WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC, the premier global Jewish advocacy organization, will honor Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan with its prestigious Gesher Award.

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The award recognizes distinguished individuals who have built bridges between the Jewish and Latino communities in the U.S. and Latin America. Gesher is the Hebrew word for bridge.

Ambassador Sarukhan will receive the award during a celebratory ceremony on September 20, 6 p.m., at Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, D.C. More than 200 people are expected to attend, including Members of Congress, diplomats, representatives of the Jewish community in Mexico, U.S. Latino officials and AJC leaders.

"Throughout his exemplary diplomatic career, Ambassador Sarukhan has been a visionary figure in strengthening the bonds of friendship among Mexico, the U.S. and Israel, as well as the Jewish and Latino communities," said AJC Executive Director David Harris, who will present the award.

"Ambassador Sarukhan is a dear friend of AJC," Harris added. "We have had the pleasure of working closely with him in New York and now in Washington, and look forward to many more years of fruitful partnership and cooperation."

Sarukhan, a career Mexican diplomat, was appointed ambassador to the U.S. in 2007. He previously served as consul general in New York.

Past recipients of AJC's Gesher Award include Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Raul Yzaguirre, U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic and the founder of the National Council of la Raza (NCLR); Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY); and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. 

Founded in 2005, AJC's Latino and Latin American Institute builds coalitions with Latino communities across the United States; strengthens relations among the U.S., Latin America and Israel; cooperates with Jewish communities in Latin America; and promotes democracy and human rights throughout the hemisphere.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee