U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel C. Kurtzer

United States Embassy
Israel

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American Embassy Tel Aviv - Press Section
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel C. Kurtzer
Goldberg IIE Prize for Peace in the Middle East
Jerusalem
June 6, 2005

AMBASSADOR KURTZER: Good afternoon. Thank you so much everyone for coming. The suspense is really eating us all up, although if you look at the various family members in the audience you can get a hint at who has won this award.

I do want to recognize Tina Ravitz, the Chief Operating Officer of the Institute of International Education in New York, of course Mr. Victor Goldberg and Mrs. Goldberg, who have donated this prize and all of the other distinguished personalities, including the President of Ben Gurion University whom I saw here a moment ago.

I think you know that the Victor Goldberg IIE Prize for Peace was established in order to recognize the contribution of Israelis and Palestinians who have dedicated themselves to bringing peace to this region. Very often we talk about those who are dedicated to bringing peace to the region. In this case we are honoring both the winners and those who are runners-up who have actually done something about it. They have moved beyond words into action, and they have tried to translate the ideas that they have formulated about peacemaking into action on the ground. These are people who have reached across physical and psychological borders. Many people today, in fact, had to cross those physical borders in order to get here and we applaud their dedication. They certainly have embraced the "other" by reaching out to people on the other side of this conflict, on the other side of the divide, in order to try to build bridges of peace and understanding.

A couple of years ago when she was the National Security Advisor, our current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said that at the toughest, most difficult times, countries that were cut off from one another could sometimes find a way to break down barriers through scholarly exchange. Knowledge truly knows no borders. IIE, which of course is the centerpiece of the efforts here today, has proved through its work over the decades, that knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge not only is important for its own sake, but also for what it can mean for the people who do something with that knowledge and apply it in the field. The American government is proud to be part of this. We have recognized for many years that as a complement to the formal peacemaking efforts, there must be programs and activities that bring people together.

A few years ago we launched a $10 million program that flowed from the Wye River agreement, in which Israelis and Palestinians who sought to work together were given an opportunity to build programs and activities for mutual understanding and ultimately for peace. In addition, our regular international visitor programs and the special programs that our offices of public diplomacy both in the American Embassy in Tel Aviv and at the American Consulate General here in Jerusalem oversee represent an additional means by which we are able to build those cultural bridges of understanding.

One member of each of the five pairs of the finalists of the first annual Goldberg IIE peace prize is an alumnus of an IIE administered exchange program in the United States. Although it wasn't planned that way, one of the recipients of the award was also a participant in the Wye River grants. So, all of our programs have, in fact, proved their worth both intrinsically in helping to build bridges of peace, but also in the continuity of the dedication of the people who are part of those programs.

So, it is a great honor and privilege to represent the United States Government and to recognize both IIE and Victor Goldberg for the prize that they have dedicated to peace. It is perhaps even a greater honor to recognize the achievements of the individuals who are to be awarded today, both the winners and those who competed. In fact, what you have proved is that through your competition and through the work that you are doing, you are all winners, bringing us closer to the peace and reconciliation that both Israelis and Palestinians so richly deserve.

Thank you so much. (Applause)

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