The poet gets the Pulitzer Prize 2025, for commentary in The New Yorker for essays “on the physical and emotional carnage in Gaza that combine deep reporting with the intimacy of memoir to convey the Palestinian experience” of the war.
Reacting to the award he said “I have just won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary,” Palestian poet Abu Toha who has been targeted by pro-Israel groups in the United States for deportation wrote on social media. “Let it bring hope. Let it be a tale.”
The comment appears to be a tribute to his fellow Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, who was killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza in December 2023. Alareer’s final poem was titled, “If I must die, let it be a tale”.
Abu Toha was detained by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2023 before being released to Egypt and subsequently moving to the US.
In recent months, right-wing groups in the US have called for deporting Abu Toha amid a campaign by President Donald Trump cracking down on noncitizens critical of Israel. The author cancelled events at universities in recent months, citing fears for his safety.
In other Pulitzer categories, The New York Times won prizes for explanatory reporting, local reporting, international coverage and breaking news photography on Monday.
