Pole recognized for anti-Semitism fight

The American Jewish Committee honored a young Polish woman for combating anti-Semitism. Zuzanna Radzik, in her early 20s, has been involved in Catholic-Jewish dialogue since she was in high school.At 19, Radzik alerted the Catholic Church of Poland to the existence of anti-Semitic books at the Antyk bookstore in the basement of All Saints Church, across from the Nozyk Synagogue. Believing that her concerns were not being addressed sufficiently by Church leaders, she took her campaign to the Polish press, and the cache of anti-Semitic books at Antyk was nearly eliminated. In 2006, the new priest at All Saints Church refused to renew the bookstore’s lease.”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,” AJCommittee Executive Director David Harris said while presenting Radzik the honor in Warsaw.Radzik is a member of Poland’s Council of Christians and Jews, which is chaired by AJCommittee Poland representative Stanislaw Krajewski. She also is a regular essayist for influential Catholic journals Tygodnik Powszechny and Znak, where she promotes interfaith understanding and cooperation.