For the first time in the history of Hebrew literature in America, the best Hebrew short stories received awards of $1000, $500, and $250. Selected on the basis of a world wide contest, the stories of the fourteen finalists of the contest, after being screened by Agudat Hasofrim in Tel-Aviv, appeared in Bitzaron, the Hebrew monthly published in New York. The prizes were established for Bitzaron by Israel Stiefel, prominent Philadelphia attorney and former Senator of Pennsylvania, for the purpose of discovering and encouraging creative writers in the field of Hebrew belles letters.
First prize of $1000 was divided between Joseph Bar-Yosef for his story “The Snake” (“Hanahash”) and Yanetz Rammgal for the story “Starry Broth” (“Marak Hakochavim”). The Second prize of $500 was divided between Amalia Kahana-Carmon and Aryeh Sivan. The Third prize of $250 was granted to Aaron Apelfeld. The Judges were Prof. G.A. Churgin of Yeshiva University, Prof. Abraham Halkin of the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Prof. Eisig Silberschlag of Boston Hebrew Teachers College.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
