Statement by the Vice President on Samuel Pisar's Passing
Jill
and I were very saddened to hear of the passing of Samuel Pisar, a
courageous and remarkable man, and the step-father of our dear friend,
Deputy Secretary of State
Tony Blinken. The entire Biden family extend our deepest sympathies to
Samuel’s family, including Tony’s mother Judith, his sister Leah, and
wife Evan.
Samuel
overcame a childhood lost to the horrors of the Holocaust, and a young
adulthood in the poverty of postwar Europe, to become an advisor to
President John F. Kennedy
and a friend to French Presidents Francois Mitterrand and Valery
Giscard d’Estaing.
His
success as a lawyer and statesman were only surpassed by the courage he
showed in speaking of his Holocaust experience. He confronted not only
the brutality of his experience
but the person he had to become to survive.
His
memoir, “Of Blood and Hope”, should be required reading. It stands as a
strong reminder for every generation of our ongoing obligation to never
forget, a lesson I have
imparted to my children and grandchildren by taking them to Dachau and
Auschwitz.
Samuel’s
spirit of public service and his dedication to community live on in his
children. We have seen it up close in Tony’s service to our nation, and
his friendship to
our family. And for that, we are truly grateful. Samuel was a good man.
Source: The White House Press Office
Source: The White House Press Office
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