Human Rights Legacy
U.S. mourns Holocaust survivor,
vigilant congressman.
Washington/JTA
T
he flags dipped at half-staff
over the Capitol, the warm
remembrances flooded e-
mail inboxes, the "Have you heard?"
phone calls took a solemn tone.
U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif.,
earned all these tributes. He died
Monday, Feb. 11, of esophageal cancer
at the age of 80. The mourning was
not just for a man but for the unique
voice of the only Holocaust survivor
ever elected to Congress.
"We lose a voice for human rights,
which was in his case unique said
Elie Wiesel, the
novelist whose
own writings have
become icons of
Holocaust remem-
brance. "He spoke
always against
oppression, against
persecution, against
Rep. Lantos
racism:'
Lantos died at
the Naval Medical Center in subur-
ban Bethesda, Md., surrounded by
his wife, Annette, two daughters and
many of his 18 grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren.
"As the only Holocaust survivor to
serve in Congress, Tom was a living
reminder that we must never turn
a blind eye to the suffering of the
innocent at the hands of evil men;'
President George W. Bush said.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-
Calif, the speaker of the House of
Representatives, said, "Having lived
through the worst evil known to man-
kind, Tom Lantos translated the expe-
rience into a lifetime commitment
to the fight against anti-Semitism,
Holocaust education, and a commit-
ment to the State of Israel."
Sallai Meridor, Israel's ambassador
to Washington, said Israel "lost one of
our greatest friends."
Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak,
issued the following statement: "Tom
Lantos never forgot for a moment his
gratitude for the opportunity given to
him by this country and the tragedy of
the lost lives and opportunities of the
millions of others who did not survive
the Holocaust.
"For those of us privileged to work
with him as a colleague and talk with
him often personally, one-on-one, his
love of his work and abiding love of
his large family were a constant source
of inspiration."
The remembrances of Lantos, the
chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, were a kaleidoscope of the
human rights causes he championed
since his election to the House in
1980.
Wiesel remembered Lantos' con-
tributions to the building of the U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum, which
Wiesel helped found. "From the very
beginning in Washington, he was with
us, involved in every step leading to
the building of the museum, develop-
ing it into a source for archives, learn-
ing and teaching;' Wiesel said.
Mark Levin, the executive director
of NCSJ: Advocates on behalf of Jews
in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States
and Eurasia, focused on Lantos' role
in the 1980s in pressing the Soviet
Union to release its Jews. Lantos made
several trips to Russia to meet with
refuseniks and championed them in
Congress.
"He was forthright, compassionate
and deeply committed to the cause of
freeing Jews from the former Soviet
Union," Mark Levin said.
In 2003, he founded the House's
Human Rights Caucus. Other enco-
miums came from the American
Jewish World Service, which has led
the Jewish community in pressing
for an end to the genocide in Sudan;
the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee, which praised his stead-
fast support for Israel and his tough
stance on Iran; and the Jewish Council
for Public Affairs.
"He has been a valiant voice
demanding more action against the
Darfur genocide and at the same time
a valiant leader in the fight to stop the
scourge of HIV/AIDS from devastat-
ing the developing world:' said AJWS
President Ruth Messinger.
Lantos "blazed a trail in the United
States Congress, fighting for education,
health care, human rights and Israel:
said JCPA, the public-policy umbrella
body for several influential national
Jewish organizations, the synagogue
movements and more than 100 local
Jewish communities.
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February 14 • 2008
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