The American Jewish Press Association (AJPA) recently released
the list of winners for the Simon Rockower 2006 Awards for Excellence
in Jewish Journalism. The Jewish Independent took honors
in three categories within its circulation group.
Editor Katharine Hamer won second place for excellence in news reporting
for her story, "Waiting
out the rising storm," which was published in the Independent
on July 21, 2006. The article looked at how Israelis were coping
with the Second Lebanon War and featured interviews with former
Vancouverites and leaders of our partnership communities in northern
Israel.
Freelancer Brad Fisher's moving story about his young daughter Shira's
struggle with a terminal illness, and how the experience reconnected
him to Judaism, was also awarded. Entitled "Life
lessons from a beautiful baby," the article ran in the
Feb. 24, 2006, issue of the Independent. It placed second
in the category of excellence in feature writing.
Also winning an award was publisher Cynthia Ramsay's editorial,
"Fight
for free speech," which placed third for excellence in
editorial writing. Published in the Feb. 24, 2006, Independent,
the article defended the newspaper's decision not to reprint the
controversial Danish cartoons that portrayed the Prophet Mohammed
in a manner that enraged many in the Muslim world and which sparked
violent demonstrations around the world.
The AJPA represents more than 250 publications in the United States
and Canada, and the combined readership of AJPA member publications
is more than 2.5 million.
The Independent thanks all of its readers for their continued
support and is proud to share these honors with them.
July 21, 2006