Polish Woman Honored for Combating anti-Semitism
April 13, 2007- Warsaw- The American Jewish Committee today honored Zuzanna Radzik for her courage in combating anti-Semitism.
"By her principled actions, Ms. Radzik serves as a telling example of how an individual, outraged and offended by the distribution of racist material, can make a difference," said David A. Harris, AJC executive director.
Radzik has been involved in Catholic-Jewish dialogue since she was in high school. While in school she learned that anti-Semitic and xenophobic literature and materials were being sold in the Antyk bookstore in one of Poland's most important Catholic churches, the All Saints Church in Warsaw's Grzybowski Square. The church is a few steps from the Nozyk Synagogue.
Radzik mounted a determined public campaign to shut down the bookstore by pressing Catholic authorities to stop providing space. In December 2006, the Antyk bookstore was closed by the new parish priest of the All Saints Church.
Moreover, Radzik is a member of Poland's Council of Christians and Jews, which is chaired by Stanislaw Krajewski, AJC's representative in Poland. She also is a regular essayist for the most influential Catholic journals, Tygodnik Powszechny and Znak, where she promotes interfaith understanding and cooperation.
The award was presented by Harris at a gathering of participants in two AJC missions that are simultaneously visiting Poland, as well as Polish alumni of AJC's decade-long exchange program with Poland's Forum for Dialogue Among Nations, and a number of Polish dignitaries.
The AJC senior leadership delegation also met today with Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga and other senior Polish officials to discuss issues related to the Middle East, where Polish troops are currently serving in Iraq and Lebanon, transatlantic relations and regional issues.
Minister Fotyga will be leaving this weekend for an official visit to Israel as a special guest of her Israeli counterpart in connection with the commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The AJC group also met with Israeli Ambassador David Peleg and senior American diplomats.
The young leadership mission, composed of twenty American, European and Australian delegates associated with AJC, are engaged in meetings with Polish, Israeli and American officials in Warsaw to enhance their understanding of contemporary Poland. They will be visiting the Belzec Memorial and Museum, which was a joint project of the American Jewish Committee and the Government of Poland, and participating in the annual March of the Living at Auschwitz-Birkenau on April 16.
Ari M. Gordon Assistant Director Department of Interreligious Affairs American Jewish Committee 165 E56th St. New York, NY 10022 (212) 891-6768 (212) 751-4000 x266 www.ajc.org www.engagingamerica.org