The Eliav-Sartawi Awards for Middle Eastern Journalism (founded by the Zel Lurie Journalism Fund)

About the Awards
Search for Common Ground holds annual Awards for Journalism in the Middle East. Known since 2003 as the Eliav-Sartawi Awards for Middle Eastern Journalism, the Awards recognize and encourage journalism that contributes to better understanding between people and maintaining political dialogue in the Middle East.

The Awards were originally conceived by Mr Zel Lurie, a veteran American journalist who first began reporting on the Middle East during the British Mandate in Palestine before 1948. By creating the awards, Mr Lurie sought to give recognition to journalists whose work promotes greater understanding between Arabs and Israelis.

TThe Awards are named after two courageous pioneers of the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. Dr Issam Sartawi, 1936-1983 (Bio), recognized internationally, culminating in him being awarded the Kreisky Prize in 1979. He was assassinated in April 1983 in a hotel lobby in Lisbon, Portugal while participating in the building of the peace process. The Centre for the Advancement of Peace and Democracy at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem is named after Dr Sartawi. Lova Eliav (Bio), has been active in Israeli politics and diplomacy ever since the founding of the state. A member of the Knesset from 1965 - 1979 and again from 1988 - 1992, Eliav served as Secretary-General of the Labor Party in the early 1970s, a position he lost after calling for negotiations with the Palestinians.

The main objective of the awards is to celebrate journalism that contributes to better understanding between people in the Middle East. We honor articles that try to open windows of understanding on the people in the region, and the issues that divide them, provide insight into regional issues and debates, contribute to political dialogue, expose readers to new perspectives and help to lay the groundwork for peaceful solutions.

Submissions
Awards will be offered for articles published originally in Arabic, in Hebrew and in other languages, including English. The articles must have been published between August 1st, 2007 and May of 2008 in a recognized newspaper, magazine, web-publication or other periodical.

Each winner will be invited to the United States for an award ceremony in the Fall of 2008 and will receive a monetary prize of $1,000.

Application submissions will be accepted in the Spring of 2008.

Previous Award Winners
Click on the year for more information about the winning articles.

• 2007: Gershon Baskin, Bassam Aramin, Salameh Nematt and Akiva Eldar
• 2006: Bradley Burston, Simone Korkus and Vivian Salama
• 2005: Eetta Prince-Gibson, Khaled Duzdar, Gershon Baskin and Steven Erlanger
• 2004: Rami G. Khouri, Imtiyaz Delawala and Amanda Paulson
• 2003: Tawfiq Abu Baker, Mohamed Mosaad, Lauren Gelfond, Ori Golan, Tracy Wilkinson, Libby Traubman and Len Traubman
• 2002: Sari Nusseibeh, Helen Schary Motro, Helen Schary Motro, Tawfiq Abu Bakr, Khalil Shikaki, Ami Isseroff, Yair Hirschfeld, Yossi Beilin, Yasir Abed Rabbo, Robert Malley and Hussein Agha

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