ON THE EVE of Rosh Hashanah and the High Holy Days, I am pleased to extend to my fellow Americans of the Jewish faith my warm greetings for a Happy New Year.
These are the days when we are reminded that the perfect society is one which we must work to create and fashion in this world and in our own time.
The prophets taught the Jewish people never to falter in the world-wide search for the betterment and peace of mankind and never to leave the conflict against the forces of discrimination and poverty.
These are precepts which were inherited by our forefathers from those who received them at Sinai.
They are beliefs which have been given new and forceful expression in the State of Israel, where they were first proclaimed and where Rosh Hashanah prayers were first uttered.
On this Rosh Hashanah, let us pray together for a tranquil society both in this country and around the globe.
And let us ask that the heavy hand of tyranny be lifted wherever it exists and that all become equal as they are equal before God.
LYNDON B. JOHNSON
Note: The statement was posted on the bulletin board in the Press Room at the White House. It was not made public in the form of a White House press release.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President: Rosh Hashanah and the High Holy Days. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/239010