Awarding $100,000 to people who further cause of Jewish state Posted: March 11, 2008 1:00 am Eastern

By Aaron Klein © 2008 WorldNetDaily

JERUSALEM – At a time when the legitimacy of Israel seems to be increasingly under siege, a U.S. Jewish philanthropist has initiated a yearly prize for people who offer major contributions to Zionism.

Miami doctor Irving Moskowitz initiated the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism, which will award $100,000 annually to those who further the cause of Zionism, or the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and maintenance of Jewish sovereignty in Israel.

Moskowitz is known for his tireless philanthropic efforts aimed at strengthening Israel, particularly the Jewish presence in Jerusalem. He also is president of the Irving Moskowitz Foundation, which aids underprivileged people in the U.S. and abroad.

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“The prize was established in recognition of the people who put Zionism into action in today’s Israeli society – at times risking their own personal security, placing the collective before personal needs, and doing what it takes to ensure a strong, secure Jewish homeland,” the Prize committee chairman, Cherna Moskowitz, told WND.

“Zionism is alive and well today due to the contribution of these dedicated individuals we wish to honor,” Moskowitz said.

The Moskowitz Prize will be awarded this year on Israel’s 60th Independence Day in May.

Brigadier-General Avigdor Kahalani, a member of the prize selection panel, outlined the criteria for receiving the new prize: “We are looking for someone who incarnates the spirit of Zionism today; someone who makes an outstanding contribution to Israel and its security.”

Uzi Landau, a former Israeli Internal Security Minister and prize panelist, said honoring Zionist leaders is “crucial.”

“We as a country must return to our roots and identify ourselves with the very basic values that brought this beautiful country to unmatched achievements in human history,” Landau told WND. “We must honor whatever is beautiful and Jewish and Zionist, especially while we have a national leadership that seems to be gradually loosing its distinct identity.”

The establishment of the Moskowitz Prize follows controversy surrounding the awarding of the Israel Prize, an annual national prize here, to an Israeli professor who has advocated terror attacks against Jews living in the West Bank.

Israeli Education Minister Yuly Tamir, a founder of the extreme leftist Peace Now activist group, awarded this year’s Israel Prize to Haaretz columnist and Tel Aviv professor Ze’ev Sternell, who has called on Israeli soldiers to refuse serving in the West Bank, has strongly protested Israeli anti-terror operations and numerous times referred to Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank as “resistance.”

In a 2001 Haaretz column, Sternell wrote: “To many in Israel, maybe even most voters, (there is) no doubt about the legitimization of the armed resistance in the [West Bank.]

“If the Palestinians had some sense they would concentrate their struggle against the settlements, not hurt women and children, and avoid shooting Gilo, Nahal Oz and Sderot. Also they would avoid putting explosive devices on the western side of the Green Line. This way, the Palestinians themselves would inscribe the profile for a solution that will be achieved in the future anyway.”

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