ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:95042706.NNE
DATE:04/27/95
TITLE:SPECTER STRESSES TOLERANCE, BROTHERHOOD IN COMBATTING TERRORISM
TEXT:
(Senator Arlen Specter, others at Holocaust remembrances) (550)
By Joanne L. Nix
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- On the 50th anniversary of the liberation of
concentration camps in Europe, Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman
of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, spoke to a gathering
of Holocaust survivors and their families gathered on the steps of the
Nation's Capitol.
"In today's society," he said, "memorial services for victims of
hatred, extremism and violence are all too frequent." He cited the
Oklahoma City bombing, which occurred last week when a terrorist bomb
exploded at a Federal building leaving hundreds dead and injured, as
the latest in a string of terrorist attacks, both inside the United
States and outside. "We must commit ourselves to principles of
tolerance, brotherhood and justice," he said.
Specter was a featured speaker at the ceremony which was held on the
steps of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on April 27. The
program, now in its sixth consecutive year, is coordinated in the
United States by B'nai B'rith, a worldwide Jewish service
organization.
Hundreds of communities throughout the world are also publicly
reciting the names of a cross-section of the millions of Jewish and
non-Jewish men, women and children who were murdered during the
Holocaust.
The title of the ceremony "Unto Every Person There is a Name" was
chosen "to restore some dignity to those who were stripped of their
identities and robbed of their lives," said Tommy Baer, international
president of B'nai B'rith. "We remember the six million Jewish victims
each year by reading as many names in as many communities as possible.
According to Specter, the U.S. Capitol building is "the greatest
symbol of freedom and justice in the world." He described the reading
of Holocaust victims' names as a significant expression of the dignity
of humankind.
Specter also reported that following the Memorial ceremony, he was
scheduled to chair a Senate Judicial Committee hearing which would
explore ways to prevent "the sort of tragic terrorism we witnessed
last week in Oklahoma City."
"But," he warned, "principles of freedom, including freedom of speech
are fundamental. We must answer (those with whom we disagree) but we
must be careful not to deny them the right to speak ... even though I
disagree with everything he or she might say."
Specter began the reading of the commemorative list of names. One by
one other members of the Senate, including Jim Jeffords (R-Vt.),
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), stepped forward to
continue the reading. They were followed by Holocaust survivors.
At the same time, another ceremony was being held inside the great
hall of the U.S. Capitol building where hundreds of high-ranking
guests -- top government officials and members of Congress were seated
with diplomats from many nations.
This ceremony also featured some of the men who, 50 years ago as
soldiers, helped liberate survivors of Nazi concentration camps. One
of those men now is the 92-year-old Senator Strom Thurmond, who told
the audience he entered the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in Germany
in April of 1945 and saw hundreds of bodies.
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