[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 3, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 26661-26662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10504]



[[Page 26659]]

Vol. 81

Tuesday,

No. 85

May 3, 2016

Part III





The President





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Proclamation 9431--Jewish American Heritage Month, 2016



Proclamation 9432--National Foster Care Month, 2016



Proclamation 9433--National Mental Health Awareness Month, 2016
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  Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 85 / Tuesday, May 3, 2016 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 9431 of April 28, 2016

                
Jewish American Heritage Month, 2016

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                At America's birth, our Founders fought off tyranny and 
                declared a set of ideals--including life, liberty, and 
                the pursuit of happiness--that would forever guide our 
                country's course. For generations since, Jewish 
                Americans, having shared in the struggle for freedom, 
                have been instrumental in ensuring our Nation stays 
                true to the principles enshrined in our founding 
                documents. They have helped bring about enduring 
                progress in every aspect of our society, shaping our 
                country's character and embodying the values we hold 
                dear. This month, as we pay tribute to their indelible 
                contributions, we recommit to ridding our world of 
                bigotry and injustice and reflect on the extraordinary 
                ways in which Jewish Americans have made our Union more 
                perfect.

                Many of the Jewish people who reached our Nation's 
                shores throughout our history did so fleeing the 
                oppression they encountered in areas around the world. 
                Driven by the possibility of charting a freer future, 
                they endeavored, on their own and as a community, to 
                make real the promise of America--in their individual 
                lives and in the life of our country. Determined to 
                confront the racism that kept this promise from being 
                fully realized, many Jewish Americans found a cause in 
                the Civil Rights Movement that--in its call for freedom 
                and justice--echoed the timeless message of Exodus and 
                the Jewish people's journey through the ages. 
                Reflecting on the march in Selma, Rabbi Abraham Joshua 
                Heschel once noted, ``I felt my legs were praying.'' 
                From the fight for women's rights to LGBT rights to 
                workers' rights, many in the Jewish American community, 
                drawing on lessons from their own past, have trumpeted 
                a clarion call for equality and justice.

                We cannot pay proper respect to the legacy of Jewish 
                Americans without also reflecting on the rise of anti-
                Semitism in many parts of the world, and in remembering 
                the lessons of the Holocaust, we recognize the 
                imperative need to root out prejudice. Subjecting men, 
                women, and children to persecution on the basis of 
                their ancestry and faith, the scourge of anti-Semitism 
                demands that we declare through action and solidarity 
                that an attack on one faith is an attack on all faiths. 
                That is why the United States is leading the 
                international effort to combat anti-Semitism--we helped 
                organize the first United Nations General Assembly 
                meeting on anti-Semitism last year, and we are asking 
                countries around the world to join us in giving this 
                challenge the focus it demands. In celebrating Jewish 
                Americans' contributions to our country, we also 
                reaffirm our unshakeable commitment to Israel's 
                security and the close bonds between our two nations 
                and our peoples. Throughout my Administration, the 
                multifaceted relationship between our countries has 
                grown and strengthened to an unprecedented degree, 
                particularly with regard to U.S.-Israeli security 
                assistance and cooperation.

                The Jewish American experience and our Nation as a 
                whole have always been held together by the forces of 
                hope and resilience. During Jewish American Heritage 
                Month, as we reflect on our past and look toward the 
                future, let us carry forward our mutual legacy, 
                grounded in our interconnected roots, and affirm that 
                it is from the extraordinary richness of our bond that 
                we draw strength. And let us renew our dedication to 
                the

[[Page 26662]]

                work of building a fully inclusive tomorrow--one where 
                a great diversity of origins is not only accepted, but 
                also celebrated--here at home and around the world.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim May 2016 as Jewish 
                American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to 
                visit www.JewishHeritageMonth.gov to learn more about 
                the heritage and contributions of Jewish Americans and 
                to observe this month with appropriate programs, 
                activities, and ceremonies.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-eighth day of April, in the year two thousand 
                sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and fortieth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2016-10504
Filed 5-2-16; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F6-P