The Welfare Association Awards a Prize for Excellence in Achievement to Adalah

On 4 May 2005, the Welfare Association awarded Adalah one of three 2004 NGO Awards for Excellence in Achievement, at a ceremony organized by the Welfare Association. The ceremony was held in the Jordanian capital Amman, and attended by major Palestinian personalities, including Queen Rania of Jordan. Two other Palestinian NGOs, from the West Bank – the Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC), and the Young Scientists' Forum – also received awards. During the ceremony three short documentaries were screened on the winning organizations, all produced by George Khalifi.

The award was open to Palestinian organizations from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israel and Lebanon. Among the criteria used in appraising the applications were governance and organizational leadership, organizational structure, allocation of budget and resources, transparency, and programs and activities. In presenting an award for Excellence in Achievement to an organization, the Welfare Association is also recognizing the outstanding impact the organization has on the development and welfare of the Palestinian people.

Adalah was awarded a prize in the value of US$10,000, which Attorney Hassan Jabareen, the General Director of Adalah, collected during the event. Attorney Jabareen said that, “What sets the Welfare Association Award for Excellence in Achievement apart from other awards is that it comes from the most important organization for our Palestinian people, which gives it great significance for Adalah.” Ms. Maha Abu-Dayyeh Shamas received the overall prize of US$50,000 on behalf of WCLAC, and Professor Walid Deeb a further prize of US$10,000 on behalf of the Young Scientists' Forum.

Founded in 1983, the Welfare Association is a leading Palestinian non-governmental development organization. Using funds raised from its own members, from Palestinians in the Diaspora, and from the Middle East region, the Welfare Association has been a consistent and responsible source of development funds for Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel, and Lebanon during a 20-year period that has spanned continuing occupation, political transition, the state-building process and, since the year 2000, the ongoing emergency situation in Palestine.

Commenting on the award, Adalah's Chairperson Dr. Marwan Dwairy, said, “I see the prize not only as an acknowledgement of the work done by Adalah's staff and Board of Directors, but also of the issue of the rights of the Arab minority in Israel, which Adalah supports with courage and a high level of professionalism.”