The AMEU / John and Sharon Mahoney Award for Service
The AMEU/John and Sharon Mahoney Award for Service was established by the AMEU Board in 2022 to recognize exceptional contributions to improvement of American understanding of the Middle East. The award is named in honor of AMEU’s emeritus President and Executive Director, John F. Mahoney, who served on AMEU’s Board for four decades. The Board’s commitment is to issue the Award in perpetuity.
The Mahoney Award is given annually and carries a $5000 honorarium, provided by the AMEU Board and National Council. Candidates for the award are nominated by Board members, staff, representatives of sister organizations, and the public, and are selected annually by a rotating committee. The award seeks to amplify the voices of individuals who exemplify John and Sharon Mahoney’s commitment to narrowing the distance between Americans and the people of the Middle East region.
About John and Sharon Mahoney
Before leading AMEU for four decades, Dr. John F. Mahoney served as a visionary teacher and advocate. A graduate of Boston College and Harvard University, he was among the group of educators who established Franklin University Switzerland in 1969. He also attended St. John’s Seminary and received his doctorate at Gregorian University in Rome, where he was ordained in 1960. While serving as the chairman of the department of sociology and philosophy at Franklin College in Switzerland, Dr. Mahoney met his wife, Sharon, whom he wed in 1969. It was in Switzerland that he developed an interest in politics in the Middle East, leading groups on study trips to countries in the region. Dr. Mahoney later worked as a research consultant and writer for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and lived in Saudi Arabia while teaching management courses with Aramco.
After spending two years in Saudi Arabia, Dr. Mahoney returned to New York as the Executive Director for Americans for Middle East Understanding, and Editor of its quarterly publication, The Link. His directorship allowed him to travel and share his vision of combatting stereotypes about the people, cultures, and societies in the Middle East. He also extended the founders’ mission of advocating for Palestinian rights, which he recognized as the lynchpin to sustainable peace. The legacy of John and Sharon Mahoney continues to inspire AMEU’s work, and the annual award that bears their name celebrates their service.
Mahoney Award Recipients
In November 2022, the Board of AMEU announced its inaugural Mahoney Award recipient, Chicago-based graphic artist, Shirien Creates. In subsequent years, recipients have included academics, filmmakers, and advocates.
2022: Shirien Creates is the nom de plume of the graphic artist whose work captivated Americans during roiling social justice movements that rippled across the nation. Her unique funerary portraiture came to symbolize the Black Lives Matter crisis; her work also called critical attention to Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, who was executed by an IDF sniper while reporting in Jenin in 2022.
2023: Julia Bacha is a Peabody and Guggenheim award-winning filmmaker and the Creative Director at Just Vision, a media organization that utilizes storytelling to highlight Palestinian and Israeli grassroots efforts. She is the creator of the films “Boycott.” “Naila and the Uprising,” and “Control Room.”
2024: Dr. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian is a renowned feminist scholar and legal theorist with appointments at Princeton, Harvard Divinity School, University of South Africa, and Queen Mary University of London. A Jerusalemite, Dr. Shalhoub-Kevorkian was suspended from Hebrew University after making comments in 2024 that questioned reports of Hamas’ perpetrating acts of sexual violence on October 7th in, 2023. Dr. Shalhoub-Kevorkian was arrested and became the target of ongoing investigations for her anti-Zionist critiques, including condemning genocide and the constraints Zionism imposes on Israeli society.
2025: Mahmoud Khalil is a Palestinian activist and organizer and legal permanent resident in the US. He became the face of nationwide protests for Gaza when, returning home from a Ramadan Iftar in 2025, he was seized by masked security personnel inside his Columbia University housing and transported to detention facilities in New Jersey and Louisiana. From his months in isolation, Khalil patiently asserted his Constitutional protections. He subsequently raised a countersuit against Columbia University. He is married to an American citizen, Dr. Noor Abdalla, and has a son who was born during his detention in Louisiana. In addition to the Mahoney Award, Khalil has received numerous recognitions for his bravery and steadfast pursuit of American values. As stated in the 2025 press release, “Where Marco Rubio sees a threat to US national security, [AMEU] sees a champion of American values.”
Award Nomination and Selection
Nominations for the Mahoney Award for Service are received and evaluated by a seven-member committee, named and chaired each year by AMEU’s Board President. Committee membership rotates annually. The selection committee accepts nominations both from Board and non-Board members, which are received each year before Labor Day. Awardees are selected through deliberation processes that include acclamation and rank-choice voting system. The awardee is announced annually at the Fall meeting of AMEU’s Board.
In 2025, the Mahoney Award Selection Committee was comprised of AMEU members Don Wagner, Darryl Meyers, Alice Rothchild and Sam Bahour. It also included public members David Wildman, UN Representative of the Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, Rania Salem of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), and Maeve Collins, John’s Mahoney’s grand-daughter and representative of the Mahoney family.
FAQs
Who is eligible for nomination to the Mahoney Award for Service?
Eligibility is inclusive, and can include anyone whose work working improves American understanding of the Middle East. Nominees do not need to be from the Middle East or from the United States, but should be individuals rather than organizations.
Are there deadlines for nominations?
Nominations are received on a rolling basis, between January 1st and Labor Day each year.
How should a nomination be made?
Nominations should be made by email to mahoneyaward@gmail.com. Nominations by snail mail are also welcome: AMEU; 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 245; New York NY 10115-0245, Attn: Mahoney Award
Is it possible to make a financial contribution to the Award?
Contributions to support the award can be made online at AMEU.org or by physical mail to AMEU, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 245, New York, NY 10115-0245
Are nominations made public?
The committee’s deliberations are kept confidential and only the finalists’ name is published, for endorsement by the AMEU Board.
Where can I get further information about the Award?
Media inquiries are welcome by email to ameu@ameu.org, or by phone to our Google phone, 559-481-4742.