Remarks at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Dinner in Los Angeles, California June 16, 1991

Administration of George Bush, 1991 / June 16

all. But most of all, may God bless the tion KNBC; Porntip Narkhirunkanok, 1989 United States of America. Thank you very Miss Universe; Elizabeth Szu, Inder Singh, much. Thank you. and Ky Ngo, coordinators for the event; John Tsu, senior adviser for the event; Henry Note: The President spoke at 12:38 p.m. at Tang, an education and sports leader in the Mile Square Park. In his remarks, he re- community; Leo Esaki, 1973 Nobel Prize ferred to Senator John Seymour; Representa- tives Dana Rohrabacher, Robert K. Dornan, winner for physics; President Saddam Hus- C. Christopher Cox, Norman Y. Mineta, sein of Iraq; Patricia F. Saiki, Administrator David Dreier, and Nancy Pelosi; Delegate of the Small Business Administration; Julia to Congress Eni F.H. Faleomavaega; Deputy Chang Bloch, U.S. Ambassador to Nepal; Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao; and Sichan Siv, Deputy Assistant to the Frank Kwan, a producer for television sta- President for Public Liaison.

Remarks at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Dinner in Los Angeles, California June 16, 1991

Thank you all very much. Let me first I also want to pay a special tribute to thank my dear friend, Jerry Weintraub, for Gayle Wilson. Sorry Pete couldn’t be with that generous introduction. And thanks to us tonight; he’s up wrestling with the budg- Wilson Phillips for the anthem so beau- et problems. And to Senator John Seymour, tifully done. My thanks to Tony Danza for our wonderful new Senator in the United being here. [Laughter] Had to go out and States Senate; to David Dreier, who’s with get a haircut so we would recognize him. us tonight—down here—a fine Member of [Laughter] But what a good man he is. the United States Congress. I’m told Mayor And Barbara and I are just delighted to Bradley was to be here. I haven’t seen him. be here tonight. We wanted to specially But anyway, I wanted to salute him. We’re be here to salute our—yours and our— in his city and delighted to be here. Is he guest of honor. As you may know, Arnold— there? Well, Tom, I can’t see you, but nice Arnold Schwarzenegger—spent a day with to see you. us up at Camp David, and competing with And all the friends of Simon Wiesenthal Barbara in tobogganing, she broke her leg. Center who are here tonight. The Counsel [Laughter] Then, Arnold spent a day with General of Israel is with us, Ron Ronen. us at the White House promoting fitness, And it’s a particular pleasure to see our and I ended up in the hospital with arterial friend, the Bushes’ friend, Rabbi Hier, fibrillation, or something like that. [Laugh- again. Thank you, sir, for that honor, that ter] You’ll never eat lunch in my town again, beautiful cup. And let me just say that your Arnold. [Laughter] But I’m delighted to see vision, your conscience, and commitment you. Come to think of it, you could be set a challenge for us all. I will cherish my special emissary to Congress. [Laughter] this sacred gift of this Cup of Elijah. To Talk about ‘‘The Terminator.’’ you, ‘‘I lift up the cup of redemption in Honestly, though, this guy is a wonderful thanks and gratitude.’’ choice, wonderful choice, for your National Let me say that I’ve heard that at Seder Leadership Award. He embodies the good, this Cup of Elijah is filled, as he just said, essential values of this world, values like with wine and with the promise of redemp- caring and fairness and faith. He’s simply tion. I know the verse that says Elijah ‘‘shall a decent, nice human being. And congratu- turn the heart of the parents to the children, lations, my friend. And thank you for hon- and the heart of the children to their par- oring this wonderful American. ents.’’ I really hope that this symbolic

