The Canadian Jewish News won six awards at the annual Simon Rockower Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism.
The awards, presented by the American Jewish Press Association (AJPA) at its annual conference in New York City, went to stories and columns produced in 2025. The CJN competed with other digital news outlets and magazines across North America.
CEO Michael Weisdorf said of the CJN’s successes: “The CJN editorial team continues to deliver significant quantity and quality of work and should be extremely proud of its achievements over the past year. And after the first year in its reimagined and rebranded format, this is a fantastic achievement for Scribe Quarterly.”
The CJN was awarded first place in three digital news/web-based media categories:
Jonathan Rothman won first place for Excellence in Arts, News and Reportage – Coverage for his article “Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango: A New Canadian Music Project Is Making Holocaust Stories Heard Around the World.” His contribution was praised by the jury for the “unusual and interesting topic”, the “highlighted local perspective” and the “comprehensive reporting”.
Lila Sarick won first place for excellence in writing about women for her article “Four Jewish women in Toronto found out they were sisters thanks to 23andMe.” The judges said Sarick “wrote an amazing article about four Jewish women in Toronto who discovered they were sisters from birth. Two were adopted as infants and two were raised by the women’s mother. Thanks to 23andMe, courage, chutzpah and love, a new family was miraculously born. Kudos to Sarick for finding this remarkable story and telling it in such a moving and unforgettable way.”
Mitchell Consky received the award for his article “BDS on Canadian campuses: What has been achieved in the months since the summer of 2024 unrest?” first place for outstanding achievements in educational reporting. The judges noted that it was clearly written, included multiple sources and contained “excellent investigative work.”
Scribe Quarterly magazine took home two first place awards and one second place award:
Freelance journalist John Lorinc won first place for Outstanding Personality Profiles for his Winter 2025 article, “‘I wanted to make sure I was seen’: High hopes are pinned on Melissa Lantsman.”
For excellence in writing about food and wine, freelance journalist Caitlin Stall-Paquet won first place for her Summer 2025 article, “The Secret Recipes of the Spanish Inquisition: Hidden Conversations.” Jewish cuisine still shapes the food today.”
Carol Moskot, art director of Scribe Quarterly, won second place for Outstanding Achievement – Publication Design for “Summer 2025: The Food Question.” The judges praised Moskot for her “great use of type and photos; even the choice of where to add sound to an article was thoughtful and relevant. The illustrations were relatable and not overdone. I love the size of some of the photos. Overall, a nice edition.”
The Canadian Jewish News is a registered journalism organization and nonprofit news organization providing free, independent and objective journalism across a variety of platforms. The CJN continues to provide national coverage of stories that matter to Canada’s Jewish community.