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Sami Rohr Prize

Interior view of the new National Library of Israel, 2023. (Iwan Baan/File)
May 13, 2026, 11:18 am
Four authors named as finalists for Sami Rohr Prize
Jewish literature awards ceremony, held in association with National Library, to take place in Jerusalem this July
By Jessica Steinberg
Writer Sasha Vasilyuk, whose debuty novel, 'Your Presence Is Mandatory,' won the 2025 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature on May 20, 2025 (Credit: Christopher Michel)
May 21, 2025, 11:44 am
Sami Rohr prize awarded for novel about Jewish life in Soviet Union
Writer Sasha Vasilyuk wins 2025 Jewish literature prize for her debut book, ‘Your Presence Is Mandatory’
By Jessica Steinberg
Iddo Gefen, center, seen hiking with his friend Sagi Golan, left, and another friend in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Gefen/via JTA)
October 30, 2023, 1:26 am
Israeli Sami Rohr Prize winner uses event to eulogize his good friend, killed Oct. 7
Author Iddo Gefen was set to attend Sagi Golan’s wedding to partner Omer Ohana this month, instead, he flew back to Israel an hour before the reservist’s funeral
By Gabe Friedman
Iddo Gefen won the 2023 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. (Uri Barkat via JTA)
May 3, 2023, 10:53 am
For 1st time, Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature goes to Hebrew author, translator
Award goes to Iddo Gefen’s ‘Jerusalem Beach’; organizers says including works translated into English, and honoring those who do the translating, adds new dimension to competition
By Gabe Friedman
Menachem Kaiser's nonfiction book 'Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure' was announced the 2022 winner of the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. (Beowulf Sheehan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
May 19, 2022, 10:16 am
Menachem Kaiser’s memoir on reclaiming his family’s Polish home wins Sami Rohr prize
In debut book, writer recounts efforts to regain ownership of house that belonged to his grandfather before the Holocaust
By Andrew Lapin
A simulated image of the new National Library of Israel Reading Hall. (Courtesy: Herzog de Meuron/Mann Shinar Architects)
February 15, 2022, 9:14 pm
Sami Rohr literary award inks alliance with Israel National Library
New literature partnership will now also consider works translated into English; prize ceremony to be held in Israel in alternate years
By Jessica Steinberg
Benjamin Balint. (Courtesy of the Sami Rohr Prize)
May 12, 2020, 12:51 pm
Benjamin Balint wins 2020 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for Kafka book
The nonfiction work details the controversial trial that determined the fate of Jewish surrealist author Franz Kafka’s manuscripts
By JTA
Lucette Lagnado, then 6, and her family pose for a family portrait on the eve of their exodus from Egypt in the 1960s (Lucettelagnado.com)
July 12, 2019, 5:23 am
Lucette Lagnado, who chronicled family’s flight from Egypt, dies at 63
No cause of death given for Wall Street Journal reporter, who won major Jewish book award in 2007 for ‘The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit,’ about end of Jewish life in Cairo
By Andrew Silow-Carroll
Michael David Lukas at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco in 2014. (Wikimedia Commons)
May 2, 2019, 12:20 pm
Novel spanning centuries of Mideast Jewish life wins $100,000 literature prize
Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature awarded to Michael David Lukas for his book ‘The Last Watchmen of Old Cairo’ telling stories drawn from the Cairo Geniza
By Josefin Dolsten
Ilana Kurshan (Jewish Book Council)
June 6, 2018, 8:46 am
Author Ilana Kurshan wins $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature
Program recognizes promising emerging writers who articulate the Jewish experience
By JTA
Idra Novey, author of 'Ways to Disappear.' (Donata Zanotti)
May 20, 2017, 3:21 am
The award-winning novel that appeared out of nowhere
Acclaimed translator Idra Novey’s debut book ‘Ways to Disappear’ is a five-year secret project turned Sami Rohr Prize winner
By Cathryn J. Prince
Idra Novey (Courtesy/Donata Zanotti)
May 4, 2017, 2:01 pm
Author Idra Novey wins Sami Rohr prize for Jewish literature
Novel ‘Ways to Disappear’ explores a translator’s search for a missing author in modern-day Brazil
By JTA
Sami Rohr winners and finalists Aviya Kushner (left), Yehudah Mirsky (second left) and Lisa Leff chatting with Rabbi David Wolpe in one of the events leading up to the Sami Rohr Prize ceremony taking place July 5, 2016, in Jerusalem (Courtesy YouTube)
July 5, 2016, 1:20 pm
Sami Rohr prize-winners tell of books that insisted on being written
‘I couldn’t shake my interest,’ says writer Lisa Leff of ‘The Archive Thief,’ which snagged her the top $100,000 award
By Jessica Steinberg
From Berlin to New York, Israeli expat writers are moving well beyond the Israeli market. (Jessica Steinberg/The Times of Israel)
September 28, 2015, 6:19 am
7 acclaimed Israeli expat writers to watch
Writing in their native or adoptive tongues, these authors are making names for themselves among international literati
By Beth Kissileff
Author Ayelet Tsabari, winner of this year's Sami Rohr prize for fiction. (Elsin Davidi)
March 18, 2015, 10:12 am
‘Exile by choice’ author tells Israel’s story from Canada
Ayelet Tsabari’s prize-winning ‘The Best Place on Earth’ gives 11 sensitive authentic snapshots of life under the radar
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
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