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gift can challenge us to do the same, to and final accounting of his precious life. reclaim our soul through the love of the We all know Elie Wiesel. He dedicates human family, a love borne of remem- his life to the Holocaust and its victims brance. because ‘‘anyone who does not remember Let me just make a few comments, eating betrays them again.’’ The freedom we enjoy before the broccoli is served—[laughter]— carries a profound responsibility. Now the and asking your forgiveness for pushing on. victims of other human rights abuses call We have a big day tomorrow, off in Colo- to us daily from across the globe. In the rado and Wisconsin, before returning to memory of the millions who died, we must Washington. So, please forgive us. But let not forget. We must not close our hearts. me just say a word about this Center and We must not fail to act. for the man it’s named for. The extraor- We’ve been acting for years to promote dinary hero that this center honors is our freedom in the Soviet Union, including the living embodiment of remembrance. The freedoms of religion and emigration. That two pledges of Simon Wiesenthal’s life inaction has paid off. Jews in the Soviet Union spire us all—‘‘Never forget’’ and ‘‘Never can now study Hebrew. Jews who choose again.’’ to leave can do so. Some delays, admittedly, He reminds us that we as a people must but they can leave. Hundreds of thousands study closely the lessons of the concentra- have made aliyah to Israel. This is freedom tion camps. And, yes, like many here, Bar- in action. bara and I have been to Auschwitz. We’ve seen the images of human evil. And literally, In the Gulf, Simon Wiesenthal was when I left, I left part of me. But I took among the first to speak out against Saddam something away in its place: the determina- Hussein’s brutality. He said: ‘‘Silence is ad- tion not just to remember but also to act. mittance. We cannot tolerate silence.’’ It I say this to you as a World War II vet- was because of Saddam’s aggression that eran, as an American, and now as President we made our stand in the Persian Gulf. of the United States: The haunting images The world had ignored the brewing mad- compel us to guard against tyranny and in- ness 50 years ago. We would not make the humanity. Remembering makes us strong. same mistake this time. It was a moral im- Remembering makes us act. perative to act. But there’s something else. We must also As I contemplated as Commander in remember something more powerful than Chief of the Armed Forces what action to the horror: the triumph of the inextinguish- take against Saddam Hussein’s aggression, able human spirit. Those who survived the I thought of the world’s inaction those many Holocaust could have sunk into hate and years ago when first the army and then revenge. Instead, they lifted themselves and the SS marched into Poland. It was on my all of humanity toward a greater goal. I mind as I had to make this fateful decision believe that the ultimate lesson here is the to send our sons and daughters into combat transcendent glory of survival. Hope tri- in the Gulf. umphed over horror. Life triumphed over And then there’s exciting and emotional death. freeing of the Ethiopian Jews that was re- And we must also remember the story ferred to a minute ago. Rudy Boschwitz, of a single life. In this case, the story of a former United States Senator, a wonderful a great man named Raoul Wallenberg, a man, was our special emissary. Recently in story brought to the conscience of the world the Rose Garden, I was privileged to honor by another great man, the one whose name him, Bob Frasure of the National Security this center bears. When I was over with Council, Irvin Hicks of the State Depart- Barbara in Budapest we went to Raoul’s ment, Robert Houdek there in our Em- memorial to pay tribute. His actions embassy—embattled Embassy in Addis Ababa. bodied the highest ideals of human decency For their extraordinary actions we honored and morality, a hero of our times. We owe them, helping in what turned out to be him not only tribute, not only remem- one of the most intensive humanitarian air- brance, but also commitment, to have a full lifts in history. Thanks in considerable part to

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the efforts of the United States—a lot of the ones on which they founded their new people in the United States—the Ethiopian homeland. These shared values unite our Jews were delivered from harm’s way within country and Israel in an extraordinary, spe- 30 hours, reunited with loved ones, and cial kinship—values like freedom, democ- given the opportunity to begin new lives racy, morality, respect, deeply rooted tradi- in Israel. What a joyous, wonderful home- tions of tolerance, individual rights, and lib- coming. erties. Our countries have forged an un- These events remind us that Israel was precedented bond, a bond of shared ideals, created as a refuge for Jews who face or shared struggles, shared commitments. flee persecution. So, our challenge is to Tonight, I want to return to those essen- make Israel truly secure. We learned the tial, basic values and pledge America’s eter- hard lesson that geography alone cannot nal vigilance for justice, peace, and human guarantee security for Israel. We’ve learned rights throughout the world. As your Presi- that military power alone cannot guarantee dent, I say there is no room in America her security. Israel and her neighbors will for indifference. The Holocaust must never enjoy true and lasting security only when be dehumanized or dismissed. We pledge they achieve genuine reconciliation. And it will also never be forgotten. that’s the goal behind the peace initiative There is no room in this country for hate that I launched 3 months ago. crimes. We must raise our voices and the Our Secretary of State has worked tire- full force of our law against every hate lessly to follow up, and direct negotiations group, desecrater and demagog, brown shirt between Israel and her neighbors no longer or white sheet. We will not be fooled by seem such a distant dream. The process a change in disguise if corruption and inhu- we have designed can promote peace, but manity still lie buried in their hearts. only if the parties in the region muster the There is no room—no room at all—in political will to make it happen. If they do, America for bigotry. And we will stand firm the issues that divide them will fall away, against intolerance, racism, and discrimina- and the Middle East at last can begin the tion in any form or any place: in our cities, journey toward lasting peace. in our media, in our minds, in our hearts. We’re here tonight in honor of a place And we pledge to expose the corrosive ha- that drives us to use the pain of our past literally to forge a better future. The Simon tred of bigotry wherever it festers and to Wiesenthal Center is not just a museum, rid our land of it for our children’s sake. although its vivid images will never let the There is no room in our America, in our past fade. It’s also an activist organization world, for anti-Semitism. The insidious ugli- of more than one million members, one ness of this cancer destroys the human spir- million separate voices bound together in it. We must root it out and conquer it wher- single purpose: the call for all lives to have ever it may start to grow. meaning, dignity, and hope. There is no room in our world for perse- I must say that was running through my cution of a people. We must be committed mind when the Holocaust survivors brought to the security, opportunity, and identity in the Mauthausen flag. What a story, those for all peoples of the world. men and women creating out of scraps this There’s no room in our world for persecu- symbol of the values that gave them hope. tion of a nation. Israel’s survival will be Just think, those values were the ones upon guaranteed. And the best way to do that which this country was founded, ones we is through a just and lasting peace. too often take for granted, I’m afraid, in And above all, we must, each of us, em- our busy lives. I just wish that every Amer- body in our lives the lesson of this wonder- ican could hear their story. I wish every ful center so brilliantly expressed by its American could see this flag and feel the hero, Simon Wiesenthal, who reminds us: same emotion that I felt when these sur- ‘‘Freedom is not a gift from Heaven. One vivors brought it to this stage. must fight for it every day.’’ And that, my The values those courageous Jewish vic- friends, is our final and most important tims saw symbolized in our flag became pledge.

