    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [December 10, 2007]
    [Pages 1533-1534]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Jewish Community Leaders
    December 10, 2007

        I've just had an extraordinary meeting with Jewish men and women,
    many of whom are from different parts of the world, who are fortunate to
    call America home. And they do so because of our great tradition of
    religious freedom and religious tolerance.
        We discussed how America must remain engaged in helping people
    realize the great blessings of religious freedom and where

    [[Page 1534]]

    we find societies in which religious freedom is not allowed to practice,
    that we must do something about it.
        I recognize today is International Human Rights Day. And a good way
    to celebrate this day is to invited people from our country and from
    around the world to share with me their stories, stories of courage,
    stories of people who simply want to be in a society where people are
    allowed to worship freely.
        We discussed the world in which we live today. We all recognize that
    we're in an ideological struggle against people who murder the innocent
    in order to achieve political objectives, and that on the one hand,
    America must do everything to protect ourselves and are doing so. In the
    long term, the best way to defeat an ideology of hate is with an
    ideology of hope. And an ideology of hope is one that says, we value
    your religion, we honor the way you worship. And in our society, you can
    worship any way you so choose, and that's the vision and dream for
    societies around the world.
        So I want to thank you for sharing your stories with me. I thank you
    for your courage. May God bless you all. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:10 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the
    White House.