Israeli president honours academic for helping Syrian refugees

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin honoured an American-Jewish academic for her efforts to help Syrian refugees.

Rivlin, who has called the Syrian civil war a form of “mass murder” to which Israel must “not remain indifferent,” on Thursday praised the actions of Georgette Bennett at an awards ceremony in Tel Aviv for eight groups or individuals deemed to have made a positive impact in the developing world.

Bennett, the founder of the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees, and the other seven recipients of the Global Impact Awards “represent the best of our academic research, the best of Israeli innovation,” Rivlin said.

Bennett, born in Hungary to Jewish World War II refugees, oversaw her organisation’s delivery through Israel of roughly £93M ($120 million)’s worth of equipment for relief efforts in Syria, according to OLAM, a Jewish coalition of aid groups and charities that partnered with the event’s organisers at the Society for International Development.

Other recipients of the award included Jean-Claude Nkulikiyimfura, for his work at youth village in Rwanda; GivingWay; IsraAID; Tahal and Rescuers without Borders.