Prize in Jewish journalism awarded

NEW YORK, Jan. 12 (JTA) — A columnist for the Israeli daily newspaper Ha’aretz and a contributing editor for the Jerusalem Report magazine are dividing this year’s JDC-Smolar Award for journalism. The judges gave the awards to Eliyahu Salpeter for his writing on Israel-Diaspora issues, noting that Salpeter is the only journalist with a Hebrew-language media outlet who has compiled a comprehensive discussion on the topic. Micha Odenheimer of the Jersualem Report won for his cover story on Ethiopian Jews, “The Abandoned Jews of Quara.” The award was established by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and is named for longtime Jewish Telegraphic Agency editor Boris Smolar, who donated the award’s annual $2,500 prize. The judges also cited Jerusalem Post reporter Sue Fishkoff for her series of articles on Jewish communities in Ukraine and Russia.