Third Annual Goldberg IIE Prize Recognizes Amin Khalaf and Lee Gordon as an Innovative Arab-Jewish Team Working Together To Advance Peace in the Middle East

At a reception in Jerusalem on June 14, U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Gene Cretz and IIE Chief Operating Officer Peggy Blumenthal presented the third annual Victor J. Goldberg IIE Prize for Peace in the Middle East to the Lee Gordon and Amin Khalaf, co-founders of Hand in Hand, an organization that operates bilingual and multicultural schools in Israel. The award recognizes their pioneering work in co-founding the organization, and their success over the past decade in building and developing schools where students from kindergarten through twelfth grade are co-taught by Arab and Jewish instructors and courses are presented in both Hebrew and Arabic. In the 2007-08 school year, Hand in Hand, which began with 50 students in 1998, will expand to serve over 900 Jewish and Arab children in four schools.

Pictured are: Victor J. Goldberg; Goldberg Prize winners Lee Gordon and Amin Khalaf, co-founders of Hand in Hand; IIE's Chief Operating Officer, Peggy Blumenthal; and US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Gene Cretz.

At the Goldberg IIE Prize ceremony at the American Center in Jerusalem are: (front row, left to right) this year's winners, Lee Gordon and Amin Khalaf, co-founders of Hand in Hand; Victor J. Goldberg; and IIE's Chief Operating Officer, Peggy Blumenthal. According to Mr. Goldberg, "The intent of this award is to recognize innovation and reward those who are courageous and committed enough to work together to overcome the religious, cultural, ethnic, and political issues which divide the Middle East. We hope not only to recognize significant work being conducted today, but also to inspire others to join together across these divides to advance the cause of peace in the coming years."