AJC On Air: David 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舗s commentary follows: What舗s at the root of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Sometimes one story pretty much captures it all. In the run-up this month to Passover, a Palestinian Authority cabinet member visited a West Bank family. It wasn舗t just any family. It was the family of a Palestinian suicide bomber, who nine years ago blew himself up as Jews gathered for a festive Passover Seder. Thirty people, mostly elderly, were killed. Dozens more were wounded. The attack took place in Netanya, a seaside town that舗s been part of Israel since the state舗s founding. Why the visit by the Palestinian official? To honor the memory of the suicide bomber. His family was given a plaque to mark the deeds of the mass murderer. Peace in the region is a strategic objective. But if Palestinian officials glorify those who kill elderly Jews celebrating Passover in their homeland, then chances for peace, tragically, become all too slim. Visit ajc.org. This is David Harris of AJC.

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. The full text of this week’s commentary follows: The situation in Libya is alarming. Muammar Qaddafi is holding on for dear life, while taking the lives of hundreds of his countrymen who’ve protested his dictatorial rule. The reports are horrific – mass murder, execution-style killings, and rapes. The world’s response has been inadequate. Governments are asking Qaddafi to respect the rights of his citizens, as if that’ll somehow do the trick. More is needed. Qaddafi must be told that he and his henchmen will be hunted down and held responsible in a court of law for the rivers of blood and widespread mayhem. And get this. Qaddafi’s Libya is on the UN Human Rights Council. No joke. This is a travesty. If the UN General Assembly acts, Libya can be removed. But will it act? Only if the democratic countries take a tough stand. The world is watching. Meanwhile, the Libyan people continue to be brutalized before the world’s eyes. AJC will not be silent. Visit ajc.org. This is David Harris of AJC

New York – AJC Executive Director David Harris, in his national radio commentary, discusses the renewed public protests in Iran, in the wake of the downfall of the Egypt’s and Tunisia’s presidents. “Like human-rights activists everywhere, those Iranian demonstrators need to know they’re not alone. Our voices must be heard,” 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. The full text of this week’s commentary follows: This week, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities. They were protesting against the repressive Iranian regime. Remember 2009? Countless Iranians challenged the government after rigged elections, only to be met with brute force. The goal then was to silence the opposition. Clearly, it failed. Secretary of State Clinton said it well: “What we see happening in Iran today is a testament to the courage of the Iranian people and an indictment of the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime, a regime which over the last three weeks has constantly hailed what went on in Egypt. And now, when given the opportunity to afford their people the same right as they called for on behalf of the Egyptian people, the Iranian regime once again illustrates its true nature.” Like human-rights activists everywhere, those Iranian demonstrators need to know they’re not alone. Our voices must be heard. Visit ajc.org

New York – AJC Executive Director David Harris, in his national radio commentary, speaks about the turmoil in Egypt and other Arab countries. “The epicenter can be found in the UN’s Arab Human Development Report – written by Arab intellectuals,” says Harris. “This report has been telling the world some basic truths for years. Maybe now, the world will finally begin to pay attention.” AJC’s weekly radio messages are broadcast on the CBS radio network, before The Osgood File. All AJC radio commentaries since 2001 are available at http://www.ajc.org. The full text of this week’s commentary follows: Everyone is riveted on dramatic developments in the Arab world. Yet, think about it. Until a month ago, few so-called experts spoke about the conditions triggering these events. And even fewer predicted what would happen. If anything, many were trying to point everyone in a different direction. Take the Turkish prime minister. He loudly claimed: “The Palestinian question is at the epicenter of all problems in the Middle East.” Really? Tell that to the demonstrators in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen protesting authoritarian regimes. Rather, the epicenter can be found in the UN’s Arab Human Development Report – written by Arab intellectuals. It speaks of three glaring deficits in the Arab world: the freedom deficit – no democracy; the gender deficit – limited women’s rights; and the knowledge deficit – little research and innovation. This report has been telling the world some basic truths for years. Maybe now, the world will finally begin to pay attention. Visit ajc.org. This is David Harris of AJC

New York – AJC Executive Director David Harris, in his national radio commentary, salutes Southern Sudan’s quest for independence, slated to be declared in July. "  That quest deserves the international community’s sustained support," says Harris. Harris speaks of the recent referendum in which “ninety-nine percent of the voters approved independence from Sudan. Until a few years ago, such a prospect seemed highly unlikely.” 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. The full text of this week’s commentary follows: A new country is coming into existence. It’s the result of a referendum that recently took place in Southern Sudan. Ninety-nine percent of the voters approved independence from Sudan. Until a few years ago, such a prospect seemed highly unlikely. For two decades, Sudan had witnessed deadly conflict. As CNN reported, “The war was sparked by a government effort to impose Islamic law on the mostly Christian south in 1983.... Over two million deaths, many from starvation, are blamed on the 21-year-old conflict.” You see, the north, which has controlled the country till now, is predominantly Arab and Muslim. The south is overwhelmingly Christian and animist. To be sure, many issues still need to be worked out before the scheduled July independence date. But above all, this is an inspiring story about Southern Sudan’s relentless quest for independence and dignity. And that quest deserves the international community’s sustained support. Visit ajc.org. This is David Harris of AJC

January 25, 2011 – New York – AJC Executive Director David Harris, in his national radio commentary, recalls the horrors of the Nazi slaughter of six million Jews in the Holocaust. Harris’s message coincides with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 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 http://www.ajc.org/radiocommentary. The full text of this week’s commentary follows: This week marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It’s a day to remember the six million Jews, including one-and-a-half million children, systematically slaughtered by the Nazis. It’s a day to recall that the Holocaust began with words demonizing the Jews. Then laws disenfranchising them. And, finally, gas chambers destroying them. It’s a day to recall that the genocide was committed by one of the world’s most advanced societies, while too many remained silent. It’s a day to reject the disgraceful Holocaust denial of countries like Iran. And it’s a day to say “never again” and actually mean it. An aging Holocaust survivors recently told me, “Don’t let the world forget what happened to us. It could happen again.” Sobering words. AJC has produced a short film on the Nazi death camp, Belzec. More than 500,000 Jews were slaughtered there in less than a year. Only two Jews survived. See this powerful film at ajc.org. This is David Harris of AJC