On the recordMay 26, 2010
Thank you. It would be easy to spend this time that I have, and in fact this entire hour, talking about the contributions that Jewish people have made to American history and to American science and culture. If you look at the back of a dollar bill, you will find the seal of the United States. And you will find that the 13 original States are depicted in the form of a Star of David on the back of every dollar bill. And that's to reflect the support that Jews provided during the Revolutionary War for our freedom as a country. It also would be easy to spend this time, and in fact the whole hour, talking about people who we know who have lived upstanding lives as Jews and reflected our values in ways that have caused America to appreciate what they have given us. I am thinking, for instance, of my father's mother, who came to America fleeing oppression in Europe 110 years ago. I am thinking of both of my mother's parents. My mother's parents told me that their finest hour was when they got to visit Jerusalem. And yet they came from Europe to North America in the hope of achieving freedom, and they did. But I would like to try to do something that's in some respects a little more difficult, if I may, which is try to explain in some general way what Jews have meant in this country for our intellectual and moral life as a country.
