“Next week, Jewish people around the world will celebrate Passover which commemorates the exodus story. In recent years, another exodus story has unfolded, but this one is driven by a plague of persecution aimed at the Christians, Kurds, Yazidi, Bahai, and of course, the Jews. This persecution continues today. The persecution of minorities isn’t just taking place at the hands of extremist groups. Last year, Islamist police in Saudi Arabia stormed a Christian prayer meeting and arrested its entire congregation, including women and children. Arresting someone for praying is like arresting someone for having lunch – one is feeding his hunger and the other is feeding his faith. There is only one place in the Middle East where minorities have the freedom to practice their faith, change faiths, or practice no faith at all – and that is Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East.” -Amb. Prossor at UNSC