Neve Shalom Wahat al-Salam receives award of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee

Deanna Armbruster, executive director of the American Friends of Neve Shalom Wahat al-Salam, has been honored at the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee’s (ADC) Annual Fundraising Gala in Dearborn, Michigan with the Building Bridges Award, which is granted annually to an individual who is working on efforts to build relations between groups.

The award was bestowed on December 1 at a fundraising gala titled "Opening Doorways to Peace". Keynote speaker at the event was HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, first deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs for Qatar. Altogether about 1,400 people attended.

As the largest Arab American organization in the United States, the ADC is committed to defending the rights of Americans of Arab descent and promoting their rich cultural heritage. The ADC’s Michigan Director, Mr. Imad Hamad, championed the award to Ms. Armbruster as a way to raise the profile of the "Oasis of Peace" in the Arab American community.

Ms. Armbruster has earned the award through her strong dedication to developing the American Friends of Neve Shalom Wahat al-Salam in such a way that Arab and Jewish Americans (as well as others) are strongly involved. Like the village itself, AFNSWAS is engaged in building bridges.

Ms. Armbruster is, together with Michael Emery, co-author of Tears in the Holy Land: Voices from Israel & Palestine.

See also "Qatari foreign minister addresses ADC gala" in The Arab American.