The awards presented by the American Jewish Press Association, at the annual conference in Pittsburgh, Penn., were for stories and columns produced in 2024, an extremely challenging time for Jewish journalists in Canada and around the world.
The CJN last entered the juried contest in 2020. This year, The CJN was competing against other digital news outlets and magazines.
Reflecting on The CJN’s achievements, CEO Michael Weisdorf said, “I am extremely proud of our incredible team of journalists whose dedication, integrity, and passion for storytelling have once again been recognized — this time with three Simon Rockower awards for excellence in journalism. These honours are a powerful acknowledgment of the extraordinary talent and commitment our journalists bring to their work every day. I’m deeply proud of our team for their relentless pursuit of meaningful, high-impact storytelling that informs and inspires our community.”
Phoebe Maltz Bovy won an Honorable Mention for excellence in commentary for her columns: Challah for Ceasefire’?: Watching women’s media walk the political tightrope ; How 2020 explains 2024: Phoebe Maltz Bovy on antisemitism as settler-guilt-deflection as Palestine becomes part of politics everywhere and Fiddler on the Nakba: Phoebe Maltz Bovy examines the strange new wave of Jewish anti-nationalism.
Jonathan Rothman received an Honorable Mention for his reporting on the pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Toronto. His story, Does the protest encampment at the University of Toronto make Jews unsafe? Depends which side of the fence you’re on while asking the question was praised by judges for presenting, “a well-balanced and very professional coverage of anti-Israel protests at a Canadian college.”
Lila Sarick received an Honorable Mention for a first person-essay, entitled The First Draft of History, in the Passover issue of The CJN’s magazine, about her experiences covering the aftermath of the Oct.7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel and the rise of antisemitism in Canada. Judges commented, “Most readers see only journalism’s end product, never thinking about what went into creating it. The Canadian Jewish News editor Lila Sarick shows readers how she covered the October 7th horrors, while also processing her own emotions. Most interesting is how she covers the day and days following as both an international and local story.”
The Canadian Jewish News is a Registered Journalism Organization and not-for-profit news agency that offers free, independent, and objective journalism across various platforms, and The CJN will continue to offer national coverage on issues that impact its audience each day.
