Yaniv  Pohoryles (Ynet) and David Broza to Receive Awards

The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem announced today that David M. Friedman, the United States ambassador to Israel, will deliver the keynote address on U.S.-Israel relations at the Center’s Award for Journalism ceremony on June 27. This will be one of the ambassador’s first policy speeches since presenting his credentials on May 16.
 
The winner of the 2017 B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage is Yaniv Pohoryles, home page editor and writer for the Jewish World section of Ynet, one of Israel’s most popular online news sites. Pohoryles was chosen for a series of nine articles published over the course of 2016 that covered Jewish communities in the U.S. and France, Jewish demography, Israel-Diaspora relations, Jewish sportsmen, fundraising, Aliyah and Kosher food in the Diaspora, among other topics.
 
Pohoryles studied political science and international relations at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he was chief editor of the student newspaper, The Donkey’s Mouth. He later wrote for Globes, Maariv and Yedioth Ahronoth.

​At the event a special citation for fostering Israel-Diaspora relations through the arts will be conferred upon Israeli singer/songwriter David Broza. The citation was established by the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem in 2014, and has been conferred upon Nurit Hirsh (2014), David D’Or (2015) and Idan Raichel (2016). Broza has appeared before countless Diaspora communities, groups and organizations during a career that has spanned more than 40 years. His original songs and passionate performances are cherished throughout Israel and the Diaspora, offering a common language and point of reference for Jews of diverse backgrounds. A powerful musician, dedicated peace advocate and music industry innovator, Broza awes and inspires audiences with his sincere message and musical allure.
 
The ceremony will also memorialize former jury member Bambi Sheleg, who passed away last year. B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Chairman Haim V. Katz, Ph.D, will open the event.
 
The event will take place on June 27, at 7:30 p.m. Israel time (reception and light refreshments will begin after the ceremony) at Gilbert de Botton Auditorium, Konrad Adenauer Conference Center, Mishkenot Sha’ananim, Yemin Moshe, Jerusalem.
 
Since its establishment in 1992, the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Award for Journalism has recognized excellence in reporting on contemporary Diaspora-Jewish communities and on the Israel-Diaspora relations in Israeli print and electronic media. The award is widely recognized as a prestigious prize in the Israeli media industry and was established to help strengthen the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. It also highlights the important contributions the media can make toward strengthening the relationship between Israel and world Jewry—so essential for the resilience of both—by encouraging quality reporting on Diaspora communities and Israel-Diaspora relations. 
 
The distinguished members of the journalism award jury are: Yehudith Auerbach, professor at the School of Communications, Bar Ilan University; Sergio DellaPergola, professor at the Institute of Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University; Sallai Meridor, international chairman, Jerusalem Foundation, former Israeli ambassador to the United States, former chairman of the Zionist Executive and Jewish Agency; Gabriela Shalev, Higher Academic Council, professor at Ono Academic College and former Israel ambassador to the U.N.; Yair Sheleg, columnist at Makor Rishon; Asher Weill, publisher and editor of ARIEL-The Israel Review of Arts and Letters from 1981-2003.

The B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism is named for the late Wolf Matsdorf and his wife Hilda. Wolf Matsdorf was an editor of the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Journal “Leadership Briefing” and a journalist in Israel and Australia. Hilda Matsdorf was a pioneer in social work in both Australia and Israel.
 
The award is made possible through donations from Daniel Schydlowsky, a professor and a member of the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem International Board of Governors (Lima, Peru and Washington D.C.), and the Matsdorf family. 
 
For further information: Alan Schneider, director, B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem, tel. 02-6251743, fax. 02-6258097; 052-5536-441; aschneider@bnaibrith.org or Golan Yossifon, spokesperson 052–562513