The Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award is an award made annually by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel

Association for Civil Rights in Israel

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel was created as an independent non-partisan organization to protect human rights and civil rights in Israel and the territories under its control....

 to "an individual or NGO

Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

 that has made a unique contribution to the advancement of human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

". The award was established in 1981 but was renamed in 1983 after the murder of activist Emil Grunzweig

Emil Grunzweig

Emil Grunzweig was an Israeli teacher and peace activist affiliated with the Peace Now movement. He became an icon of the Israeli left after he was killed by a grenade thrown at a peace rally in Jerusalem in 1983.-Biography:Emil Grunzweig was born in Cluj in Transylvania, Romania...

 by a grenade thrown by a right-wing sympathizer during a Peace Now demonstration against the war in Lebanon

1982 Lebanon War

The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...

.

Winners of the award

Winners of the award have included:

1981 - Gabriel Stern, journalist for Al Hamishmar.

1982 - Yehuda Litani, Ha'aretz reporter in the occupied territories

Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...

; special posthumous recognition to Dr. Robert Walsh, a Jewish journalist in Germany.

1983 - Lieutenant Colonel Dov Yirmiya, for his activities promoting the welfare of civilians in Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

; this was the year the award was first named after Emil Grunzweig.

1984 - Moshe Negbi, editor of the radio program "Din Udvarim".

1985 - Baruch Meiri, journalist for Ma'ariv

Maariv

Maariv is a Hebrew language daily newspaper published in Israel. It is second in sales after Yedioth Ahronoth and third in readership after Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel HaYom. In a TGI survey comparing the last half of 2009 with the same period in 2008, Maariv saw its market share fall slightly...

.

1986 - Prof. Yitzhak Zamir

Yitzhak Zamir

Yitzhak Zamir is a professor of public law and Dean of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Faculty of Law, a former Attorney General of Israel, first Dean of the University of Haifa's Law Faculty, and Judge in the Israeli Supreme Court.-Biography:Zamir was born in Warsaw in Poland on April 15,...

, former legal advisor to the government.

1987 - High court justice Zvi Berenson.

1988 - Reporters in the occupied territories.

1989 - Alice Shalvi

Alice Shalvi

Professor Alice Hildegard Shalvi is a leading figure in progressive Jewish education for girls.- Biography :Shalvi was born in Essen, Germany, to a Zionist Orthodox Jewish family, the youngest of three children...

, the founder of the Israel Women's Network.

1990 - Yitzhak Kadman, head of the National Council on Children's Welfare.

1991 - Dr. Lotta Saltzburger, a founder of the Hotline for Victims of Violence.

1992 - Bassem Eid, the founder of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group

Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group

The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group is a diverse human rights group founded in December 1996 by a group of prominent Palestinians, including members of the Palestinian Legislative Council ....

; special award to Mr. James Ya'acov Rosenthal, journalist, for his lifelong devotion to human rights.

1993 - Eyal Simchoni, attorney.

1994 - Yitzhak Clinton Bailey, campaigner for Bedouin

Bedouin

The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...

 rights.

1995 - Foundation for aid to women and girls victims of violence in the Arab sector.

1996 - Gideon Levy

Gideon Levy

Gideon Levy is an Israeli journalist.Levy writes opinion pieces and a weekly column for the newspaper Haaretz that often focus on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories...

, Ha'aretz journalist.

1997 - Community Defense, a legal organisation that assists residents of impoverished neighborhoods in obtaining their rights; the Gouarish family for agreeing to donate the organs of their son, killed by Israeli Defence Forces fire, to recipients both Jewish and Arab.

1998 - Workers' Hotline, for their activities promoting the rights of foreign workers; Major General Hareven; special lifetime award to Shulamit Aloni

Shulamit Aloni

Shulamit Aloni is an Israeli politician and left-wing activist. She is a prominent member of the Israeli peace camp, founded the Ratz party and was leader of the Meretz party and served as Minister of Education from 1992 to 1993.-Biography:...

.

1999 - Physicians for Human Rights

Physicians for Human Rights

Physicians for Human Rights was founded in 1986 by a small group of doctors who believed the unique scientific expertise and authority of health professionals could bring human rights violations to light and provide justice for victims...

 and its founder Ruchama Marton

Ruchama Marton

Ruchama Marton is an Israeli psychotherapist, psychiatrist, and feminist, and the founder of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel.-Early Life and Work:...

.

2000 - Ha'aretz journalist Dr. Yossi Algazi.

2002 - Miriam Darmoni Sharvit and Sigal Rosen of the hotline for foreign workers.

2003 - the women of Machsom Watch

Machsom Watch

Machsom Watch, or Checkpoint Watch is a group of Israeli women who monitor checkpoints in the West Bank and the military courts, out of opposition to the Israeli occupation...

, organization of Israeli women who monitor checkpoints.

2004 - Hanna Safran, feminist.

2006 - Adva Center

Adva Center

-History:Adva was founded in 1991 by activists from three social movements: the movement for equality for Mizrahi Jews, the feminist movement, and the movement for equal rights for Arab citizens. The director of the center is Barbara Svirski and its chairman is Yossi Dahan.-Objectives:Adva Center...

 for analysis of Israeli policy.

2007 - Kolech ("Your Voice", fem.), the religious Zionist feminist movement.

2008 - The group for free legal aid for foreign workers, at Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...

.

2009 - Ruth and Paul Kedar of the Yesh Din

Yesh Din

Yesh Din is an Israeli human rights group providing legal assistance to citizens of the Palestinian territories. Its name comes from a Hebrew phrase meaning “there is law”...

organization for human rights.

External links

• Full list of prizewinners in Hebrew from ACRI site