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Thank you very much for the privilege dent’s Counsel on Physical Fitness and of sharing this evening with you and for Sports; Gayle Wilson, wife of Gov. Pete Wil- the warmth of your friendship, for the dedi- son of California; Senator John Seymour; cation of your purpose. And may God bless Representative David Dreier; Thomas Brad- the United States, the greatest country on ley, mayor of Los Angeles; Ron Ronen, Coun- the face of the Earth. Thank you very much. sel General of Israel; humanitarians Simon Wiesenthal and Elie Wiesel; Swedish dip- Note: The President spoke at 7:20 p.m. in lomat Raoul Wallenberg; President Saddam the Los Angeles Ballroom at the Century Hussein of Iraq; former Senator Rudy Bosch- Plaza Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to witz; Robert C. Frasure, National Security Jerry Weintraub and Rabbi Marvin Hier, Council Director for African Affairs; Irvin board member and dean of the Simon Hicks, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Wiesenthal Center; the singing group Wilson for African´ Affairs; Robert G. Houdek, Phillips; actor Tony Danza, master of cere- Charge d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in monies for the dinner; Arnold Ethiopia; and Secretary of State James A. Schwarzenegger, Chairman of the Presi- Baker III.

Exchange With Reporters Aboard Air Force One June 17, 1991

The President. We received a second let- that we can move as quickly as possible ter from President Gorbachev, and it relates to conclude it. But I have to say this is to the arms control situation, the START very positive. differences. We view it as a positive response. Obviously, when you’re dealing with Soviet-U.S. Relations these details on START, when you’re deal- Q. Did the letter discuss any kind of time- ing with highly technical issues, it’s hard table on wrapping all this up? to categorize letters of this nature. But the The President. I don’t think so. It didn’t tone was good, the determination to reach discuss—you mean on dates? No. But what agreement was positive. And we’re looking it did is to respond to some of our sugges- very closely at the details, which I think tions on START and to build on some sug- would be most inappropriate to discuss gestions that they had previously made. But here. We’re down to some—as I mentioned I’d say it’s a narrowing of differences, and the other day coming out here—some very that’s what we’re—we’re in agreement here fine points on arms control. where it’s 96 percent, or, you know, close So, that’s two letters in a very short period to it, concluded. I remember Moiseyev sit- of time—the first, very positive tone on the ting in the Oval Office saying, ‘‘This much grain credits. We’re looking forward to a visit this week, I think it is, from Mr. Yeltsin separates us,’’ just this much. And so, I when he comes here. And this last, the sec- think maybe it’s a little less today. But we’ve ond letter on START, I view it as very got to take a look at it. important. Q. Is this a response to—— I know your next question will be, well, The President. I wouldn’t say break- when will we have a summit meeting to through, but I think it’s progress. initial something or sign something on Q. Is it a response to the ideas that were START? I just don’t know the answer to put forth in Lisbon? that. General Scowcroft can maybe follow The President. Yes. up on it. But we don’t have the answer. Q. And do you think that Baker and I’m still holding the dates at the end of Bessmertnykh are going to be able to kind June and the end of July, and I’m hoping of tie this up in Berlin?

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