Annual award presented to The Hon. Stuart E. Eizenstat
Holocaust Museum Houston presented The Hon. Stuart E. Eizenstat with the Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award Monday, May 13, at the Hilton Americas-Houston. Following Amb. Eizenstat’s remarks, Dana Bash, CNN anchor and chief political correspondent, served as moderator for an intriguing conversation with the ambassador and Marion Ein Lewin, his partner and child Holocaust survivor from the Netherlands.
An estimated 1,000 guests helped the soirée raise nearly $1.3 million for the museum’s general operating funds, with a focus on educational programming.
HMH presents the Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award to individuals who have taken a stand against injustice, hatred and prejudice and used their skills and influence to make a better world for all people.
This year’s recipient has served in six U.S. presidential administrations. He began on the White House staff of President Lyndon Johnson (1967-1968); then as chief White House Domestic Policy adviser to President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981); and in the Bill Clinton administration (1993-2001), he served as U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Under-Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Under-Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
While serving in these positions, Eizenstat simultaneously was the Clinton administration’s leader on Holocaust negotiations as Special Representative of President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Holocaust Issues.
He continued his work as special adviser on Holocaust Issues in the Barack Obama administration to Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, and as Expert Adviser on Holocaust Issues in the State Department in the Donald Trump administration. Currently, Eizenstat serves as Special Adviser on Holocaust Issues to Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Joe Biden administration. He also is the Special Negotiator for the Jewish Claims Conference with Germany on behalf of Holocaust survivors.
Eizenstat has received eight honorary degrees, as well as special awards from the U.S. government and the governments of France (Legion of Honor), Germany, Belgium, Austria and Israel. Senior counsel at Covington & Burling LLP, Amb. Eizenstat is renowned for his international work on Holocaust restitution.
“Amb. Eizenstat has dedicated a lifetime of service to fighting antisemitism and honoring Holocaust survivors,” said HMH interim co-executive director Tamara Savage. “We’re honored to have presented such a poignant conversation between him, Marion Ein Lewin and Dana Bash.”
Third-generation Holocaust survivor Dana Bash led a timely discussion between Eizenstat and Ein Lewin that covered Eizenstat’s personal relationship with President Johnson, restitution for Holocaust survivors, Ein Lewin and her family’s own miraculous story of survival and their hopes for a future without prejudice and hate.
Dinner chairs Stephanie and Frank Tsuru, along with host committee chairs Heidi and David Gerger and Leisa Holland-Nelson Bowman, led the charge – fundraising for one of the museum’s most celebrated dinners in its 28-year history. VIP reception sponsors, the Ira Mitzner and Riva Collins families, helped ensure the event’s success.
Sue Smith served as honorary chair, with honorary vice chairs Donna Fujimoto Cole, Nancy and Jack Dinerstein, Elaine Finger, Patti and Mike Morgan, Carol and David Neuberger, Jeri and Marc Shapiro, Ileana and Michael Treviño and Kay and The Hon. Fred Zeidman.
VIPs spotted in the crowd were Paula Goldstein, Drs. Mia and Remus Wright, Mady and Ken Kades, Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, Rhona and Bruce Caress, Y. Ping Sun and David Leebron, Regina Rogers, Brian Caress and Jessica Strehlow, Limor and Stuart Smith, Shelly and Brian Hendry, Benjamin Warren, Mindy and Steve Finger and Barry Mandel and Dr. Scott Sawyer.
HMH created the Moral Courage Award in 1994, in cooperation with the Lyndon B. Johnson family. In 1938, as a young congressman, Johnson stretched the limits of his authority and risked his personal dreams to provide American sanctuary for threatened European Jews. It is because of these acts of moral courage that the museum proudly named the award in his honor – recognizing either a single righteous act or a lifetime of morally courageous behavior.
Previous recipients have included Drs. Peter Hotez and Maria Elena Bottazzi; Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, posthumously; Brig. Gen. Felix L. Sparks, posthumously; BakerRipley and HIAS, founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society; former President George W. Bush; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., posthumously; Holocaust survivor and author Elie Wiesel; activist and actress Mia Farrow; U.S. Sen. John McCain; the late Daniel Pearl, Wall Street Journal reporter who was murdered by terrorists in Pakistan; former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell; former U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen Jr.; former U.S. Sen. Robert Dole; filmmaker Steven Spielberg; and former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, posthumously; among others.
