ROME (JTA) — An Italian city honored Israeli writer David Grossman.
Grossman and the Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas were awarded the 2009 Exodus Award over the weekend by the city of La Spezia, the Italian port where the ship Exodus was refitted before carrying Holocaust survivors to Palestine in 1947.
The annual award recognizes those involved in fostering dialogue and intercultural relations.
Grossman was recognized as "a tireless advocate of dialogue as an essential tool for peaceful coexistence among peoples." Fuksas designed the planned Peres Peace House in Jaffa, a project of the Peres Center for Peace, to encourage Arab-Israel initiatives.
The award ceremony, the centerpiece of a three-day festival in La Spezia, also launched a competition for artwork inspired by the Exodus voyage.
The festival featured concerts, lectures, a roundtable discussion and exhibitions focusing on Jewish culture and Israel-Arab relations.
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