Ladies & Gentlemen, Distinguished guests and friends,

This is a great moment for me. I'm honored to represent the State of Israel in honoring Mr. Tubis with a special award.

In fact, Mr. Tubis is the one who gave many Jews a precious gift. He gave them and he gave us HOPE. "If we abandon hope we end up in hell", said Dante. Even his imaginary Inferno could not be compared with the true hell that took place during the thirteen black years of Hitler's third Reich.
"The only reason we are alive today is that we were blessed to have been aided by the religious catholic Tubis family". These are the exact words of two people who were rescued and gave evidence in a letter to "Yad Vashem".
Mr. Tubis and members of his family gave their friends the gift of survival, risking his own life under the menacing shadow of evil and death.
I am the daughter of Holocaust survivors, a young Israeli who was fortunate enough to be born under free sky. My mother, who survived Auschwitz, never forgot the only man who assisted her during that time. This was, in fact, the only story she had ever told me from her tragic experience. She chose to conceal the horrors and atrocities and spoke only about compassion and human conduct. For her this was the only reason to start a new life.

Today I am an author in Israel, writing about the second generation and the shadow of Holocaust cast upon us. My mother never found the man who helped her. She could not trace him when the war ended. Somehow I feel now that I also thank him when I express my gratitude to you Mr. Tubis!

Your great deeds will never be forgotten, for memory is the only valid book of history. Through the next generations the Tubis name will be mentioned with gratitude and respect!
You and your family showed true resistance to evil and your conduct exemplified the true spirit of Christianity in action. "A man of courage is also full of faith" I quote Cicero.

We were taught that the righteous gentiles of all nations will have a share in the world to come. "Yad Vashem" is a place of honor for those - a special title of rigouts gentiles who gave a helping hand to Jews during the Holocaust.
In a special parliament law from 1953, the state of Israel had decided to honor them. A special committee headed by the president of the Israeli Supreme Court decides according to evidence that will be honored. Mr. Tubis was chosen to be among them. I always recall the biblical story of Sodom. Abraham pleaded for the sinful city and the Lord had promised him that if 50 righteous will be found the city will be saved. According to the Hebrew Talmud in each and every generation 36 righteous people are hidden. Their existence is the sole reason for the Lord's mercy on the world.

Mr. Tubis, I present you with the most distinguished honor the State of Israel can offer her friends. This moment is indeed the celebration of human nobility and moral courage. We care about the people who cared about us!

USA 1989