Saturday, June 29, 2013

American Jewish Student Killed in Egypt Protests; Andrew Pochter Stabbed When Filming Clashes

A 21-year-old American Jewish student from Chevy Chase, Maryland was killed yesterday during protests in Alexandria, Egypt. Andrew Driscoll Pochter had been in Egypt working for a nonprofit organization called Amideast, the Newser website reports today (June 29, 2013).

Pochter went to Alexandria for the summer to teach English to 7- and 8-year-old Egyptian children and to improve his Arabic, according to his parents. He was looking forward to returning to Kenyon College for his junior year and to spending his spring semester in Jordan, his parents said.

Pochter was stabbed in the chest during protests in Alexandria, say Egyptian authorities. The U.S. State Department says he had been photographing the clashes between opponents and supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi near the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood when he was stabbed.

His family said: "He went to Egypt because he cared profoundly about the Middle East, and he planned to live and work there in the pursuit of peace and understanding."

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