Israeli journalist and author Amir Tibon won the 2026 Sami Rohr Prize for nonfiction for his book The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel’s Borderlands, a Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature press release announced on June 16.
Tibon will also receive the $100,000 annual prize that comes with the award.
The National Library of Israel will host a ceremony on July 28 to honor Tibon and this year’s three other finalists.
This year’s three other finalists include Laura Hobson Faure, author of Who Will Rescue Us?: The Story of the Jewish Children who Fled to France and America During the Holocaust, Shaul Kelner, author of A Cold War Exodus: How American Activists Mobilized to Free Soviet Jews, and Jordan Salama, author of Stranger in the Desert: A Family Story.
“It is an incredible honor to receive the Sami Rohr Prize and join the esteemed list of writers who have won this award over the past two decades,” Tibon said in the Sami Rohr Prize press release.
Amir Tibon wins Jewish book prize for Oct. 7 memoir
On October 7, Tibon, his wife, and their two young daughters were living in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, located less than a mile from Gaza City. The Israeli communities along the Gaza border were the first victims of Hamas’ terrorist attack on October 7, 2023.
Tibon shares his family’s October 7 experience in The Gates of Gaza, describing the heroic story of his parents who sped in their jeep towards Kibbutz Nahal Oz to save him, his wife, and their two young daughters.
The Gates of Gaza is an especially meaningful and educational book with current rising antisemitism since October 7 and an ongoing debate about Israel’s resettlement of the Gaza Strip.
“The mission of the Rohr Prize has never been more important, as we confront a rising tide of antisemitism around the globe and its unique ripples within the world of books and literature,” Tibon said.
Tibon does not shy away from discussing the politics and history that led up to October 7 in The Gates of Gaza. He continued, “I’m grateful to the judging panel for choosing to recognize my work at this crucial moment.”
The Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature was established in 2006 by George, Evelyn and Lillian Rohr in honor of their father Sami Rohr’s eightieth birthday. Rohr passed away in 2012, but he left behind a legacy as a major philanthropist and a passionate reader who made time for Jewish literature, all while building up his own global business.
Rohr grew up in Berlin, Germany, and fled with his parents after Kristallnacht. After taking refuge across Europe and later Colombia, he eventually moved to Florida. “Our father knew what it meant to live through darkness and come out on the other side with his identity and hope intact,” George Rohr said.
He continued, “That spirit is at the heart of the Prize that bears his name—and it is at the heart of Amir Tibon’s extraordinary book.”
