AJC Pays Tribute To Costa Rica And Uruguay At 92nd Annual Meeting

American Jewish Committee
Wednesday, 20 May 1998

At its recently-concluded Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, the American Jewish Committee paid special tribute to the nations of Costa Rica and Uruguay for their historic support of, and friendship toward, the State of Israel and the Jewish people. Accepting the honor on behalf of their countries were Jose Maria Figueres Olsen, immediate past President of Costa Rica, and Julio Maria Sanguinetti, President of Uruguay.

AJC Executive Director David Harris offered the tributes before a crowd of more than 1,500 AJC leaders and dignitaries who gathered at the Grand Hyatt Hotel for AJC's 92nd Annual Dinner gala, featuring a keynote address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

President Figueres, in his response, spoke warmly of the "sincere and remarkable bonds that have linked Costa Rica and Israel for 50 years." He related the story of his father, Don Pepe, who, during the year that the State of Israel was born, led a democratic revolution in Costa Rica. Don Pepe, he said, served three terms as President and developed a close friendship with Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, and the President's mother, Karen Olsen Figueres, served as Costa Rica's ambassador to Israel. Costa Rica's embassy, it was noted, has been in Jerusalem since 1982.

President Figueres added that in his own official capacities he has sought to build upon the strong relations his father had established between Costa Rica and Israel. He praised the "distinct and positive impact that the Costa Rican Jewish community has had on Costa Rica's political and cultural life." Costa Ricans, he said in conclusion, hold a "profound admiration for Israel."

Uruguay's President Sanguinetti told AJC guests that Uruguay served on the UN Special Committee On Palestine (UNSCOP) that in 1947 recommended partition and the creation of a Jewish State, and that it was the first nation in Latin America to recognize the newly created State of Israel in 1948, just after recognition by U.S. President Harry Truman. "Uruguay," he said, "may well be a small country, but we are strong because of our belief in the values of liberty and freedom, and we are here to pay homage to and to express our belief in a free Israel that can live in peace with strong borders."

After presenting AJC with a painting of a Jerusalem scene by a prominent Uruguayan Jewish artist, President Sanguinetti declared that "the freedom of Israel will increase the freedom of the world, and the peace of Israel will increase the peace of the world."

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