What are the 2025 monetary prizes?

In 2025, there are six Goldziher Prizes for an individual journalist or a team — 2 in each of 3 categories:

• Professional Journalists (Two prizes, $7,500 each). Entries must include at least two and no more than three stories or opinion pieces, in the same medium.

• Community Journalists or Contributors (Two prizes, $5,000 each). Entries must include at least  two and no more than three stories or opinion pieces, in the same medium.

• Young Voices (Two prizes, $2,500 each). Entries must include at least two and no more than three stories, in any medium.

What is the impetus for focusing on Jewish-Muslim relationships in 2025?

The impetus for this year’s competition is the philosophical and psychobiological notion that the stories we tell shape our collective reality.

One common response to experiences of collective trauma, combined with irresponsible political, religious, or educational leadership, is to see a whole group of people as a monolithic bloc of threatening, eternal perpetrators. Fears — based upon real and imagined dangers — have their own logic and lead to indiscriminate hatred of a whole group. This blocks discernment and energy to look for allies or solutions to conflict. These conditions  increase the likelihood of explosive violence.  In fact, here we are today in what feels like (but is not) an intractable conflict.

Negotiations or solutions to conflicts reflect the relationships that give birth to them; so if inequality, rage, indignity, and hopelessness — tragic peace inhibitors — are baked into the “solutions,” we are doomed to fail.  I learned this from Rev. Dr. Ronald David, M.D. who taught a course on the Politics of Diversity at Harvard’s Kennedy School years ago. I’ve never forgotten this lesson, and it propels me to frame the Goldziher Prize this year about Muslim-Jewish relationships, in the interest of countering the devastation we find ourselves in today.  Perhaps collectively, we can make a contribution to a more peaceful future that many of us know is possible.   - Tamar Miller, Lead, Goldziher Prize for Journalists

To learn more, also see Journalism Professor and Goldziher judge, Ari Goldman, on Empathetic Objectivity: A Strategy for Journalists.

What is an example of a fitting entry?

Entries may be written pieces, including feature stories, opinion columns, or long-form magazine pieces; podcast or radio segments, including interviews, conversations or narrative storytelling; video or television pieces including news interviews or produced features. This news interview conducted by CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour is one example of an eligible entry.

Other Ways of Speaking about Muslim-Jewish Relationships: Track I & Track II Diplomacy

Joseph V. Montville (1937-2022), a good friend of TRACK TWO: An Institute for Citizen Diplomacy and a good friend of The Goldziher Prize, was a compassionate American diplomat and public intellectual. He coined these now popular terms.

Track 1 and Track II diplomacy refer to different levels of engagement or conflict resolution, aimed at bettering communal, regional, or international relationships.

Track 1 is official, formal diplomacy carried out by representatives, such as heads of state, diplomats, and other high-level governmental officials. It involves excruciatingly detailed (often long-term) discussions, negotiations, and treaties that are conducted through official channels.

Track 2 is more informal, unofficial diplomacy undertaken by non-governmental actors such as academics, private individuals, business people, grass-roots campaigners, social benefit organizations, activists, and professional groups. Efforts involve many forms of engagement that complement, subvert, or add power to official diplomatic processes.

Both tracks aim to build trust, address underlying complex issues, and create a conducive environment to accrue power in the service of peacebuilding, which can be both an excruciating and exhilarating process.

Stories about Muslim-Jewish interactions and efforts of diplomacy on either track would meet the criteria for entering the 2025 Goldziher competition. Also, see the work of Dr. Donna Hicks on the subject of dignity.

Who may enter the 2025 Goldziher competition?

Journalists or creators may enter the 2025 competition. However, if you are an employee, immediate family member, contractor, officer or director of either Making Peace Visible or the William and Mary Greve Foundation, you are not eligible to apply for the prize.

What must I do to enter the competition?

The application form asks for your contact information, two pieces of work — created after June 15, 2023; your resumé or CV; and if applicable, information about the impact of your work.  Your entries must be entered as links to a webpage.

Your entries may be in written word, photography, audio, or video.

In addition, one (1) piece of supporting material can be entered. If it is part of a series or a collection, the additional piece may be work created prior to June 15, 2023.   

For professional and community journalists (professional or freelance contributors), both entries must be in a single medium. The additional piece of supporting material may be in another medium.  

For Young Voices, the two pieces may be in two different mediums and because we would like to encourage works that are are bold, clear, and do not reflect unbridgeable divisions, we will accept published and/or posted work or work that is not yet published from students and journalists ages 18-24.

Which journalism category should I use for my entry?

• Professional Journalists: If you are an employee or creator and are paid to regularly contribute your work to a national, local media, or global outlet, you are qualified to apply as a Professional Journalist. Although any paid journalist can contribute to this category, entries at this level will be of the highest quality of rigorous professionalism. If you work for a smaller publication or an outlet whose mission is not expressly journalism, please consider applying in the community category.

• Community Journalists or Contributors: The Goldziher Prize honors journalism at the community or organizational level. The community category is intended to find and encourage good local journalism and special interest constituents or consumers of media.

• Young Voices: All students, creators, and journalists ages 18 - 24.

How will I know if my entry is accepted for review by the judges?

You will receive a notification from us when your application has been received.

If your entries do not meet the criteria, you will be notified later in the process, when we have a chance to review them more fully.

How many pieces of journalism can I enter? 

An individual or team should enter two pieces of journalistic works. One piece of supporting work is optional. Please see Rules for more details.

How many times may I or we enter the competition?

An individual or team may enter one time only in each Goldziher round. If you have entered the competition in 2017, 2019, or 2022, or 2023, you may enter again in 2025.

What rights am I agreeing to when I enter my work?

The Goldziher Prize will never publish your work without your permission or use your private information for commercial purposes.  See Rules.

Is there a competition entry fee? Who funds this prize?

There is no fee to enter.  The Goldziher Prize is funded by The William and Mary Greve Foundation (see About Us) out of good will. They do not have a website and they do not accept unsolicited requests. They are approachable, however, for good conversation. You can request a meeting through Contact Us on this site.

Who can enter the competition? 

Anyone anywhere in the world who fits the criteria for entry can enter the 2025 competition.

What happens once I enter my work? 

You will receive a notification once your application has been received. The Goldziher Prize will ensure all submissions meet the criteria. The judges will then review the submissions and together determine the winners. Awardees will be contacted in TBD 2025, and a public announcement will follow.  Winners will be invited to the Making Peace Visible Summit in 2026 (TBD) for a public conversation and celebration.

This website is primarily meant to explain the Goldziher Prize, to help people enter the competition, and to provide a way for us to accept entries. We also post winners’ entries when we have permission. If you would like this website to post your entry, let us know on the Contact page.

Do I have to pay taxes if I will one of the monetary prizes?

Each winner is responsible for paying all taxes on his or her prize. The the fiscal sponsor, Albert E. Marks Charitable Trust—a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit that serves as a pass-through entity for the funds—will report all prizes to the U.S. government, as required by law.

How do I help this competition succeed?

• Share with your community and connections.

• Post the competition on social media.

• Join the Making Peace Visible International Summit in 2027. (exact date and place TBD)

• Offer feedback. Please be kind and try not to put us through purity tests. We are human.