The awarding ceremony for the 2019 Moskowitz Prize for Zionism took place at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
The "Lion of Zion" prize was presented to Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, chairwomen of the Movement for Sovereignty by Women in Green, to Moshe Koppel, a founder of the research institute Kohelet Forum and to the mayor of Beit Shemesh Aliza Bloch.
Moreover, Maor Farid, founder and director of the "Learning to Succeed" organization, and Ruti-Anatoohun Turetsky, a member of the Israeli Society for the Heritage of Ethiopian Jewry, received the "Spirit of Zion" award.
The Moskowitz Prize for Zionism has reached its 12th edition. It was established in 2008 as an expression of support for people who put Zionism into action in today's Israeli society by American physician and philanthropist Irving Moskowitz, who passed away in 2016, and by his wife Cherna. The award includes a $100,000 monetary prize that is divided among the recipients each year.
According to a press release, Katsover and her daughter-in-law Matar spoke on behalf of the recipients, highlighting the importance of encouraging Zionist action in the present generation.
Katsover was part of the group of women who in 1979 entered the Beit Hadassah complex in Hebron, an act that according to many paved the way for establishing a Jewish community in the city.
In 1993 Katsover and Matar established Women in Green, a leading movement in the protests against the Oslo Accords and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The Kohelet Forum founded by Moshe Koppel in 2012 is the largest research institute in the Israeli Right. It is devoted to anchor Israel's permanent status as the nation-state of the Jewish people while strengthening representative democracy and individual freedom in Israel. Over 15 years ago, Koppel formulated the first draft of the Israeli nation-state law passed in 2018.
Aliza Bloch was elected mayor of Beit Shemesh in 2018, after heading the largest public school in the city for 14 years.
Maor Farid established the "Learn to Succeed" program, a non-profit organization whose goal is to encourage and promote youth and students from the geographic and socio-economic periphery to excellence and self-fulfillment, both through academic success and through meaningful service in the IDF.
Ruti-Anatoohun Turetsky, who was born in Ethiopia and immigrated to Israel during Operation Solomon when she was 5, is an activist, teacher and comic book author.
Musicians Avraham Fried and Amir Dadon performed at the Moskowitz Prize awarding ceremony.