achieve genuine reconciliation. That's
the goal behind the peace initiative I launched three months ago.
Secretary Baker has worked tirelessly to follow up, and
direct negotiations between Israel and her neighbors no longer
seem a distant dream. The process we have designed can promote
peace -- but only if the parties in the region muster the
political will to make peace happen. If they do, the issues that
divide them will fall away -- and the Middle East at last can
begin the journey toward peaceful coexistence.
We're here tonight in honor of a place that drives us to
use the pain of our past as a spur to forge a finer future. The
Simon Wiesenthal Center is not just a museum, although its vivid
images will never let the past fade. It's also an activist
organization of more than one million members. One million
separate voices bound together in single purpose -- the call for
all lives to have meaning, dignity, and hope.
I thought of that earlier tonight when the Holocaust
survivors brought in the Mauthausen flag. It was one of the
most
moving mome its of my life. What a story -- those men and women
4
creating out of scraps this symbol of the values that gave them
hope. Just think -- those values were the ones upon which this
country was founded -- ones we too often take for granted. I
wish every American could hear their story, could see this flag.
The values those courageous Jewish victims saw symbolized in
our flag became the ones on which they founded their new home-
land. These shared values unite our country and Israel in an ex-
traordinary kinship. Values like: Freedom. Democracy. Morality.
Respect. Deeply rooted traditions of tolerance. Individual rights
and liberties. Our countries have forged an unprecedented bond -
- a bond of shared ideals, shared struggles, shared commitments.
Tonight, I want to return to those essential, basic values
and pledge America's eternal vigilance for justice, peace, and
human rights throughout the world. As your President, I say:
There is no room in our America for indifference. The
Holocaust must never be dehumanized or dismissed. We pledge it
will also never be forgotten.
There is no room in this country for hate crimes. We must
raise our voices and the full force of our law against every hate
group, desecrater and demagogue, brown shirt or white sheet. We
pledge not to be fooled by a change in disguise -- corruption and
inhumanity still lie buried in their hearts.
There is no room in our America for bigotry. We must stand
firm against ignorance, racism and discrimination in any form and
any place -- in our cities, in our media, in our minds, in our
hearts. We pledge to expose the corrosive hatred of bigotry
5
wherever it festers; and to rid our land of it for our children.
There is no room in our America -- and our world -- for
anti-semitism. The insidious ugliness of this cancer destroys
the human spirit. We pledge to root it out and conquer it
wherever it may start to grow.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a people.
We must be committed to the security of Jewish opportunity and
identity. We pledge to make this security a reality for all
peoples of the world.
There is no room in our world for persecution of a nation.
Israel's survival must be guaranteed. We pledge our unwavering
support for her and for our joint goal of just and lasting peace.
There is no room in our world for intolerance -- including
religious intolerance. We will continue to press the human
rights agenda until every oppression of minorities -- of any kind
-- has been erased. We pledge never to give up hope -- and never
to cease working for a world free from bigotry and prejudice.
Above all, we must each of us embody in our lives the lesson
of this center -- the lesson so brilliantly expressed by its
hero, Simon Wiesenthal, who reminds us: "Freedom is not a gift
from Heaven. One must fight for it every day." That, my
friends, is our final -- and most important -- pledge.
Thank you for the privilege of sharing this evening with you
-- and for the warmth of your friendship. May God Bless us all.
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