The spring of 2000 saw Dave Greber traveling to Eastern Europe to do research for a book he was writing. Upon leaving Europe he journeyed to Israel. Dave a Child of Holocaust Survivors was writing a play about his experience growing up in his Holocaust family.

His interviews with organizations offering support to Holocaust survivors and their families living in Israel added another dimension to what he had learned from his own experience. The people he met and the information he gathered there changed his life view and deepened his love of Israel.

Dave had been contracted to teach writing courses at a college and university in Calgary and over the years had become frustrated with the uncertainty of freelance, contract work. Dave wanted to teach creative writing at the university level in a permanent position and the only way he could achieve this was to return to university, and study for a Ph.D. He planned to attend an Israeli university and live in Israel during the period he was studying.

Throughout the summer of 2000 he researched a number of Israeli universities and was ready to make his choice but he died suddenly in October of 2000. Shortly after his death, the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Book and Magazine Awards for Social Justice Writing (Canada) were created to honour Dave's memory and to perpetuate his professional values. Canadian freelance writers in the process of completing a book or magazine article for publication are eligible and the awards give special regard to those writing in the area of social justice. The awards represent an appropriate, ongoing contribution to Dave's chosen profession.

Through to 2016 the Canadian Awards grew successfully, recognizing and providing timely support for a remarkable group of Canadian writers and their projects. Then it was decided that the time had come to extend Dave's legacy through a complementary award with an international component. This would be achieved by exploring the creation of a writing award allied with an Israeli university and would be called the Dave Greber Non-Fiction Social Justice Writing Award.

In March of 2016,the Dave Greber Non-Fiction Social Justice Writing Award was established to support the Shaindy Rudoff Creative Writing Graduate Program at Bar-Ilan University, which is located an hour from Jerusalem on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

The Shaindy Rudoff Graduate Program in Creative Writing encourages applications from English-speaking Israelis as well as Jews and non-Jews from around the world. The two year program is housed in the Department of English at Bar-IIan University, and offers an MA in English Literature with specializations in Literary Fiction Poetry or Creative Non Fiction. The program was named in memory of Shaindy Rudoff (1966-2006) whose vision and dedication made the program possible. You can read about the life and contribution of Shaindy Rudoff in more detail at www.haaretz.com/1.4917599.

As with the Canadian Writing Awards, this award honours the memory of Dave Greber and represents an appropriate, ongoing contribution to those working in Dave's chosen profession.

The Dave Greber Non Fiction Social Justice Writing Award is valued at $2000.00 and will be awarded annually to a student in their graduating year for excellence in writing, research, and story telling. Writing that relates to issues associated with social justice is strongly encouraged.

Two staff members from the Shaindy Rudoff Graduate Program in Creative Writing and one staff member from the English Department choose each recipient after the Call for Submissions closes. If, in the opinion of the staff members, there is no submission that merits an award, no award will be given. If there are two entries of equal merit, an award of $1,000.00 will be granted to each graduating student. The first award was granted in 2017.

The Canadian Friends of Bar-Ilan University links the University to the Canadian public. It hosts a variety of lectures, sponsors, seminars, and conferences, and distributes educational material that promotes the work of the university. The organization maintains a National office in Toronto. Gifts to Canadian Friends of Bar-Ilan University or Dave Greber Writers Award qualify for charitable donation receipts under the guidelines of the Canada Revenue Agency. Contact Canadian Friends of Bar-Ilan University at admin@cfbiu.org.