B'nai B'rith Journalism Awards (Photo Essay)

By BJLIfe/Sharon Altshul
Posted on 07/05/23

Jerusalem, Israel - July 5, 2023 - Avi Mayer, the new Editor-in-Chief of the Jerusalem Post, was the keynote speaker at the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Award for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage for 2023, entitled: "Israel and the Jewish World in an Era of Polarization" in answering questions from Alan Schneider Director of the B'nai B'rith World Center.

The event was held Tuesday, July 4, at the Konrad Adenauer Conference Center, Mishkenot Sha'ananim, in Jerusalem, Israel.

Itamar Eichner, the diplomatic correspondent for Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth, was recognized for extensive coverage during 2022 of Jewish communities in the United States, Russia, Spain, Poland, and particularly in war-torn Ukraine. He also published a survey of levels of anti-Semitism in different European countries. 

Josh Aronson, Diaspora correspondent for Maariv, and Judah Gross received Certificates of Merit for articles spanning Jewish communities in Kyrgyzstan, the U.S., Great Britain, Poland, and Ukraine (Gross is currently the news editor at ejewishphilanthropy.com. He received this award for articles that appeared in the Times of Israel).

Izhak Hildesheimer (87) was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award for decades of devotion to reporting on various aspects of Jewish life around the world in a career spanning some 70 years, including stints as an emissary to Jewish communities in Great Britain and Russia. 

A special citation for Fostering Israel-Diaspora Relations through the Arts in Memory of Naomi Shemer went to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The citation was presented to IPO Secretary General Yair Mashiach. The citation, established in 2014, has previously been presented to singer and songwriter Nurit Hirsh, David D’Or, Idan Raichel, David Broza, Yehoram Gaon, Shalva Band, Danny Sanderson, and Shuli Natan. 

Since its establishment in 1992, the B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism has recognized excellence in reporting on contemporary Diaspora Jewish communities and on the state of Israel-Diaspora relations in Israeli print, broadcast, and online media.

The award was established to help strengthen the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. It highlights the important contributions the media can make toward strengthening the relationship between Israel and world Jewry by encouraging quality reporting on Diaspora communities and Israel-Diaspora relations. 

The members of the award jury were Ya'akov Ahimeir, former editor and anchor, Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation and Lifetime Achievement Award winner for 2016; Yehudith Auerbach, former head of the Department of Journalism and Communication Studies, Bar-Ilan University; Professor Emeritus Sergio DellaPergola, The Institute of Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University; Professor Gabriela Shalev, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations; journalist Yair Sheleg; Asher Weill, publisher, and editor of “Ariel,” The Israel Review of Arts and Letters (1981-2003). 

The awards are presented in memory of the late Wolf Matsdorf, editor of the World Center’s journal “Leadership Briefing” and a journalist in Israel and Australia, and his wife Hilda, a pioneer in social work in both countries. The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented in memory of Luis and Trudi Schydlowsky. 

A note of interest for Maryland readers, both Avi Mayer and Judah Gross attended the University of Maryland, and tonight in Jerusalem across from the walls of the Old City - the "Terps" were mentioned.