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Director of Shurat HaDin Wins Prestigious Prize
April 4, 2012: The director of Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center, Attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, was recently chosen as a winner of this year's prestigious award for Zionism. The annual recognition, "Lion of Zion" Moskowitz Prize for Zionism, seeks to bestow "support for people…acting for the benefit of the common good in order to ensure the strength and resilience of the national Jewish homeland.""I was surprised, thrilled and deeply moved to have been chosen to be awarded the Moskowitz Prize," remarked Attorney Darshan-Leitner. "Being awarded the prize inspires all of us to be ever vigilant, innovative and even more deeply committed to using legal activism to ensure Israel's safety and survival," she added.
Director Darshan-Leitner further pointed out that the announcement comes "at a time Israel's opponents worldwide are aggressively trying to delegitimize and destroy the Jewish state," and that such an award recognizes "the important accomplishments Shurat HaDin has achieved in advocating for and defending Israel and Zionism."
In selecting Darshan-Leitner, the prize committee noted Nitsana's "dedication, day in and day out, to preserving the honor of Israel and to pressing the legal case against those who seek to harm it." They additionally stressed that Darshan-Leitner had "achieved results, including some about which we in this country are still unaware… [She] is a beacon for society."
According to the prize committee, hundreds of candidate credentials were sent in by the general public, in turn making the selection process a lengthy one. The committee stresses that one of the traits shared by all winners is that "each does not see themselves as an extraordinary person…but as one who simply fulfils their duty to make Israel a better place and a more Zionist home."
Apart from Darshan-Leitner, the prize will also be received by Yitzchak Glick, Chairman of the Emergency Medical Center in Efrat, and Tzvika Slonim, a founder of the Ariel University Center. The award will be presented at a ceremony on May 22 in the City of David, Jerusalem. It will include a $100,000 cash prize, divided amongst this year's winners.
The Moskowitz Prize for Zionism was established by Dr. Irving and Cherna Moskowitz as an expression of support for people who put Zionism into action in today's Israeli society. The public committee's members include Moshe Arens, a former minister of defense, and Brig. General Avigdor Kahalani, receiver of the IDF Medal of Valor. Previous prize winners have included former Mossad director Meir Dagan and the co-founder of Nefesh B'Nefesh, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass.
In October 2011, Attorney Darshan-Leitner was named by Globes, Israel's leading business newspaper, as one of the Jewish state's 50 Most Influential Women.
