Wednesday, January 7, is the deadline for filing applications for the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism 2009, which offers $100,000 for achievers in the field of Zionism.
The Moskowitz Prize for Zionism was established last year by Dr. Irving and Cherna Moskowitz as a counterweight to the Israel Prize, which in recent years has been awarded to figures that include members of the far Left in Israel (Professor Ze'ev Sternhell, for example, known for his fierce expression of the merits of Palestinian terror against Israeli settlers).
The initiators of the Moskowitz Prize felt that the true Zionist heroes in today's Israel do not always receive the institutional recognition and public praise they deserve.
Zionism has been "forced from the public consensus, creating a need to strengthen those people who work for and represent everything that Zionism stands for and show the general public a movement that they can believe in again," the prize's initiators explain.
"This special prize is an expression of support for people who put Zionism into action in today's Israeli society, acting for the benefit of the common good in order to ensure the strength and resilience of the national Jewish homeland," they add.
Last year the Prize initially offered an award of 100 thousand dollars, but when the Prize Committee chose three winners, Dr. and Mrs. Moskowitz raised the total amount of the prize money so each winner could receive 50 thousand dollars. Last year’s winners were Rabbi David Fendel, Head of the Hesder yeshiva in Sderot; Mr. Moshe “Moshko” Moshkovitz, visionary and builder of Gush Etzion; and Brigadier General (res.) Ran Pecker-Ronen, Founder of the “Tzahala” project.
Read more about last year’s winners here.
The staff of the Moskowitz Prize for 2009 is not at liberty to disclose the identities of the nominees for the upcoming Prize, but say that the nominees so far are a diverse array from all walks of life and every sector of Israeli society.
The Prize Committee includes: Cherna Moskowitz as Committee Chair, Prof. Moshe Arens, Brigadier General Avigdor Kahalani, former Ambassador Yoram Ettinger, Rabbi Yedidya Atlas, NCSY National Vice President Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Rabbi Daniel Moskowitz, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, and Nobel Prize Winner Professor Yisrael Aumann as Special Academic Advisor.
To nominate someone for the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism 2009, please visit www.moskowitzprize.com.