Jewish author Nathan Thrall, Reuters, and New York Times win Pulitzers for controversial reporting

• Published date: 07 May 2024
• Author: ANDREW LAPIN/JTA
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The Pulitzer board also presented a special citation to journalists covering the war from Gaza, noting that "an extraordinary number have died" while doing so

Thrall, a Bard College professor based in Jerusalem whose work is often highly critical of Israel, won the Pulitzer for general nonfiction for his book "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy." Published days before October 7, the book focuses on a Palestinian father's efforts to uncover news about his son following a bus crash; the Pulitzer jury called it "a finely reported and intimate account of life under Israeli occupation of the West Bank." The book also focuses on several Israeli characters whose lives intersect with Salama's.

Reuters won in the breaking news photography category for its of-the-moment images of the beginning of the October 7 attacks. Since the newswire published the images, it faced accusations from a pro-Israel media advocacy group that its photography staff had advance knowledge of the attacks, a charge the company has denied.

The Pulitzer jury did not mention the controversy in its citation, which praised Reuters for "raw and urgent photographs documenting the October 7th deadly attack in Israel by Hamas and the first weeks of Israel's devastating assault on Gaza."

Staff at the Times won the Pulitzer for international reporting for a series of reports on the attacks and Israel's retaliation in Gaza, including work focusing on the intelligence failures of Israel's military and the ways in which its government had propped up Hamas for years, as well as its strategy of bombing areas where it had instructed Gazan civilians to flee.

Debate over allegations

The Pulitzer jury did not cite "Screams Without Words," a controversial Times report about rapes allegedly committed by Hamas on October 7, in its comments. Published in December, the story has drawn criticism from pro-Palestinian media outlets that questioned the Times' sources and from survivors and family members who said the paper's characterization of what happened to people they knew was not true.

The criticism led to a high-profile newsroom leak of internal debate over the piece and also has helped fuel some denials that Hamas committed rape during the attacks.

While Thrall's book predates the October 7 attack, his book tour was conducted in its shadow and has been a frequent magnet for controversy. Some tour stops canceled planned...