PRESS RELEASE - World Jewish Congress mourns passing of former Czech president

19 December 2011

World Jewish Congress mourns passing of former Czech president

Ronald S. Lauder praises Vaclav Havel’s moral leadership, highlights his role in restoring Jewish life in Czech Republic

NEW YORK – World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder has eulogized former Czech President Vaclav Havel, who died on Sunday at the age 75, as one of the most inspiring political leaders of our time. “With a tremendous vision and despite the great deal of suffering he had had to endure, Vaclav Havel led Czechoslovakia out of the grey days of Communism and helped to turn it into a free and respected nation. He oversaw the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia into two stable democracies. Later, as president of the Czech Republic, he helped to restore the country as an economic and cultural powerhouse in the heart of Europe. His commitment to reinvigorating Jewish life, so badly affected by the Holocaust and decades of Communist neglect, was second to none. Vaclav Havel was not only greatly admired by Czechs but also by Jews around the world. We will cherish his memory,” the WJC president declared.

Lauder said that after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Havel had been one of the first leaders of the former Communist bloc who had made the moral case for the restitution of property belonging to Jews and Jewish communities which had been confiscated by both the Nazis and the Communists. “In large part thanks to his leadership and his openness, the Czech Republic became one of the first countries to put the fraught restitution issue on the agenda and held regular meetings with the Czech Jewish community and the World Jewish Congress on this important matter,” Lauder added.

The WJC president also highlighted Havel’s important role on the international stage for the well-being of Jews and the Jewish state, saying: “Together with other distinguished elder statesmen, he was a founding member of the Friends of Israel Initiative. He always spoke out against anti-Semitism and notably said that ‘Truth and love must prevail over lies and hate.’ We hope that many people all over the world will carry on his motto.”