SYDNEY, October 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Angry to see Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi awarded Sydney Peace Foundation prize, Jewish groups are lobbying to press New South Wales Premier Bob Carr into boycotting the ceremony.Carr is to present the prize, worth 50,000 dollars (34,500 U.S.), to Ashrawi at the state parliament in November 6, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP) Thursday, October 9.

Australia’s leading Jewish group argue that awarding Australia's only major peace prize to the Palestinian legislator and former minister was inappropriate, urging Carr to reconsider presenting the award himself.

Stephen Rothman, president of the state's Jewish Board of Deputies, claimed Ashrawi had defended what he termed as terrorism and championed a position inconsistent with the two-state peace vision of U.S. President George Bush.

She has and continues to justify "acts of terrorism" which is inconsistent with the kind of approach expected of someone being awarded a peace prize, he said, adding he was seeking a meeting with Carr.

Israeli authorities and some Jewish lobby groups worldwide consider Palestinian resistance operations against Israeli occupation forces as acts of terrorism and not legitimate resistance as stipulated by international laws.

Rothman’s statements were echoed by the leaders of the Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Council.

"We are concerned that the premier agreed to present it and we are certainly wanting him to reconsider his decision," said Colin Rubenstein, the council's executive director.

However, a spokesman for Carr maintained Thursday the premier still intended to personally present the prize, which has global significance in terms of the support and recognition, to the Palestinian lawmaker.

Ashrawi is a Palestinian academic, human rights campaigner, the official spokeswoman of the Palestinian negotiating delegation between 1991 and 1993.

After Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority was created, she was appointed minister of higher education from 1996 through 1998.

She founded the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) in 1998.

The statement of the award said "The Sydney Peace Foundation recognized Ashrawi for her commitment to human rights, to the peace process in the Middle East and for her courage in speaking against oppression, against corruption and for justice."

"She has been an outspoken critic from the inside, calling for reform of the Palestinian Authority. She has the respect of the international human rights community for her condemnation of violence on all sides and for her work to achieve a just peace," averred Robinson, the 2002 recipient of the prize.

For his part, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu of South Africa, the 1999 prize recipient, stressed that in "current times no-one could be more deserving of this prestigious award," than Ashrawi.

"Against daunting odds she has remained committed to finding a peaceful solution to what seems an intractable problem. She gives hope to all those who might be tempted to despair," he added.

Returning from a visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories where he met with Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators, Sydney Peace Foundation Director Stuart Rees hailed the Palestinian lawmaker as "a leader in dialogue with Israelis, with Americans, Europeans and within Palestinian communities."

"Her life and work are distinguished by her courage and the spiritual strength required to negotiate just outcomes to personal, national and international conflicts.

"Her presence in Sydney will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the requirements for peace in the Middle East. I am sure Hanan will be inspiring," Rees added.