Summary: May 17, 2011 – New York – AJC Executive Director David Harris, in his national radio commentary, urges listeners to speak out in support of the besieged Coptic community in Egypt. “As a Jew who saw Jewish communities driven out of Egypt and neighboring Arab countries because of intolerance, I won’t keep quiet when another minority is in danger,” says Harris. 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: When a religious minority is victimized, people of goodwill need to speak out loud and clear. Coptic Christians in Egypt have been attacked repeatedly. An ancient community, today they’re an estimated ten percent of the population. Christians are being killed simply because of who they are. Churches have been burned simply because they’re churches. There’s been a lot of media reporting about the attacks. Unfortunately, some of that coverage speaks about “sectarian clashes.” That term doesn’t begin to distinguish between perpetrators and victims. Let’s be clear. There are perpetrators – those who wish to harm the Christian community. And there are victims – members of that Christian community. As a Jew who saw Jewish communities driven out of Egypt and neighboring Arab countries because of intolerance, I won’t keep quiet when another minority is in danger. If Egypt is to enter a new era, then let it be for all Egyptians, not just some. Visit ajc.org. This is David Harris of AJC
