On June 7, as part of the Opening Plenary of its Global Forum 2015, The American Jewish Committee (AJC) presented its Moral Courage Award posthumously to Zidan Seef, an Israeli Druze policeman who was fatally wounded while trying to stop a terrorist attack on a Jerusalem synagogue last November. His widow, Rinal Seef, accepted the award.

"In the coming years, Zidan, the courage you showed will be set in stone in our collective memory, and your actions will become an example for Israel's security forces and for all who love Israel," said Rinal Seef, who traveled to Washington especially to accept the award in memory of her late husband.

Avital Leibovich, Director of AJC Jerusalem presented the award, saying, "On behalf of AJC, as a Jew, as an Israeli, I say to you that we mourn with you and we can only imagine your sense of loss and grief ... Your husband, and now you, have given us all strength and inspiration at a time when we desperately need it."

Thanking AJC for its "steadfast support," Seef said, "I especially appreciate the work AJC does with minorities, a topic especially relevant and important to me as a representative of a minority in Israel." Seif emphasized that "the covenant between the Druze people and the Jewish people is a covenant of life and death, and cannot be broken." "We the Druze people are an integral part of the State of Israel and feel a sense of belonging to the State," she said. "Our partnership with the Jewish people is eternal."

Following the Har Nof attack, Israeli officials praised Seif. "Zidan's heroism stands out," said Israel's Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino. "He acted like a hero, and reflected, in a way that inspires respect, the values and goals of the Israel Police in maintaining order, security, and [upholding] the public quiet as a supreme value."

Read more:

AJC Press Release

Thousands of Israeli Druze and Jews grieve at funeral for policeman slain in terror attack - Ynet - Kobi Nachshoni - 11.19.14.