{"id":41889,"date":"2023-07-21T01:43:21","date_gmt":"2023-07-21T08:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=41889"},"modified":"2023-07-20T15:43:15","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T22:43:15","slug":"ji-wins-four-rockowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2023\/07\/21\/ji-wins-four-rockowers\/","title":{"rendered":"JI wins four Rockowers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adina Horwich at the 42nd annual Rockowers Awards. She received an honourable mention for journalistic excellence in covering Zionism, aliyah and Israel. (photo from Adina Horwich)<\/em><\/p>\n

The Jewish Independent <\/em>won four Simon Rockower Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism this year. The awards, which are given out by the American Jewish Press Association, were for work done in 2022. The JI <\/em>has had a few Rockower hat tricks in its history, but this is the first time the paper has garnered four honours in one year.<\/p>\n

The awards were presented on July 11 at the Higgins Hotel and Conference Centre in New Orleans, La., where the AJPA\u2019s annual conference was held. The JI<\/em> mainly competed in the division of weekly and biweekly newspapers, but there were some categories for which the competition was between all types of media (print and online); awards were given for first and second place, and sometimes honourable mention.<\/p>\n

Writer Adina Horwich traveled from her home in Israel to New Orleans to receive her award in person. She won the JI <\/em>an honourable mention for journalistic excellence in covering Zionism, aliyah and Israel for her article \u201cImmigration challenges\u201d (jewishindependent.ca\/immigration-challenges-2<\/a>). The piece both reviews Adi Barokas\u2019s Hebrew-language graphic novel, The Journey to the Best Place on Earth (and Back)<\/em>, about Barokas\u2019s experience trying to immigrate to Vancouver from Israel, and shares Horwich\u2019s experience making aliyah from Canada. The jury commented: \u201cExtremely readable story, that skilfully explores from a personal perspective the nitty gritty of making aliyah.\u201d<\/p>\n

The JI<\/em>\u2019s Pat Johnson also received an honourable mention \u2013 his article \u201cOasis in the Caucasus\u201d (jewishindependent.ca\/oasis-in-the-caucasus<\/a>) garnered recognition for excellence in writing about Jewish heritage and Jewish peoplehood in Europe. The jury said about his piece:<\/p>\n

\u201cA terrific look into the Jewish community of Azerbaijan that most of us, unfortunately, don\u2019t have on our \u2018Must-Go Places to Visit.\u2019 Pat Johnson\u2019s very nice story strongly suggests otherwise. Johnson paints a wonderful picture of this tucked-away \u2018shtetl\u2019 where the residents say they have never faced antisemitism. If only we could feel so lucky here in the United States! And while most of us do well playing \u2018Jewish geography,\u2019 actual world geography is often more of a challenge. Having Johnson admit having to Google Azerbaijan before traveling there to report this story added a nice touch that connects with readers who may also be unfamiliar with the country \u2013 but now more knowledgeable thanks to this feature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson was recognized for another of his articles, \u201cMaus not too graphic\u201d (jewishindependent.ca\/maus-not-too-graphic<\/a>), which placed second for excellence in education reporting. Johnson sat in on Anna-Mae Wiesenthal\u2019s Holocaust and Genocide Studies class at King David High School, and listened as students discussed the graphic memoir Maus by Art Spiegelman.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of people laughed when a Tennessee school board pulled Maus<\/em> from the curriculum because of the drawing of a naked cat. That was too much for board members and they banished the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel,\u201d wrote the Rockower jury. \u201cViewing the book through the eyes of five students at a Jewish high school subtly portrays the board decision\u2019s absurdity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rounding out the JI<\/em> wins was a first place for excellence in editorial writing \u2013 where all entries competed in the same division. The JI<\/em> editorial board of Johnson, Basya Laye and me were honoured for the set of editorials that included \u201cEvery person has a voice\u201d<\/a> (about Elon Musk, hatred and misinformation online, and how people can counter such forces), \u201cExtremism not helpful\u201d<\/a> (about New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh\u2019s views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) and \u201cNew era in U.S. politics\u201d<\/a> (about the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s rejection of a woman\u2019s right to reproductive self-determination, as well as the Jewish perspective on abortion).<\/p>\n

About these editorials the Rockower jury wrote: \u201cThese pieces are good examples of what editorials should be \u2013 thoughtful examination of pressing issues, using clear reasoning in looking at both sides, then coming to a well-reasoned conclusion. Local tie-ins strengthen opinions.\u201d<\/p>\n

All of us at the JI <\/em>appreciate the AJPA\u2019s recognition of the hard work that goes into producing an independent Jewish newspaper, magazine or website, and we congratulate all of our colleagues on their achievements. For the full list of Rockower winners, visit ajpa.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The JI <\/em>couldn\u2019t do what we do without our subscribers, donors and advertisers \u2013 thank you for all your support. For readers who are thinking about subscribing, donating or advertising, please consider doing so to help us continue producing a high-quality, independent Jewish newspaper that connects community members from across the religious and political spectrums; covers lifecycle events and local, national and international news; and documents our community history as it happens. Visit jewishindependent.ca\/support-the-ji<\/a>, email cramsay@jewishindependent.ca<\/a> or call 604-689-1520.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adina Horwich at the 42nd annual Rockowers Awards. She received an honourable mention for journalistic excellence in covering Zionism, aliyah and Israel. (photo from Adina Horwich) The Jewish Independent won four Simon Rockower Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism this year. The awards, which are given out by the American Jewish Press Association, were for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41893,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[22516,4021,4020,4335,4334,1276,19687,8664,3359,3597,21656,9011],"class_list":["post-41889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-adina-horwich","tag-ajpa","tag-american-jewish-press-association","tag-basya-laye","tag-cynthia-ramsay","tag-jewish-independent","tag-jewish-journalism","tag-milestones","tag-pat-johnson","tag-politics","tag-rockower-awards","tag-social-commentary"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}