Hadassah Magazine has won eight new Simon Rockower Awards, the annual prizes for excellence in Jewish journalism handed out by the American Jewish Press Association. The award-winning magazine was recognized on June 3 for its work done in 2023 during the AJPA’s 43rd annual conference, this year held in Nashville.  

Uriel Heilman won first place for “The Economic Fallout of War” in the category of Excellence in Business Reporting. The judges praised Heilman’s work detailing the financial impact of Israel’s war with Hamas, noting his “thorough, engaging comprehensive story that had sharp interviews with both experts and real people.”  

Hannah Pressman won first place for “My Year of Taylor, Barbie and Margaret” in the Excellence in Personal Essay category. Described as a “tour de force” by the judges, Pressman combined “in a lively, amusing, even self-deprecating, way, three cultural phenomena of our time.” 

Robert Goldblum also won first place for “The Women of Sassoon” in the category of Excellence in Arts (Review/Criticism). The judges noted that the review “takes the reader by the lavishly brocade arm on a journey through one family’s generations and the objects they keep.” 

In the wild card category of Excellence in Writing about the War in Israel: Feature Writing, Sue Fishkoff won first place for “A ‘Great Awakening’ for American Jewry.” 

The magazine won four honorable mentions: In the category of Excellence in Single Commentary, Rona Kobell won for “Preserving History”; Alexandra Lapkin Schwank for “The Incredible Reach of #JewishTikTok” in the category of Excellence in Feature Writing; Karen Chernick in the category of Excellence in Arts News and Features (Reporting) for “Between Alienation and Acceptance”; and Beth Segal for “A Menu of Music and Food” in the category of Excellence in Writing about Food and Wine.  

“It is especially gratifying in these difficult times to be honored for the work that we do in telling Jewish stories,” said Lisa Hostein, the magazine’s executive editor. “From insightful pieces about Jewish art and culture to devastating stories of the economic, psychological and worldwide impact of October 7 and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war, our winning entries underscore our team-wide effort to bring our readers stories that matter. Yasher koach to all the winners!”