Award ceremony - Hannah Arendt Prize for Masha Gessen: Criticism
Despite criticism from the German-Israeli Society (DIG) Bremen, Masha Gessen is to be awarded this year's Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought. According to the association's board, it has agreed that the award ceremony will take place on Friday as planned. Following a controversial article by Gessen, the DIG had called for the decision to be suspended.
The DIG criticizes statements made by Masha Gessen in an article in the American magazine "The New Yorker". The comparison of Gaza with a ghetto in an Eastern European country occupied by National Socialists is particularly disconcerting. Gessen is free to hold such views, according to a letter from the DIG. "But Masha Gessen's views should not be honored with an award that is intended to commemorate the Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt."
The prize, endowed with 10,000 euros, is intended to honor people who contribute to public political thought and action in the tradition of Arendt. According to the information provided, an independent, international jury decides on the award. The prize is awarded by a sponsoring association, the Bremen government and the Heinrich Böll Foundations in Berlin and Bremen.
The board of the sponsoring association wants to continue with the award. "Masha Gessen's article, without having to share the content, fits in with the Hannah Arendt Prize's culture of debate," the association said when asked. This culture of debate will also be cultivated at the award ceremony on Friday and at a symposium with Masha Gessen on Saturday.
According to the jury, Gessen is one of the most courageous chroniclers of our time, as was stated after the decision was announced at the beginning of August. Gessen's books, essays and presence open up new perspectives that help to understand a world in a state of accelerated change, the award's sponsoring association said at the time. Gessen, born in Moscow in 1967, writes about political currents and conflicts in US and Russian society. Gessen lives in New York City.
Presentation of the Hannah Arendt Prize Announcement of the award Essay by Masha Gessen
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Source: www.stern.de
