Gal Beckerman Wins 2012 Sami Rohr Prize

Posted on February 15, 2012

The Jewish Book Council has announced that Gal Beckerman is the winner of the 2012 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. The prize includes a $100,000 cash prize. The Rohr prize has been awarded annually since 2007. It alternates between considering works of fiction and nonfiction each year.

Gal Beckerman won for his book, When They Come For Us We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry. The book chronicles the history of the Soviet Jewry movemet. The judges say Beckerman's work shows "his clear commitment to becoming a storyteller for the Jewish people."

Abigail Green was the runner-up for her biography, Moses Montefiore: Jewish Liberator, Imperial Hero (Belknap Press of Harvard University). She will receive a $25,000 prize.