George H.W. Bush: “Ethiopian Jews June 4, 1991 I am just delighted to see all of you here in the Rose Garden to celebrate a wonderful thing…”

“Ethiopian Jews June 4, 1991 I am just delighted to see all of you here in the Rose Garden to celebrate a wonderful thing and to honor four people of the many who participated in permitting people to go home. And I have had a chance to express my personal appreciation to Senator Boschwitz and this team of able American diplomats who made possible a humanitarian rescue mission of heroic proportions. Their efforts set the stage for an airlift over the weekend of May 24th which brought freedom for one of history's most remarkable people, the Ethiopian Jews. As civil war escalated in that country, we worried. This year it grew stronger, and prospects for the Falashas' departure to Israel were jeopardized. And their future security looked increasingly in question. And I know everybody out here that has talked to me about this and checked in with friends in the administration felt very strongly about that. In April, as insurgent forces closed in on the capital, I called Rudy Boschwitz. I asked Senator Boschwitz to go to Addis Ababa urgently as a personal emissary of the President to seek to arrange the expedited departure of the Ethiopian Jews. Events since Senator Boschwitz and his team took their trip have unfolded with dazzling speed. And thanks to him and especially to his colleagues here and others who aren't with us today, arrangements were put in place between Israel and Ethiopia for one of the most bold humanitarian airlifts in history.…”