    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [June 4, 1991]
    [Pages 606-607]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 606]]

    Remarks at the Awards Presentation Ceremony for Emigration Assistance to
    Ethiopian Jews
    June 4, 1991

        I am just delighted to see all of you here in the Rose Garden to
    celebrate a wonderful thing and to honor four people of the many who
    participated in permitting people to go home. And I have had a chance to
    express my personal appreciation to Senator Boschwitz and this team of
    able American diplomats who made possible a humanitarian rescue mission
    of heroic proportions.
        Their efforts set the stage for an airlift over the weekend of May
    24th which brought freedom for one of history's most remarkable people,
    the Ethiopian Jews.
        As civil war escalated in that country, we worried. This year it
    grew stronger, and prospects for the Falashas' departure to Israel were
    jeopardized. And their future security looked increasingly in question.
    And I know everybody out here that has talked to me about this and
    checked in with friends in the administration felt very strongly about
    that.
        In April, as insurgent forces closed in on the capital, I called
    Rudy Boschwitz. I asked Senator Boschwitz to go to Addis Ababa urgently
    as a personal emissary of the President to seek to arrange the expedited
    departure of the Ethiopian Jews. Events since Senator Boschwitz and his
    team took their trip have unfolded with dazzling speed. And thanks to
    him and especially to his colleagues here and others who aren't with us
    today, arrangements were put in place between Israel and Ethiopia for
    one of the most bold humanitarian airlifts in history. It succeeded, in
    less than 24 hours, in carrying more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to new
    lives in Israel.
        The London roundtable, chaired by the United States, resulted in a
    joint declaration by the Ethiopian combatants who have agreed to
    organize an all-parties conference to select a transitional government
    there. We view that decision as a commitment to the democratic process
    and hope that all Ethiopian political parties and groups in Ethiopia
    will take advantage of this opportunity to help build a pluralistic
    future for their country.
        As I say, for all of us here today and I think for all the Jews
    around the world, this was an event of emotional proportions. And I just
    want you to know that I share in that emotional feeling that something
    wonderful has happened.
        So, in recognition of his extraordinary efforts to arrange for the
    evacuation of the Falashas at this crucial moment during this period of
    dramatic political change in Ethiopia, I am today awarding Senator
    Boschwitz the Presidential Citizen's Medal. And at the same time, I am
    presenting special awards for exceptional service to the three
    individuals who made up the Senator's courageous diplomatic team. And
    Rudy sings their praises to high heavens for the work they did: Irvin
    Hicks, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; Robert
    Frasure, the Director of the African Affairs here in the White House at
    the National Security Council; and then one who's not with us today but
    is ably represented, Robert Houdek, our Charge d'Affaires of our Embassy
    in Addis, operating under fire, under great pressure, performing
    admirably. Mrs. Mary Houdek is accepting the award on behalf of her
    husband who is still in Ethiopia.
        And in presenting these awards, I also want to make special mention
    of someone else, and I'm talking about Assistant Secretary Hank Cohen in
    his role in this remarkable odyssey. Operation Solomon represents a
    culmination for his leadership over the years on this question of the
    Ethiopian Jews. And all of this occurred at the same time when the
    Angola accords were signed, a negotiation in which, as we all know, Hank
    Cohen played an extraordinarily important role.
        I salute the contribution which all of them have made to this
    tremendous success in removing the Ethiopian Jews from harm's way and
    reuniting them with their loved ones in Israel. And I also salute your

    [[Page 607]]

    efforts to bring peace and democracy to that country, to Ethiopia, a
    troubled country with which we feel a special kinship in spite of the
    years of bad relations under the previous regime.
        And now it's a privilege and a pleasure to get on with this small
    awards ceremony, but I think I speak for everybody in the audience when
    I say we do this with grateful hearts. And now I might ask my military
    aide, Major Boschwitz--[laughter]--Major Boschwitz. [Laughter] Sorry--
    Major Bonwit to--close, Dave--to read the first citation, if you would,
    sir.

                        Note: The President spoke at 3:19 p.m. in the Rose
                            Garden at the White House. In his remarks, he
                            referred to former Senator Rudy Boschwitz; Irvin
                            Hicks, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
                            African Affairs; Robert C. Frasure, National
                            Security Council Director for African Affairs;
                            Robert G. Houdek, Charge d'Affaires at the U.S.
                            Embassy in Ethiopia, and his wife, Mary; Herman
                            J. Cohen, Assistant Secretary of State for
                            African Affairs, and Major David F. Bonwit,
                            Marine Corps Aide to the President.