The Gaza War invites itself to the 2024 Pulitzer Prizes

The paradox is huge. In the new edition of the prizes, which constitute the highest annual distinction of the American press and literature, the Pulitzer committee chose to reward journalists and media for their work on the war between Israel and Hamas. Thus the New York Times, which was awarded the international journalism prize because of “its extensive and revealing coverage of the lethal Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7”, but also for its articles on “ the radical and deadly response of the Israeli armed forces,” reported AFP.

Also, the Reuters news agency, winner of a prize in the news photography category, was decorated for its “raw and immediate” media coverage of the October 7 attack and the response of the Jewish state. Among the finalists in this category, AFP photographer Adem Altan was in the running, nominated for his treatment of the earthquake which struck Turkey in February 2023.

In addition, the committee made a special mention to recognize “journalists and employees who cover the war in Gaza.” The university wanted to recall that “this conflict also cost the lives of poets and writers.”

A weight, a measure, since the 2024 edition takes precedence over both the media treatment of the Hamas attack and that of Israel's reprisals. Russia and Ukraine were not left behind either. “For his passionate articles written at the risk of his life from his prison cell”, Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Mourza was honored during the awards ceremony. He is serving a 25-year prison sentence for "treason" and "false information", after his collaboration with the Washington Post.

But a paradox, since the prestigious Columbia University which has hosted, like every year, the high mass of journalism and American literature since 1917, has also been the scene since April of pro-Palestinian student demonstrations. These blockades became so widespread that at the end of last month the management of Columbia called on the police to dislodge the activists. In their student newspaper, two students accused the management of “repression”. In response, police restricted access to the event and prevented student journalists from covering it.

For literature, novelist Jayne Anne Philipps received the award for best literary fiction with Night Watch, whose story focuses on the fate of a mother and daughter in the post-Civil War era. Nathan Thrall won the prize for best non-fiction for A Day in the Life of Abed Salama. Anatomy of a tragedy in Jerusalem.