Award Ceremony Canceled Over Writer's Comparison of Gaza to Nazi-era Jewish Ghettos
The Heinrich Böll Foundation has withdrawn its support for an award ceremony honoring Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen after they compared Gaza to a Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe. The foundation objected to Gessen's comparison, stating it was unacceptable and rejected their implication that Israel aimed to "liquidate Gaza like a Nazi ghetto." The award will still be presented to Gessen in a different setting, but the ceremony will not take place as planned. Supporters have criticized the decision, highlighting the irony of suspending a prize awarded in memory of Hannah Arendt, a Jewish-American philosopher and political theorist who covered the trial of Adolf Eichmann.