ON THE occasion of Rosh Hashanah and the period of the Jewish High Holy Days, I welcome the opportunity to extend to all of our fellow Americans of the Jewish faith my warm greetings and best wishes for the New Year.
In this solemn period you are called upon to rededicate yourselves anew to the faith, the values, the ideals, and the teachings that have stood the stern test of time in your heritage. It is a time for a personal and spiritual inventory and for reflection on goals and achievements. It calls for a reaffirmation of the willingness to sacrifice that there may be righteousness for all mankind.
Never was the desire for genuine understanding among the nations of the world stronger than today. The danger of ultimate disaster increases the urgency and need for a common cause of peace. Our people must lead the way toward relief from oppression, hunger and despair so that all may share in the age-old vision of a good and righteous life.
I know that all Americans join with me in this message of good will.
JOHN F. KENNEDY
John F. Kennedy, Statement by the President: The Jewish High Holy Days. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/236840