by Mark Silva
Rep. Tom Lantos of California, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, died today with a fast-moving cancer disclosed only last month.
His spokesmwoman, Lynne Weil said that Lantos, 80, had passed away at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in suburban Maryland today.The California Democrat, who served as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, suffered from cancer of the esophagus.
He had hoped to serve out his 14th term but not seek re-election in his Northern California district, which takes in the party of San Francisco and suburbs to the south.
The timing of the diagnosis was a particular blow because Lantos had assumed his committee chairmanship just a year earlier, when Democrats recaptured control of Congress.
He said at the time that his life's experiences had prepared him for the job. Lantos, who called himself "an American by choice,” was born to Jewish parents in Budapest, Hungary. He was 16 when Adolf Hitler occupied Hungary in 1944. He survived by escaping twice from a forced labor camp and coming under the protection of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who used his official status and visa-issuing powers to save thousands of Hungarian Jews.
Lantos’ mother and much of his family perished in the Holocaust.
This lent Lantos a moral authority in Congress that he used to speak out on foreign policy issues, sometimes controversial. He was a strong supporter of Israel and a lead advocate for the 2002 congressional resolution authorizing the use of military force in Iraq, though he later became a strong critic of the Bush administration’s war strategy.
President Bush had this to say about Lantos' passing today:
"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. I appreciate his vision in co-founding the Human Rights Caucus. I also appreciate his efforts to protect our environment, alleviate the sufferings caused by HIV/AIDS, and strengthen our friendships and alliances around the globe.''
"As chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he was an authority on foreign policy issues and a voice for the oppressed,'' said Howard Dean, Democratic National Committee chairman. "The only Holocaust survivor in Congress, he was a forceful and passionate advocate for civil liberties and human rights.''
National Jewish Democratic Council Chairman Emeritus Michael Adler said: "Tom Lantos was a genuine hero who survived the holocaust and went on to epitomize the American dream, rising from poverty to the highest levels of American government. Never was there a stronger voice for Israel in theU.S. Congress. And, never was there a stronger voice for justice.''
First elected to the House in 1980, Lantos founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1983. n October 2007, as Foreign Affairs chairman, Lantos defied the administration by moving through his committee a measure that would have recognized the World War I-era killings of Armenians as a genocide -- raising the ire of Turkey. The House did not approve it.
Lantos never lost the accent of his native Hungary or his courage.
“Morally, you are pygmies,” he once told executives of Yahoo at a hearing he called in November 2007 about the company’s involvement in the jailing of a Chinese journalist.
“This is about as believable as Elvis being seen in a K-Mart,” he told a witness testifying before a subcommittee he headed in 1989 that led a congressional investigation of Reagan-era scandals at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a member of Congress,” Lantos said in announcing his retirement as he disclosed his illness last month. “I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Comments
A wonderful man. He will be missed.
Posted by: bill r. | February 11, 2008 11:12 AM
Sen. Lantos certainly had a blind spot when it came to the civil rights and humanitarian plight of the Palestinians.
I'd say more charlatan than saint.
Posted by: Tom R | February 11, 2008 12:30 PM
Tom Lantos will be deeply missed.
He was a unique figure. A champion of human rights, he was most likely influenced by his savior - the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg.
Together with Baruj Tenembaum, he co-founded our Foundation and made a huge contribution educating the young generations about the feats of the Holocaust and trying to unveil the truth about the mysterious dissapearance of his savior.
He pushed for the bill that granted honorary US citizenship to Wallenberg and was instrumental in the tribute paid by the US Congress to our founder and our Foundation, back in 2003.
One can say that his death was untimely. He had so much more to accomplish.
We shall dearly miss him, as a friend, as a colleague, but above all, as a corageous human being.
May he rest in peace.
Nieves Fariña
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
Posted by: Nieves Fariña | February 11, 2008 12:37 PM
Really Tom R.? You have to denegrate the man's memory. I hope no one ever asks you to give a ellogy, you do not know how to pick your time.
Also, the Palestinians in Israel are afforded more education (free) and better housing than by their own people. It's always easier to subjugate your citizens and critcise and point the blame elsewhere while billions of dollars in aid go missing.
Posted by: Julie S | February 11, 2008 1:35 PM
Really Tom R.? You have to denegrate the man's memory. I hope no one ever asks you to give a ellogy, you do not know how to pick your time.
