President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades decorated the CEO of the American Jewish Committee, David Harris, with the Medal of the Grand Commander of the Order of Makarios III, for his “extraordinary work in defense of human rights and dignity around the world, as well as his immense contribution to the enhancement of relations between Cyprus, Israel, Greece and the United States.”
 
At the ceremony, which took place last night at the residence of the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cyprus in the UN, in New York, the President said that  this award is a “symbolic reciprocation of the feelings of gratitude and appreciation of the Cypriot people.”
 
David Harris, the son of Holocaust survivors, has dedicated his life to the promotion of Jewish interests, with the late Israeli President Shimon Peres describing him as “the foreign minister of the Jewish people”, President Anastasiades said. A statement, the President went on, that encapsulates Harris’ leadership these past 30 years at the helm of the American Jewish Committee, since – as he said – through his vision and hard work, he managed to establish the AJC as one of the most influential Jewish advocacy organizations.
 
President Anastasiades said AJC was an Organization whose principles are not limited to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and combating intolerance, anti-Semitism, discrimination and hate speech on the global stage, but are also extended to actively promoting democratic values in the United States and beyond. And it is no coincidence that the AJC has rapidly expanded to 39 regional offices and representatives, establishing 37 partnerships with international Jewish community organizations and, at the same time, maintaining friendly relations with more than 110 governments around the world, he added.
 
He said moreover that David Harris is genuinely passionate about forging lasting peace in the Middle East, through advocating enhanced cooperation, integration and trust-building amongst the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, as per the example of the signatories of the Abraham Accords, in full respect of human rights and the rule of law. Neither this list of accomplishments, nor his impressive career, captures the full measure of David Harris, President Anastasiades noted.
 
President Anastasiades said that Harris` commitment to defend human dignity and promote peace in the wider Middle Eastern region “is unparalleled. That is why, guided by this belief, Turkey’s human rights abuses in Cyprus could not have gone unnoticed by David Harris. Ever since the military invasion of Turkey in 1974, Mr. Harris never shied away from condemning not only Turkey’s actions, but also all those who, based on their own interests, turn a blind eye at the unacceptable status quo in Cyprus.”
 
Quoting Harris, the President said that “Turkey, to take just one example, has brazenly and illegally occupied more than one-third of the island nation of Cyprus for 46 years, deployed an estimated 40,000 Turkish troops there, and transferred countless settlers from Anatolia, yet not a peep about Ankara from those who purport to act in the name of `justice` and against `occupation`.”

The President said, Harris, as a man of principles “did not hesitate to immediately condemn Turkey’s illegal and aggressive actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the repeated intrusions of the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone, the intention to change the status of part of the fenced city of Famagusta, as well as the Turkish irrational position for a two-state solution, outside the UN parameters, President Anastasiades explained.”
 
Furthermore, he said that Harris has been working tirelessly not only in materializing the trilateral partnership between Cyprus – Greece – Israel, but also in constantly and persistently strengthening it. An act with profound geopolitical meaning, as it establishes the institutional framework for energy and security cooperation between the United States, Cyprus, Israel and Greece, the President of Cyprus underlined.
 
On his part, Harris express his gratitude to President Anastasiades, and also thanked the Foreign Minister of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, “a long-time friend, partner and colleague with whom I had a fruitful meeting” earlier.
 
He referred to the will of the Jewish American community, the Greek and Greek Cypriot American community to enhance the ties among Cyprus, Greece and Israel, and paid tribute to Greek and Cypriot Americans, as well as his colleagues from the AJC, adding that “together we changed the face of Eastern Mediterranean.”

Referring to the Cyprus problem, Harris said that “we believe we have to build bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, in our estimation beginning with Energy, Electricity and Environment, and create a new model for what is possible in the region. A model so successful that other countries in the region that are watching would want to join, who would say ‘we don’t want to be left behind with many evil extremists who want to sow the seeds of conflict. We want to sow the seeds of coexistence`.”

“We want to send a message to the regional predators, including those who continue to occupy more than a third of Cyprus, that theirs is not the path of the future. Ours is the path of the future. And Cyprus, Israel and Greece are engines of this train. And others have joined this train, and there are still more countries that can be added to the train and more topics that can be added to the agenda of this train” he noted.
 
He also spoke of his love for Cyprus, the Hellenic culture and how much it has formed him as an individual. Concluding, Harris said that “there is no limit to what we can achieve together.”