Michael Freund
Michael FreundMoskowitz Prize

The Moskowitz Prize for Zionism honors individuals making impressive efforts to realize the Zionist vision of fully returning the Jewish people to its land. The 5774 (2014) award ceremony for the prestigious prize is being broadcast via a live feed on Thursday.

The winners of the annual Lion of Zion prize include Michael Freund, who founded the Shavei Israel organization in 2002. The organization was established to strengthen the ties of the Jewish people with groups of Jewish origin and others who wish to become part of the Jewish people.

Shavei Israel has been reaching out to the Bnei Menasheof India, 'hidden Jews' of Poland and of Italy, the Bnei Anousim of Portugal, the Chinese Jewish community of Kaifeng, and others.

The second winner of the Lion of Zion prize is Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon, founder of the NGO "Job Katif," who in 2008 received the President's Medal for Volunteerism for his work in helping people expelled from the Katif Bloc in the 2005 Disengagement find employment.

The third winner, Dr. Gabi Barkai, is an Israeli archeologist who has led the Council against Destruction of the Antiquities of the Temple Mount. In 2005, Dr. Barkai and archeologist Yitzhak Zweig initiated the project for saving invaluable antiquities by sifting through the dirt that the Muslim Waqf illegally removed from the Temple Mount between 1996 and 2001.