IMRA Comment: Switch name "Pollard" for name "Gross" - President Obama's Hanukkah Reception Remarks

#1. The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
December 17, 2014
Remarks by the President at Afternoon Hanukkah Reception
East Room
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/17/remarks-president-afternoon-hanukkah-reception
4:27 P.M. EST

...THE PRESIDENT:...I want to begin with today’s wonderful news. I’m told
that in the Jewish tradition, one of the great mitzvahs is pidyon shvuyim.
(Applause.) My Hebrew is not perfect, but I get points for trying. But it
describes the redemption, the freeing, of captives. And that’s what we’re
celebrating today, because after being unjustly held in Cuba for more than
five years, American Alan Gross is free. (Applause.)

Alan has dedicated his life to others -- to helping people around the
world develop their communities and improve their lives, including Israelis
and Palestinians. He’s a man of deep faith who once worked for the Jewish
Federation of Greater Washington. Five years ago, he was arrested by Cuban
authorities simply for helping ordinary Cubans, including Cuba’s small
Jewish community, access information on the Internet. And ever since, those
who have loved and cared for Alan never stopped working to bring him home:
Judy, his wife of 44 years, and their daughters, including his oldest
daughter who walked down the aisle without her dad on her wedding day. His
mother, who passed away this year without being able to see her son one last
time. His whole family, including his sister-in-law, Gwen Zuares, who joins
us here today -- where is Gwen? (Applause.) Hey, Gwen. His rabbi, his
friends at his congregation in Maryland, Am Kolel, who kept him in their
prayers every Shabbat. Jewish and other faith leaders across the country
and around the world, including His Holiness Pope Francis. And members of
Congress and those of us in the United States government.

And Alan has fought back. He spoke out from his cell, he went on a
hunger strike. With his health deteriorating, his family worried he might
not be able to make it out alive. But he never gave up, and we never gave
up.

As I explained earlier, after our many months of discussion with the
Cuban government, Alan was finally released this morning on humanitarian
grounds. I spoke to him on his flight. He said he was willing to interrupt
his corned beef sandwich to talk to me. (Laughter.) I told him he had
mustard in his mustache; I couldn’t actually see it. (Laughter.) But
needless to say, he was thrilled. And he landed at Andrews in a plane
marked “The United States of America.” (Applause.)

He’s going to be getting the medical attention that he needs. He’s
back where he belongs -- in America, with his family, home for Hanukkah.
And I can’t think of a better way to mark this holiday, with its message
that freedom is possible, than with the historic changes that I announced
today in our Cuba policy. (Applause.) These are changes that are rooted in
America’s commitment to freedom and democracy for all the Cuban people,
including its small but proud Jewish community. And Alan’s remarks about
the need for these changes was extremely powerful.

#2. The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
December 17, 2014
Remarks By The President At Evening Hanukkah Reception
State Floor
8:03 P.M. EST
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/17/remarks-president-evening-hanukkah-reception

...THE PRESIDENT: ...Now, I'm going to begin by saying what a glorious day
this is -- because, after five years, American Alan Gross is free.
(Applause.) As all of you know, he was arrested five years ago by Cuban
authorities simply for helping ordinary Cubans -- including a small Jewish
community in Cuba –- just for access information on the Internet. Today,
after 1,840 days, he is back where he belongs -- with his wife Judy and his
family. And as you heard Alan say today, this is his best Hanukkah.

From his cell, Alan once wrote, “I refuse to accept that my country would
leave me behind.” And he is right. We’re committed to the principle that
no American ever gets left behind. We do everything in our power to bring
Americans home. So we thank all those who helped to make sure that Alan was
never forgotten. And as now we’re moving forward, we know that the historic
changes I announced today will mean greater opportunity and progress for
both Americans and for Cubans, including the small but proud Jewish
community in Cuba. (Applause.) ...
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