Israeli NGO IsraAID was on Monday presented with a national integration prize by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for its project aiding refugees in Germany, alongside a German Jewish organisation.
The project “Building Bridges Encountering diversity” won the annual prize for imparting the values of tolerance, non-discrimination, equal rights and acceptance of different religions in its work with refugees.
It is run jointly by IsraAID and the Central Welfare Office of the Jews in Germany, at 10 migrant reception centres in Berlin and Frankfurt.
Workers in the project are Arabic-speaking Israelis, Jewish Israelis as well as Germans, who are also supported by volunteers.
The Building Bridges project provides psychological and social support in Arabic for at-risk refugee women and victims of gender-based violence living in shelters, as well as training and counselling for shelter staff.
Chancellor Merkel called the project “a really groundbreaking initiative”, and it receives support from the German government.
