[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 33 (Monday, August 23, 1999)]
[Pages 1646-1647]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Death of Ignaz Bubis

August 17, 1999

    Hillary and I were saddened to learn of the death of Ignaz Bubis, 
the President of Germany's Central Council of Jews. We extend our 
deepest condolences to his family, the Jewish community in Germany, and 
the many non-Jews in Germany for whom he was a beacon.
    Imprisoned in Nazi labor camps while still a boy, Ignaz Bubis lost 
virtually his entire family in the Holocaust. After the war, he settled 
in Frankfurt and became a successful businessman and a key figure in the 
small community that sought to reestablish Jewish life in Germany. He 
was elected early in this decade to lead Germany's Jewish community, and 
he used his position to engage his fellow citizens on issues regarding 
their nation's past and the need for vigilance to uphold the values at 
the heart of contemporary Germany. Because of the clarity of his vision 
and the persuasiveness of his message, he became one of his nation's 
foremost champions of tolerance and openness. He was a friend and valued 
counselor to many of Germany's leaders. I was greatly impressed by his 
wisdom and determination to build a more tolerant world.
    Ignaz Bubis never ceased to bear witness to history and the 
consuming evil that was perpetrated earlier in this century. But he also 
demonstrated that the demands of conscience and the goal of 
reconciliation are not at odds but instead must be pursued together. At 
a time when conflicts in the Balkans have confronted Europe and the 
world

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with seemingly intractable hatred, the example of Ignaz Bubis is one we 
must all heed.