Political Quotes

“today I mourn the loss of a tremendous champion for human rights and the State of Israel and one of my personal heroes and mentors, Ambassador Richard Schifter. Ambassador Schifter lived a truly remarkable life. After escaping Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938, he bravely returned to Europe just a few short years later as one of the U.S. Army's ``Ritchie Boys'', German-speaking officers trained in counterintelligence at Camp Ritchie in Maryland. While serving in Europe, he learned that all of his family had been killed in the Holocaust. At just over 20 years old, Ambassador Schifter had experienced more adversity than most of us see in a lifetime. Nevertheless, he spent the next seven decades demonstrating incredible faith and courage as he strived to make the world a better place. Ambassador Schifter was successful in this mission. After he graduated from Yale Law School, he went on to become an attorney, advocating for the rights of Native American Tribes facing discrimination at the hands of the U.S. Government. Under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, U.S. Representative to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Commission, and as Deputy U.S. Representative to the UN Security Council. Under President Clinton, he served as Special Assistant to the President on the staff of the National Security Council and as Special Advisor to the Secretary of State.…”