Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., February 16, 2008 Adar1 10, 5768 | | Israel Time: 00:56 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and U2 lead singer Bono attending the memorial service for Rep. Tom Lantos, in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. (AP) Last update - 14:11 16/02/2008 Dignitaries honor Tom Lantos; Livni: World lost a great leader By Shmuel Rosner and Ron Kamara, Haaretz Corresponents, and News Agencies Tags: Tzipi Livni, U.S., Tom Lantos  American and foreign dignitaries gathered at Capitol Hill's Statuary Hall on Thursday for the memorial service for Representative Tom Lantos, who died Tuesday at the age of 80. Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in the U.S. Congress, announced approximately a month ago that he had been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni addressed the mourners, saying "the free world has lost a great leader, and Israel has lost a great friend." Advertisement "Tom Lantos represents in our eyes - as a man - what we aspire to represent as a nation," Livni said. "In the Holocaust, Tom lost his family and all that was dear to him, but he never abandoned his values or lost his self-respect." The memorial service was attended among others by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. U2 lead singer and human rights activist Bono performed at the memorial, singing "All you need is love." Lantos, who referred to himself as an American by choice, was born to Jewish parents in Budapest, Hungary, and 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. That background gave Lantos a moral authority unique in Congress and he used it repeatedly to speak out on foreign policy issues, sometimes courting controversy. He was a strong supporter of Israel and a lead advocate for the 2002 congressional resolution authorizing the Iraq war, though he would come to be a strong critic of the Bush administration's strategy. In 2006 Lantos was one of five members of Congress arrested in a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy over the genocide in Darfur. Lantos, who was elected to the House in 1980, founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1983. In early 2004 he led the first congressional delegation to Libya in more than 30 years, meeting personally with Moammar Gadhafi and urging the Bush administration to show good faith to the North African leader in his pledge to abandon his nuclear weapons programs. Later that year President George W. Bush lifted sanctions on Libya. In October 2007, as Foreign Affairs chairman, Lantos defied Bush administration opposition by moving through his committee a measure that would recognize the World War I-era killings of Armenians as a genocide, something strongly opposed by Turkey. Related articles: FM to attend Lantos memorial service in Washington, may meet Rice U.S. Rep. Lantos, only Holocaust survivor in Congress, to retire Lantos: Premature roadblocks removal may spark terror attacks More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us   Seeking refuge 123 Sudanese refugees infiltrate Israel from Egypt overnight. Bracing for terror Israel, U.S. fear retaliatory strikes after killing of Mughniyah.   1.   FAREWELL OF TOM LANTOS 23:01  |  D Paraga 14/02/08   2.   60 year plight? 23:26  |  jack 14/02/08   3.   Undeserved praise 23:48  |  Egyptian 14/02/08   4.   Bono lost it!! or is a hypocrit 00:18  |  Moise 15/02/08   5.   Deserving tribute to a giant 00:20  |  Irit Yerushalmi 15/02/08   6.   to Moise 01:27  |  hollingsworth 15/02/08   7.   World lost a great leader: Tom Lantos 02:09  |  Baruch 15/02/08   8.   #5 I`m sure Bono will cry when he hears you don`t like him 02:35  |  McQueen 15/02/08   9.   #4 Looking for ignorance? Try the mirror 02:37  |  McQueen 15/02/08   10.   #13 American 05:02  |  Mark 15/02/08   11.   Maybe its time to disable `Talkback` 08:05  |  Rachamim 15/02/08   12.   talkback 15:19  |  aryeh sax 15/02/08   13.   Talkback 16:32  |  Richard 15/02/08   14.   to # 2, 61 years ago 23:46  |  Palestinian 15/02/08   15.   Response to Egyptian 03:23  |  B. 16/02/08   16.   Congrssman Tom Lantos Was A Great Leader 05:54  |  Theresa 16/02/08   17.   Re: 15, B 14:48  |  Egyptian 16/02/08   18.   Lantos 00:31  |  Mr C 17/02/08

Today Online Report: 50,000 Hezbollah men deploy in southern Lebanon Responses: 305 Israel: We know how to deal with threats by Hezbollah Responses: 139 Palestinians: Ailing woman dies after IDF denies her access to ambulance Responses: 223 Editorial: As with Mughniyah, killing terrorists sometimes unavoidable Responses: 242 Zvi Bar'el: Roiled Hezbollah chief throws down the gauntlet Responses: 122 Roi Ben-Yehuda: If U.K. rejects sharia law, beit din will face same fate Responses: 108 Rosner's Domain Clinton's peace team: the attacks on Rob Malley "vicious" (WTR) Brzezinski in Israel (WTR) Most blatant example of Israeli interference in American election The U.S. and Mughniyah / Not just 'who' but also 'where' Poll: Was killing Mughniyah both justified and wise? More Headlines 19:02 Report: PM to declare soldiers abducted by Hezbollah dead 23:56 French FM Kouchner: Israel must stop settlement activity 23:09 PMO negotiations staff to meet for first time Sunday in J'lem 14:42 Hamas airs confessions of Fatah members in plot to kill Haniyeh 19:32 50,000 Hezbollah men said deployed along border with Israel 00:59 Sarkozy defends Holocaust education proposal amid uproar 22:16 Car bombings kill 39 at rally ahead of Pakistan elections 15:09 Lebanese PM: 'Open war' on Israel would harm Hezbollah 21:37 Dozens protest as Dutch singer who performed for Hitler takes stage 21:21 Recent tremors raise fears of potentially destructive earthquake 17:56 Former Nazi guard extradited to Italy begins serving life sentence 17:16 Free press watchdog slams Arab media 'charter' as bid for censorship 00:48 Lebanese Army ends sectarian riots in Beirut after 14 hurt Previous Editions Select Day 15 feb 14 feb 13 feb 12 feb 11 feb 10 feb 08 feb 07 feb 06 feb 05 feb 04 feb 03 feb

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