Summary: June 6, 2011 – New York – AJC Executive Director David Harris, in his national radio commentary, salutes Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada for his stalwart and courageous support of Israel. The AJC weekly radio messages are broadcast on the CBS radio network, before The Osgood File. All AJC radio commentaries since 2001 are available at www.ajc.org/radiocommentary. LISTEN. The full text of this week’s commentary follows: Mark Twain was a legendary American writer. “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn” are classics. Here’s something else that Mark Twain wrote: “Moral Courage and a Hankering to learn the Truth ... are on vacation in the human race.” What he wrote is especially true these days in the Middle East. Too often truth has been thrown to the wind. Moral courage has yielded to moral ambiguity at best, cowardice at worst. But Mark Twain, who visited and wrote about the region 150 years ago, would be proud of Canada’s prime minister today. Stephen Harper stands for “Moral Courage and a Hankering to Learn the Truth.” He’s insisted on Israel’s right to live in peace and security. He’s defended Israel’s sovereign right to defend itself. He understands the true nature of Israel’s enemies. And he grasps that, much as democratic Israel yearns for peace, it needs genuine partners to seal the deal. To learn more about Harper’s Middle East views, visit ajc.org. This is David Harris of AJC
