For his efforts to combat bigotry and antisemitism throughout his long political career, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Maryland) will receive the 2023 Anne Frank Award for Human Dignity and Tolerance from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The ceremony will be held Thursday, Oct. 19, at 10 a.m. at the Top of the Hill Banquet & Conference Center in Washington, D.C.
The annual award honors Americans who have demonstrated a commitment to fighting intolerance, antisemitism, racism or discrimination. Past recipients include former Rep. Nita Lowey (D-New York), Ben Ferencz, chief prosecutor for the U.S. Army at the Einsatzgruppen Trial held at Nuremberg, and Rabbi David Saperstein, former director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.
A Baltimore native who belongs to Beth Tfiloh Congregation, Cardin, 80, announced last May that he would not seek reelection after a political career spanning 36 years in Congress.
In a press release issued Oct. 13, the kingdom stated about Cardin, “His commitment in this effort is underscored by his more than 30 years of public service as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, where he has championed human rights in a number of capacities, including as serving as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as a commissioner on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (US Helsinki Commission).”
Also to be honored at the ceremony will be Maksym Butkevych, a human rights activist and journalist, who will receive the 2023 Anne Frank Special Recognition Award for his work in upholding human rights and fighting against xenophobia and racism.
A volunteer member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Butkevych is a prisoner of war in the Russian occupied region of Luhansk, Ukraine. His father, Oleksandr Butkevych, will accept the award on his behalf.
Ukrainian-American soprano and musician Teryn Kuzma will perform musical selections at the ceremony. Respectively, Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Michigan) and Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Washington), co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on the Kingdom of the Netherlands, will provide opening and closing remarks.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) will introduce Cardin at the ceremony. Also providing remarks will be Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova and Dutch Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar.
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