Salome Zourabichvili received the highest award from the Friends of Zion Heritage Center for establishing a joint Israel-Georgia culture office and for the fight against anti-Semitism in Georgia.

Zion Heritage Center hosted the Georgian Embassy’s Presidential Ceremony. The President of Georgia accepted the award and addressed the event attendants.

“Such ceremonies are a necessity. ​Remembrance is vital. Only if humans remember can we all prevent the repetition of the past. Memory is what distinguishes humans from animals, and gives us the ability to acknowledge past crimes. We can never be confident enough that intolerance will not prevail once again.

We, Georgians, can be proud that there was never any distinction made in Georgia on the basis of religion. We always totally accepted this integral part of Georgia that was the Jewish community.

The inexistence of antisemitism cannot be in itself a cause of pride, just as one cannot pride oneself of not being a criminal. But we can be proud of something else, of the quality of bonds that have existed between Georgians and Jews”, - said Salome Zurabishvili.