New York, NY, November 5, 2005 … Citing his significant contribution to the national and global debate, compelling commentary on foreign affairs and commitment to the ideals embodied in the First Amendment, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today honored Dr. Fareed Zakaria, noted journalist, author and editor of Newsweek International, with its distinguished ADL Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Freedoms Prize.  The award was presented to Dr. Zakaria during the League's 2005 National Commission Meeting in New York City.

"Fareed Zakaria has become a household name in analysis and commentary on a wide range of foreign issues and their implications on domestic policy," Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said in presenting the award, which comes with a medallion and a $10,000 stipend.

"Whether reading his compelling commentary in Newsweek or other publications, tuning in to his eloquent analysis as a regular member of the roundtable on ABC's 'This Week With George Stephanopoulous' or his weekly PBS show 'Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria,' he provides us with important information and insight," Mr. Foxman said.  "There is no doubt that Dr. Zakaria has made a significant contribution to the national and global debate, and deserves this recognition for demonstrating and underscoring the value of the First Amendment."

In accepting the award, Dr. Zakaria thanked ADL and praised the organization for what it does.  He also said that he was optimistic that the Middle East can move toward modernity. 

"I am somewhat optimistic about the way things are going in the Middle East, and I think that what ADL is doing has something to do with it," he said.  "We have seen in the last three years more change and positive change in the Middle East than we have seen in the last 30 years."

Dr. Zakaria said that the release of the U.N. Development Programme's Arab Human Development Report "made legitimate the internal debate" about the need for democratic reform in the region.  "I think that once you unlock these kinds of issues, you cannot stop them."

Dr. Zakaria is the Editor of Newsweek International, the author of "The Future of Freedom" (2003) and the host of the PBS show "Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria."  Named editor of Newsweek International in October 2000, he writes a regular column for Newsweek, which also appears in Newsweek International and often in The Washington Post.  He serves as a regular analyst for ABC News.

The ADL Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Freedoms Prize is endowed by Dwayne O. Andreas, President of the Andreas Foundation, as a tribute to his close friend, the late Hubert H. Humphrey, Mayor of Minneapolis and Vice President of the United States. The award is presented to institutions or individuals who, like Hubert Humphrey, have made significant and lasting contributions to the preservation and advancement of the ideals embodied in the First Amendment of the Constitution. 

Past recipients of the prize include Walter Cronkite, Barbara Walters, The Wall Street Journal, William Safire, This Week With David Brinkley, George Will, A.M. Rosenthal, The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour, CNN, political cartoonist Ranan Lurie, Bernard Shaw, Bob Schieffer, Bernard Lewis, Floyd Abrams, C-SPAN and, posthumously, slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.