SPECIAL GUEST AT B’NAI B’RITH WORLD CENTER 2023
 AWARD FOR JOURNALISM:
 AVI MAYER, NEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE JERUSALEM POST:
“ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH WORLD IN AN ERA OF POLARIZATION”

Winner: Itamar Eichner (ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth)
Certificate of Merit: Josh Aronson (Maariv), Judah Gross (The Times of Israel)
Izhak Hildesheimer Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

(Jerusalem, July 5, 2023)—Avi Mayer, the new Editor-in-Chief of the Jerusalem Post, discussed the Law of Return and other major issues on the Israel-Diaspora agenda at the B’nai B’rith World Center Journalism Award ceremony in Jerusalem on July 4. The award has recognized excellence in Diaspora reportage in the Israeli media for the last 31 years.

In an opening recorded video message to the event, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said, “It is no secret that recently the relationship with our brothers in North America has been challenged. One of the most important missions of the People of Israel in the modern era is devotion to the age-old eternal commandment: All Jews are responsible for—are intertwined—one with the other. Preservation of this delicate string—the Gordian knot—of the Jewish People is critical in our generation. B’nai B’rith is an organization that has become synonymous with taking responsibility and being a guarantor of Jewish life in Israel and the world. The scope of its contribution to fostering Israel-Diaspora relations and revival of Jewish life in the Land of Israel is too great to detail here. I want to thank you for your great contribution to the State of Israel, the People of Israel and Israeli society.”

Itamar Eichner, 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. In his acceptance speech, Eichner said, “covering the Jewish world has provided me—and continues to provide me—with dozens and hundreds of emotional experiences.”

Josh Aronson, Diaspora correspondent for Maariv and Judah Gross received Certificates of Merit for articles spanning Jewish communities in Kyrgyzstan, the United States, 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 was presented to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra was represented by IPO Secretary General Yair Mashiach. The citation, established in 2014, has previously been presented to singers and songwriters Nurit Hirsh, David D’Or, Idan Raichel, David Broza, Yehoram Gaon, Shalva Band, Danny Sanderson and Shuli Natan—nearly all of whom had performed with the orchestra in the past.

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 is widely recognized as the most prestigious prize in the Israeli media industry for Diaspora reportage and was established to help strengthen the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. The award 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 distinguished members of the award jury are: 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 award is 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.

Photos from the event can be downloaded here. (Photo credit: Bruno Charbit for the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem) and the event can be viewed on the B’nai B’rith International Facebook page in English and on the B’nai B’rith World Center page in Hebrew.

For further information, please contact Alan Schneider, director, B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem: 02-6251743; 052-5536441.

B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. The B’nai B’rith World Center – established in 1980 – serves as B’nai B’rith International’s permanent representative in Jerusalem and public affairs arm in Israel. Visit www.bnaibrith.org.