NEW YORK (Press Release)–Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, Founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader of the breast cancer movement, was honored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) during a ceremony at its National Executive Committee meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.
Amb. Brinker received the ADL Americanism Award, which recognizes individuals or institutions for embracing American’s democratic values and fundamental commitment to equality and fair treatment for all.
“Nancy has a long and distinguished history of service to our nation and to the Jewish community,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, in presenting the award. “When she sets her sights on an issue her determination, creativity, expertise and leadership come into play. Problems get solved. Success is achieved.”
Foxman praised Brinker and the Komen Foundation for taking the initiative to correct an incident in which Israeli doctors were barred from attending a breast cancer conference in Egypt.
In accepting the award, Brinker spoke of the shared values of ADL and the Komen Foundation and of the importance of countering prejudice.
“Discrimination of any kind — be it religious, political, gender or economic — must not be tolerated,” she said. “We cannot be indifferent to discrimination, and we can not be indifferent to human suffering. Forever more will ADL and Susan G. Komen share those basic values.”
Regarded as the leader of the global breast cancer movement, Brinker broke the silence around breast cancer when she founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure® in 1982, named after her sister who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. Brinker’s creativity and pioneering efforts in raising awareness led to programs that were revolutionary at that time. Her determination to create a world without breast cancer is matched by her passion for enlisting every segment of society – from leaders to citizens – to participate in the battle.
Since its inception, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® has funded $2 million to research and support programs in Israel. Its first international research grant went to an Israeli institution in 1994, and in 2010 Komen will hold its first Race for the Cure® in Jerusalem.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress