### MEDIA ALERT ### Nov 7, 2024 (New York) At its annual meeting today, AMEU’s Board congratulated this year’s recipient of the AMEU / John and Sharon Mahoney Award for Service, Dr. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian. The award was announced by AMEU’s Board president Mimi Kirk and was unanimously acclaimed by AMEU’s Board of Directors. The Mahoney award is given annually and carries an honorarium of $5000. This year’s award comes at the conclusion of several months’ consideration of over 20 nominations.
Dr. Shalhoub-Kevorkian, a renowned legal scholar with appointments at Princeton, Harvard Divinity School, University of South Africa, and Queen Mary University of London, recently left Hebrew University when comments she made in the wake of October 7th placed her at the center of controversy. After being suspended by Hebrew University’s administration, she became a target of investigation for incitement. Widespread protests broke out when she was arrested in April.
In selecting Dr. Shalhoub-Kevorkian for this year’s award, AMEU’s Board President Mimi Kirk acknowledged her courage in the face of a fearful Israeli public, during a period of historic threats to academic freedom in Israel and elsewhere. A month prior to her arrest in April, she had commented about genocide, dispossession, and the unacceptable constraints Zionism imposes on Israeli society. “The irony that someone of her stature should be silenced in Israel at the very time when American academics were facing congressional meddling in the United States made her a standout nominee in this harrowing time,” Kirk said. She noted that Dr. Shalhoub-Kevorkian would be participating in the inauguration of a Chair in Palestinian Studies at the University of California, saying “hopefully more Americans will hear from Dr. Nadera—a Jerusalemite herself– about realities of doing scholarship in Israel in the post-Oct 7 climate.”
The Mahoney Award was established by the AMEU Board in 2022 to recognize and celebrate exceptional contributions to uplifting and improving American understanding of the Middle East, its peoples, histories, and cultures. It is named in honor of AMEU Board member John F. Mahoney, who directed the organization for four decades and continues to serve on the Board. Past awardees include Julia Bacha/JustVision Films, makers of “Boycott” and “Control Room”, and artist Shirien Creates, whose work captured the attention of millions during the Black Lives Matter crisis.
This year’s selection committee included AMEU board members Muna Killingback, Dan Norton, Kathleen Christison, and Chair Mimi Kirk. Public members of the committee included Dr. Muna El Kurd of Richmond University, Dr. Katherine Fisher Taylor of University of Chicago, and Maeve Collins, University of Connecticut graduate of the class of 2024, and representative of the Mahoney family.
Additional information is available at www.ameu.org, and by email inquiries may be sent to mahoneyaward@ameu.org.AMEU is a 501(c)3 charitable non-profit organization since 1968.