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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release August 7, 1996
            PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES CHASKEL O. BESSER TO THE
         COMMISSION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF AMERICA'S HERITAGE   
                                 ABROAD

The President today announced his intent to appoint Chaskel O. Besser to the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad.

Chaskel O. Besser of New York, New York, is a lecturer on Jewish law, history and lore and the Rabbi for the Congregation B'nai Israel. He was appointed in 1987 by President Reagan to the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad and reappointed by President Bush in 1992. Rabbi Besser is a presidium member of Agudath Israel of America, president of the Jewish Nazi Victims Organization of America, and an officer of the Polish Jewish Commission for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland. He is a graduate of the Rabbinical Seminary Keter Torah in Poland and Israel.

The Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad was established to identify and publish a list of those cemeteries, monuments, and historic buildings located abroad that are associated with the foreign heritage of U.S. citizens from Eastern and Central Europe. Particular attention is given to those cemeteries, monuments, and buildings which are in danger of deterioration or destruction. The Commission encourages the preservation and protection of such cemeteries, monuments, and historic buildings by obtaining, in cooperation with the Department of State, assurances from foreign governments that the cemeteries, monuments, and buildings will be preserved and protected.

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