[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.