[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21288]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO AMBASSADOR RICHARD SCHIFTER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 9, 2009

  Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Ambassador 
Richard Schifter--a friend and lifelong champion for human rights. His 
own harrowing experience as a Holocaust survivor has been foundational 
to his efforts on behalf of oppressed, persecuted people the world 
over.
  In the coming weeks, Ambassador Schifter will be honored by Project 
Interchange and the American Jewish International Relations Institute 
for his multi-faceted and important work in this arena. I join them in 
marking his life-time achievements.
  In his two decades of government service at the Department of State 
and the National Security Council, he never wavered in his support for 
democracy and human rights--bedrocks of the American experience which 
shamefully are too often relegated to the sidelines in our foreign 
policy establishment.
  As a former U.S. representative in the United Nations Human Rights 
Commission and former deputy U.S. representative in the U.N. Security 
Council, he acquired a keen understanding of how the institution works, 
and some of the political and ideological forces at play including 
those which seek to undermine the United States and delegitimize the 
state of Israel. He has effectively spurred congressional action to 
help rally friendly nations to support the U.S. position at the U.N.
  In a 2008 presentation at the University of Virginia Law School, he 
said, ``As an immigrant rather than a native of the United States, let 
me tell you that I believe in the concept of American Exceptionalism.''
  I share this belief and would say that Ambassador Schifter is himself 
an exceptional American.

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