Israeli writer Gil Zohar (standing, seventh from the left) with other 2024 Rockower Award winners in Nashville, Tenn., last month. (photo by Bill Motchan)<\/i><\/p>\n
At the annual conference of the American Jewish Press Association, which took place in Nashville, Tenn., June 2-4, Israeli freelance writer and tour guide Gil Zohar<\/b> was there in person to collect his Rockower Award for Excellence in Jewish Journalism. He won an honourable mention for the article \u201cIdentifying the victims,\u201d published by the Jewish Independent<\/i> Nov. 10, 2023. The Independent picked up four Rockowers this year, for work published in 2023.<\/p>\n
Zohar\u2019s article (jewishindependent.ca\/identifying-the-victims) won in the Wild Card Category \u2013 Award for Excellence in Writing about the War in Israel: News and Feature Writing. It explains how staff at the Israel Defence Forces\u2019 Shura base were working around the clock at the time to identify the remains of the 1,200 people murdered in Israel by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, a process made more grisly and difficult because of the extreme brutality of the attack.<\/p>\n
Winning first place in the Wild Card Category for weekly and biweekly newspapers was \u201cNew era for world Jewry\u201d by Chaim Goldberg, published by Intermountain Jewish News<\/i> (Denver, Colo.). Taking second place was \u201cA letter from Israel: It\u2019s okay to start dreaming\u201d by Chaim Steinmetz, published in the Jewish Journal of Greater LA<\/i> (Los Angeles, Calif.).<\/p>\n
The Jewish Independent<\/i> won first place for weekly and biweekly newspapers in the category of Excellence in Single Commentary with Helen Mintz<\/b>\u2019s article \u201cOpportunity for healing\u201d (jewishindependent.ca\/opportunity-for-healing). Originally presented as a d\u2019var Torah at Or Shalom Synagogue, it was \u201cintended as a beginning of a conversation about how we, as Canadian Jews, can heal our relationship with Ukrainians and Ukraine.\u201d Of the article, the Rockower jury wrote: \u201cA powerful reminder that there are many ways to view complex histories. The beautiful way the story is told is both intimately personal and ultimately universal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taking second place in the Single Commentary category was \u201cWokeism and the Jews: A reckoning\u201d by Monica Osborne (Jewish Journal of Greater LA<\/i>), with \u201cThe inside story of how Palestinians took over the world\u201d by Gary Wexler (also for the Jewish Journal of Greater LA<\/i>) receiving an honourable mention.<\/p>\n
Local musician, composer and bandleader Moshe Denburg<\/b> earned the Jewish Independent <\/i>second place for Excellence in Arts \u2013 Review\/Criticism, weekly and biweekly newspapers, with his review \u201cErez\u2019s new CD shows mastery\u201d (jewishindependent.ca\/erezs-new-cd-shows-mastery). The Rockower jury wrote: \u201cSounds like a great CD.\u201d<\/p>\n
Placing first Excellence in Arts \u2013 Review\/Criticism was \u201cOppenheimer<\/i>, and the lesson of brainy Jews\u201d by Thane Rosenbaum (Jewish Journal of Greater LA<\/i>) and Tabby Refael received an honourable mention for the article \u201cFor a deaf woman from Iran, freedom never sounded so good\u201d (Jewish Journal of Greater LA<\/i>).<\/p>\n
Winnipeg freelance writer Joanne Seiff <\/b>won the Independent<\/i> its fourth award, placing second in the category of Excellence in Writing about Jewish Thought and Life. The JI<\/i> submitted three of her articles for consideration: \u201cWomen\u2019s rights evolve,\u201d \u201cHonouring others in death\u201d and \u201cA yearly reminder to return.\u201d The first article (jewishindependent.ca\/womens-rights-evolve) talks about parallels between modern events and talmudic discussions \u2013 in particular laws that limit women\u2019s ability to control their own bodies. The second article (jewishindependent.ca\/honouring-others-in-death) is about how Jewish tradition could inform the debate that ensued after the remains of four murdered Indigenous women were found in Winnipeg-area landfills, and the third piece (jewishindependent.ca\/a-yearly-reminder-to-return) connects the renovation of Seiff\u2019s home with the month of Elul and teshuvah<\/i>, usually translated as repentance, but also meaning return. \u201cReturning to our best selves might require us to listen, pay attention to our gut feelings, do some renovation,\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n
In summing up Seiff\u2019s articles, a member of the Rockower jury commented: \u201cI would love to live in Winnipeg, only to read Joanne Seiff regularly. She is an intelligent writer.\u201d<\/p>\n
First place in this category for weekly and biweekly newspapers went to \u201cTen measures of beauty, of fragility, of hope\u201d by Tehilla Goldberg (Intermountain Jewish News<\/i>) and Refael won another honourable mention, for the article \u201cI\u2019m an observant Jew, and I need Christmas music more than ever before.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n