Washington Jewish Week was recognized with five Simon Rockower awards for excellence in Jewish journalism at the American Jewish Press Association’s annual conference on June 23.
The AJPA’s 44th annual Simon Rockower Awards ceremony, which took place in Pittsburgh, featured 1,166 entries in 40 categories and honored the best in Jewish journalism and media for work done in 2024.
Washington Jewish Week staff writer Zoe Bell won first place for Excellence in News Reporting for her story titled “Jewish Soldier Laid to Rest 80 Years After His Death.”
Editor Aaron Troodler took home a first-place award in the Excellence in Writing About Sports category for his story titled “Washington Commanders Managing Partner Josh Harris on Jewish Identity, Israel and Making Sports a ‘Shared Community Experience.’”
The Washington Jewish Week Editorial Board received an honorable mention in the Excellence in Editorial Writing category for three of its editorial pieces: “From Bad to Worse on Campus,” “Civilian Terrorists” and “Answering the Pager Call.”
Washington Jewish Week also won second place for Excellence in Education Reporting for its series of stories about antisemitism in Montgomery County Public Schools written by staff writers Zoe Bell and Braden Hamelin and freelance writer Suzanne Pollak.
In addition, Washington Jewish Week won second place in the Marc Klein Award for Excellence for Best Use of Interactive Media category for “The WJW Podcast: A Conversation With Ambassador John Bolton,” which was hosted by Aaron Troodler and produced by WJW Art Director Frank Wagner and WJW Digital Media Coordinator James Meskunas.
“It is a good feeling to be recognized by the American Jewish Press Association by receiving multiple Rockower awards,” said Mid-Atlantic Media CEO and Washington Jewish Week Publisher Craig Burke. “The competition is tough and to get these results speaks volumes to the talent we have on our editorial team.”
