On the third annual Unity Day, the mothers of three young terror victims and their friends call for tolerance, notwithstanding our differences, for the sake of our children and the Jewish future.
The Jerusalem Unity Prize and Global Unity Day, first observed in June 2015, were created by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and GESHER – together with the families of Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Sha’ar and Naftali Frankel – in memory of the three teenagers who were kidnapped and murdered by Palestinian terrorists the previous summer. The 2017 prize was awarded to recipients in three categories: local, national and global.
Winning in the Global category of the prize was Limmud, the international network of Jewish learning communities.
The national prize winner was awarded to Tzav Pius, which “works to develop an Israeli society in which Jews of differing perceptions along the secular-orthodox spectrum, share a strong commitment to Jewish and democratic values, thus encouraging social and educational changes.”
The award in the local category was presented to two recipients. The first non-Jewish candidate for the prize, award recipient Dr. Janaan Frajj Falah has worked to advanced initiatives that bridge social gaps between women of diverse backgrounds in Israel’s North. The second winner is Kehilat Hadar, based in Haifa, which works to promote social and cultural harmony between local groups of various religions and ethnicities
While Israel remains the epicenter of Unity Day, this year over 30 nations, 150 cities and 200 organizations across the globe are participating in programming and events scheduled for schools, synagogues and community centers.
In this video, the mothers of the three young victims and some of their friends call for tolerance and unity, notwithstanding our differences, for the sake of our children and the Jewish future.