Nitsana Darshan-Leitner Awarded Prestigious Begin Prize for 2021

Shurat HaDin President Nitsana Darshan-Leitner was awarded the prestigious Menachem Begin Foundation Prize for 2021 in a ceremony held at the Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. The award to Darshan-Leitner recognized her and the Law Center for a career of “providing a voice to the victims of Palestinian terror, for safeguarding the global Jewish community, seeking justice against Israel’s enemies, combatting the boycotters and endeavoring to protect IDF soldiers in forums worldwide.” It was noted that Darshan-Leitner launched her organization, along with other Israeli lawyers, during the dark days of the Second Intifada, when the government had no real response to the daily Palestinian suicide bombings that were devastating Israel. Their goal was to set an example for the country, that when under murderous attack, Jews needed to fight back and go on the offense against their pursuers. Since then, Shurat HaDin has led the legal activist battle on behalf of Israel. According to Begin Foundation Director Herzl Mackov: “For their decisive activity in the legal war against terrorist organizations and attack on their financing methods in a world-wide campaign, Attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner and Shurat HaDin are awarded the Menachem Begin Prize for the year of 2021.” In her acceptance speech, Darshan-Leitner stated: “The former prime minister, Menachem Begin, taught us that Jews must stand tough even when faced with the most powerful and unrelenting of enemies. That we need to respond to every rights violation, every threat to our survival and every challenge to our dignity . . . Over the past two decades, Shurat HaDin has tried to give a voice to the victims of terrorism, to combat the blood libels waged against the IDF, and to go on the offense against the extremist BDS movement. To be recognized for our work is always important and motivating, to be recognized by an organization like the Begin Foundation is especially rewarding and meaningful to us.”