Gandhi Peace Award

The Gandhi Peace Award was most recently (May 2012) presented to Amy Goodman for her contribution to promoting a sustainable peace through the promotion of transparently truthful journalism—one essential part of which is to report the true horrors and long-term after-effects of war, to those who support war oblivious to the actual consequences. Goodman is an internationally known broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, author, and the anchor and co-founder of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio and television and via the Internet. (Her acceptance speech may be viewed here.)

In 2011 the Award was presented to Rabbi Ehud Bandel & Rabbi Arik Ascherman for their leadership of Rabbis for Human Rights and its nonviolent resistance to the persecution of Palestinians in the occupied territories. (Their acceptance speeches may be viewed here.)

Like all perennial activities of Promoting Enduring Peace (PEP), the Gandhi Peace Award was conceived by the organization’s founder, Jerome Davis. He first proposed the award to the board of Promoting Enduring Peace on 13 March 1959. It has been issued since 1960, when it was presented to Eleanor Roosevelt, and consists of a certificate, a ceremony, and the presentation of a bronze medallion inscribed with a quotation by Gandhi, "Love Ever Suffers/Never Revenges Itself." A prominent New York sculptor, Don Benaron/Katz, was commissioned to create a work of art to serve as the symbol of the Award. He researched Gandhi at the library of the India House in New York City and by 1960 had carved a striking portrait of the founder of the century’s international movement for nonviolent change. He wrote, “I carved the Gujarati word for peace on one side, and on the other a symbolic plowshare and pruning hook inspired by Isaiah 2:4...″

They shall beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war any more.