Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and the parents of kidnapped and murdered teens Eyal Yifrach, Gil-ad Shaer and Naftali Frenkel inaugurated the Jerusalem Prize for the Unity of Israel, in memory of the three boys. The prize, worth 100,000 shekels (about $27,100), will be awarded every year on the day the boys were killed to a person or organization that works to unify Israeli society. The prize was Barkat's initiative in partnership with the three sets of parents, Gesher (an organization that promotes bridging gaps in Israeli society) and the UJA-Federation of New York. "The initiative took shape for me during the visits I made to the families after Naftali, Gil-ad and Eyal were kidnapped," Barkat said. "The families became symbols of strength, faith, prayer and unity for the entire nation. During my visits to their homes, I presented my initiative to the families and I was very happy to find that they agreed to it and supported it. "There is no better city than Jerusalem to represent the prize. Jerusalem is the symbol of Israeli unity." Bat-Galim Shaer, Gil-ad's mother, said, "I am very excited about this initiative and I see in granting this prize an opportunity to develop social action that will preserve the sense of unity that the entire nation of Israel felt this past summer." Rachel Frenkel, Naftali's mother, shared similar excitement about bringing Israelis together. "The prize will serve as a lever to connect the different sectors of Israeli society and the Jews in the Diaspora." Eyal's father, Uri Yifrach, thanked Barkat for the initiative and said that it will "commemorate the boys in the best way and will tie their memory in with this sacred objective [of Israeli and Jewish unity]." Gesher Executive Director Ilan Geal-Dor also praised the creation of the new prize. "At the beginning of the new year, the first mission on the agenda is to develop connections among the Israeli people," he said. "These amazing families are inspiring us at Gesher to continue with that mission."
