Proclamation 5652—Jewish Heritage Week, 1987

It is truly fitting that Americans pause each year to celebrate Jewish heritage, a tradition measured in millennia and one that has given much to our land. American Jews have helped build our Nation, enriching our ideals, fighting for our freedom, and making significant achievements in the arts, labor, business, academia, medicine, and every segment of American life.

This time of year calls us to reflection and remembrance about Jewish heritage. The observance of Passover tells the story of the passage from bondage to freedom and rekindles hope for mankind. The National Days of Remembrance of victims and survivors of the Holocaust and commemorations of the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising solemnly remind us that the shining glory and goodness of the spirit can arise from unutterable evil and tragedy-and that the words "Never Again" must always be our guide.

American Jews have given of their heart and soul for an America that has ever been a haven for the oppressed. That is reason for every American to rejoice and to remember.

The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 67, has designated the period of May 3 through May 10, 1987, as "Jewish Heritage Week" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the period of May 3 through May 10, 1987, as Jewish Heritage Week. I call upon the people of the United States, interested organizations, and Federal, State, and local government officials to observe this week with appropriate activities and ceremonies.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eightyseven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh.

RONALD REAGAN