It might not be the most prestigious or overly glamorous award there is, but its impact on the Jewish community particularly makes it significantly notable and worthwhile. Recognized for their unique contributions towards various humanitarian deeds, previous winners have embraced the essence of Unity Day and established themselves as champions in enabling empowering and healthy environments to nurture an optimally united and loving society. Below are some of the previous winners of the Jerusalem Unity Prize;
Kesher Yehudi
Category: National (2016)
One of the most divisive factors yet to be entirely gotten rid of within the Jewish community is the animosity and hatred peddled amongst the Jewish people themselves. Kesher Yehudi set out to work on improving the relationship that exists among the Jewish people in both the social as well as religious fields. Creating awareness and educating more and more Jewish people on their sacred spiritual practices as well as the non-exclusivity of the Torah, plays a big role in uniting this community to the betterment of peaceful and joyous coexistence. By helping people get to learn about each other, tolerance and adaptability to different ideologies and practices become more appealing hence creating a united community enabled by understanding and empathy.
Hapoel “Katamon” Football Club
Category: Local (2016)
Sports are one of those social activities that have a global unification impact. Its diversity and entertainment factor make it hard to focus on divisive and damaging aspects such as crime. Football has been an exhilarating part of the sport for centuries and has been known to bring entire populations of people together regardless of their origins. The Hapoel “Katamon” Football Club is a sporting establishment in Jerusalem, Israel, that has tremendously united football-loving spectators since its inception in 2007. The club has been working with a group of talented individuals to come up with competitive teams made up of different age groups, from children to adults and from male to female teams. It not only brings together spectating fans but also residents of the community who engage in the various activities set up by the club to serve different purposes, including educational purposes. The establishment of this football club continues to play a major role in uniting people from various communities impacting a wider population in doing so.
Global School Twinning Network
Category: Global (2016)
Part of the reason there are misunderstandings and friction between the Jewish community in Israel and their global counterparts would be the limited amount of knowledge there is amongst either of the communities. This, in turn, limits the optimal chances that could potentially unite the Jewish community on both a local and international stage. This establishment has endeavored to eliminate the global boundaries there are between the local and international communities by making it possible for interaction and learning opportunities.
The Global School Twinning Network is a schooling program officially established in 2011. It involves pairing, otherwise referred to as twinning, Israeli schools with Jewish or Hebrew schools from abroad with the aim of learning how information or knowledge is passed down to students and how effective each of the schools’ methods are. The program is steadily growing and has so far seen more than 500 schools being paired since the establishment took flight.
This program has effectively bridged a gap that existed between the international Jewish community creating unnecessary misunderstandings when it comes to both social and religious