Statement by the Press Secretary

President George W. Bush today announced the designation of an U.S. Honorary Delegation to attend celebrations in honor of the 60th Anniversary of the State of Israel on May 14-15, 2008 in Jerusalem.

Members of the Honorary Delegation:

Dr. Miriam Adelson, Chairperson, Dr. Miriam & Sheldon G. Adelson Clinic for Drug Abuse Treatment and Research

Mr. Sheldon G. Adelson, Chairman of the Board, Las Vegas Sands Corporation

Mr. Moshe Aflalo, CEO of Aflalo Equities

Mr. Neil Z. Auerbach, Managing Partner, Hudson Clean Energy Partners

Mr. Kenneth Bialkin, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLC

Mr. Elliott B. Broidy, Chairman and CEO of Broidy Capital Management

Mr. Matthew H. Brooks, Executive Director, Republican Jewish Coalition

Mr. Alan I. Casden, Chairman and CEO of Casden Properties LLC

Mr. Stanley M. Chesley, President of the National Jewish Fund

Mr. William C. Daroff, Vice President for Public Policy and Director of the Washington Office United Jewish Communities

Mr. Nathan J. Diament, Director, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations

Rabbi David H. Ellenson, Ph.D., President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

Mr. Michael David Epstein, President of Sensormatic Security Corporation

Mr. Donald Etra, Attorney, Law Offices of Donald Etra

Ms. Nancy E. Falchuk, National President, Hadassah

Ms. Selma J. Fisch, Founder, Fisch Properties

Mr. David M. Flaum, Chairman, Republican Jewish Coalition

Ms. Marilyn Fox, Chairman of the Fox Family Foundation and Former President of the St. Louis Jewish Community Center

The Honorable Sam Fox, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium

Mr. Abraham H. Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation League

Mr. Howard E. Friedman, President, AIPAC

Mr. Tony B. Gelbart, Chairman and Co-Founder of Nefesh B'Nefesh

Mr. Sander R. Gerber, Chairman and CEO, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP

Mr. Marc S. Goldman, Farmland Dairies

The Honorable Phil Gordon, Mayor of the City of Phoenix, Arizona

Mr. Richard S. Gordon, President, American Jewish Congress

Dr. Jeffrey Gunter, President, Beverly Capital Management LLC

Mr. David Hager, President, Hager Pacific

Ms. Cheryl Halpern, Member, CPB Board of Directors

Mr. Uri Harkham, CEO, Jonathan Martin Fashion Group

Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean, Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance

Mr. Malcolm I. Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

Mr. Murray A. Huberfeld, Chairman, Centurion Credit Management LP

Rebbetizin Esther Jungreis, Founder and President of Hineni

Dr. Henry Kissinger, Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc.

Dr. Richard Land, President, Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

Mr. Ronald Lauder, President, World Jewish Congress and Chairman, Jewish National Fund

Mr. Eliot Lauer, Senior Partner, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle

Ms. Linda S. Law, Founder, Law and Associates

Mr. Michael I. Lebovitz, Senior Vice President, CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.

The Honorable Jay P. Lefkowitz, Special Envoy on Human Rights in North Korea

Rabbi David H. Lincoln, Senior Rabbi, Park Avenue Synagogue, New York City

The Honorable Linda Lingle, Governor of the State of Hawaii

The Honorable Earle I. Mack, Senior Partner, the Mack Company

Rabbi Isaac Neuman, Rabbi Emeritus of Sinai Temple, Champaign, Illinois

Mr. Michael B. Oren, Senior Fellow, Shalem Center, Jerusalem; Professor Georgetown University

Mr. Ronald Plotkin, Former COO, Monster.com Directional Marketing

Steve L. Poizner, Insurance Commissioner, State of California

Mr. Bruce M. Ramer, Attorney and Partner, Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown

Mr. J. Philip Rosen, Attorney, Partner, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP

Mr. William Safire, Chairman, Dana Foundation

Mr. Lee C. Samson, President and CEO, SNF Management

Mr. Lenny Sands, Chairman, Alchemy Worldwide

Mr. Richard H. Schneider, Managing Member, Bunker Capital LLC

Mr. Fred Schwartz, Founder, The Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation

The Honorable Melvin F. Sembler, Chairman of the Board of The Sembler Company

Mr. Dan Senor, Founding Partner, Rosemont Capital

Mr. Joe Shapira, Managing Partner, Java Equities LLC

Ms. Florence Shapiro, Co-Chair of the Education Policy Taskforce for the National Council of State Government

Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Director, Washington Office of American Friends of Lubavitch

Dr. Robert J. Shillman, Ph.D., Founder, Chairman and CEO of Cognex Corporation

Mr. Richard J. Sideman, President, American Jewish Committee

Mr. Mark S. Siegel, President of ReMY Investors & Consultants, Inc.

Rabbi Michael S. Siegel, Norman Asher Rabbinic Chairman and Senior Rabbi

The Honorable Ned L. Siegel, U.S. Ambassador to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas

Mr. Ron Silver, President Emeritus, Actors' Equity Association; Board of Directors, U.S. Institute of Peace

The Honorable Martin J. Silverstein, Private Investor and Senior Counsel, Greenberg Traurig

Mr. Paul E. Singer, General Partner, Elliott Associates, LP

The Honorable Clifford M. Sobel, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil

Mr. Jaime Sohacheski, Chairman, Crown Realty and Development Corporation

Mr. Ronald G. Steinhart, Retired CEO, Commercial Banking, Bank One Corporation

Rabbi Mordechai Suchard, Founder and Director, Gateways Organization

Mr. Stephen J. Trachtenberg, President Emeritus, University Professor of Public Service, George Washington University

Ms. June R. Walker, Chairperson, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

Mr. Leslie H. Wexner, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Limited Brands

Mr. Elie Wiesel, University Professor; Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities; Professor of Philosophy and Religion in the College of Arts and Sciences; President, The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity

Mr. Fred S. Zeidman, Chairman, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Mr. Mark Zucker, Managing Member, Dorchester Capital

Mr. Mort B. Zuckerman, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News & World Report; Publisher of New York Daily News; Co-Founder and Chairman of Boston Properties Inc.