Palestinian Poet Mosab Abu Toha Wins Pulitzer Prize for Commentary Amid Political Backlash

Palestinian poet and essayist Mosab Abu Toha has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his powerful writings on the war in Gaza, published in The New Yorker, Al Jazeera reports.

The award, announced on Monday, recognized Abu Toha’s work for blending intimate personal reflection with deep reporting on the devastation in Gaza, capturing the emotional and physical toll of the conflict on Palestinians.

The Pulitzer Board praised Abu Toha’s essays for conveying “the Palestinian experience” with a unique combination of memoir and journalism. His vivid storytelling has drawn international attention, despite rising political attacks against him in the United States.

“I have just won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary,” Abu Toha wrote on social media shortly after the announcement. “Let it bring hope. Let it be a tale.”

The message is widely seen as a tribute to his late friend and fellow Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza in December 2023. Alareer’s final poem, If I Must Die, Let It Be a Tale, has since become emblematic of Palestinian resilience and remembrance.

Abu Toha was briefly detained by Israeli forces in Gaza last year before being released into Egypt and eventually relocating to the US In his Pulitzer-winning essays, he wrote with haunting clarity about the destruction of his homeland.

“In Gaza, every destroyed house becomes a kind of album, filled not with photos but with real people, the dead pressed between its pages,” he wrote.

Despite the international acclaim, Abu Toha has faced growing pressure in the United States. Right-wing and pro-Israel groups have called for his deportation, particularly in light of former President Donald Trump’s renewed crackdown on noncitizens critical of Israel. Abu Toha recently cancelled several university appearances, citing concerns for his personal safety.

Other winners in this year’s Pulitzer journalism categories included The New York Times, which received four awards—for explanatory reporting, local reporting, international reporting, and breaking news photography. Its international reporting prize was awarded for coverage of the civil conflict in Sudan.

The Washington Post, which was a finalist in the international category for its investigations into alleged Israeli atrocities in Gaza, took home the award for breaking news coverage of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during a campaign rally last year.

Reuters won the investigative reporting award for a sweeping exposé on the global failures in regulating fentanyl, highlighting the drug’s deadly consequences.

The Pulitzer Prizes, among the most prestigious honors in journalism and the arts, are awarded annually by Columbia University. Winners are selected by a board composed of journalists and academics.