Remarks to the Trustees of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

I WANT to express my great satisfaction in welcoming you to the White House again, and to tell you how grateful I am for your generosity. These Torahs I know have special significance for you, and particularly this one, which is so intimately associated with the founder here in the United States, one which is brought from Europe and which has been part of your life. So that I am doubly appreciative to you for being willing to part with it and present it to us here today.

I think, as the Rabbi said, that the significance of this ceremony is not merely a gift of an ancient document, but that in a very real sense the great issue today is between, as he said, the supremacy of the moral law which is initiated, originated, and developed in the Bible, and which has special application here today.

I've never felt that we should attempt to use the great impulse towards God and towards religion, which all people feel, as an element in a cold war struggle. Rather, it's not an arm, it is the essence of the issue--not the organization of economy so much, but as the supremacy of moral law, and therefore the right of the individual, his rights to be protected by the state and not be at the mercy of the state.

In the Inaugural Address, which the Rabbi mentioned, I said that the basic issue was that the rights the citizen enjoyed did not come from the state but rather came from the hand of God. And it's written here [pointing to the Torah ]. And it is written in the Old and the New Testaments.

So I'm grateful to you, and I want you to know that in coming here today I think it symbolizes the happy relations which exist between all religious groups, and must continue to exist in this country if we are to be worthy of our heritage. I

So, Rabbi, I'm grateful to you. There is no gift which could please me more--and I'm delighted to welcome you to our house.