Also, the Palestinians in Israel are afforded more education (free) and better housing than by their own people. It's always easier to subjugate your citizens and critcise and point the blame elsewhere while billions of dollars in aid go missing.
Posted by: Julie S | February 11, 2008 1:36 PM
Tom R.,
Way to kick a dead guy in the side.
Posted by: Batski | February 11, 2008 1:53 PM
Also, Tom R., it's Rep. Lantos, not Sen. Lantos. Reading comprehension is good.
Posted by: Dave | February 11, 2008 2:21 PM
Sen. Lantos certainly had a blind spot when it came to the civil rights and humanitarian plight of the Palestinians. I'd say more charlatan than saint. Posted by: Tom R | February 11, 2008 12:30 PM
And the Palestinians sure have an empty spot in their brain...they can't see beyond the ground they sit on. If they could, there would be peace.
Posted by: rezasantorini | February 11, 2008 2:24 PM
His district take in the PARTY of San Francisco?
Posted by: Mark | February 11, 2008 2:55 PM
At least Lantos expressed regret about his initial support for the Iraq boondoggle. He'll be far more honored in death than Hypocrite Henry.
Posted by: weinerdog43 | February 11, 2008 2:59 PM
Seems Lantos didn't learn much about living under fascism as a youth during WWII considering he had been one of the U.S. House of Representatives most CONSISTENT backers of the treasonous Patriot Act. Nothing like bringing good ol' totalitarianism to the USA. Go figure...
Posted by: truthseeker | February 11, 2008 3:46 PM
As soon as I see "strong supporter of Israel", I think "burning in hell"
Posted by: Anon | February 11, 2008 3:48 PM
Also, the Palestinians in Israel are afforded more education (free) and better housing than by their own people. It's always easier to subjugate your citizens and critcise and point the blame elsewhere while billions of dollars in aid go missing.
Posted by: Julie S | February 11, 2008 1:36 PM
Julie, maybe you missed the following comprehensive study done by Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/israel2/
Here is one of the recommendations made by this reputable human rights organization:
II. Recommendations
• The Israeli government should recognize that discrimination against Palestinian Arab citizens has been, and
continues to be, a major social and political problem in the Israeli education system. The government should
measurably improve Palestinian Arab participation in all aspects of decision-making about education policies
and resources.
Besides the "lovely" (sarcasm)school buildings afforded to Palestinians in Israel, don't forget about the infrasturcture that has been overlooked in many of the Arab communities. Arab communities in Israel are ghettos and those living there are given second class citizenship status - a subtle way of dehumanizing a people similar to the South's attitude toward our African-American brethren before the Civil Rights Act, and similar to South Africa's apartheid. This practice of treating a people as "inferior" ironically came from Jews who were treated this way in Hitler's Germany. There is one difference; there are many Israeli Jews who do know the true meaning of Judaism and human rights and who are making their voices heard -Uri Avnery, Amira Hass, Peace Now, and many others
Rep. Lantos could have done more to create peace between Israel and Palestine, but instead he opted to promote Israeli interests at the cost of depriving the Palestinian people of their rightful humanity and homeland.
If you really want to read about Lantos, check
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=11204
Lantos, was no saint - more like a warmongering charlatan.
Posted by: the truth | February 11, 2008 7:33 PM
Tom Lantos lived and served his country as a beacon for the protection of human rights and a living reminder that we must never turn a blind eye to the plight of the oppressed.
He had a dignity and seriousness about his cause that transcended politics.
As a member of the opposing party I didn't agree with everything congressman Lantos did in Washington over his career, but I ALWAYS respected the honest way he went about doing it and the very personal reasons that backed up his political actions. This was a man who was a statesman first and a politician second. His passing means one less great man is representing this country in Washington, but there is no doubt in my mind that he is now with the family he lost so many, many years ago and celebrating a beautifully lived life amongst his fellow chosen.
Shalom, Mr. Lantos, you will be missed but never, ever forgotten.
p.s. You're despicable, Tom R. There's a time and place for that kind of argument and it's not here.
Posted by: Jeff | February 11, 2008 9:14 PM
His district take in the PARTY of San Francisco?
Posted by: Mark | February 11, 2008 2:55 PM
I think the author tried to say that Lantos' district included "part" of San Francisco.
Posted by: John W. | February 12, 2008 3:45 AM
He worked to prosecute illegal access to peoples email addresses for use as criminal fronts too, For those who did not like him, I am sure he did not like them either.
Posted by: Maija from Detroit | June 11, 2008 12:33 AM