The College of Journalists of Catalonia (CPC) honored Israeli journalist Amira Hass this Wednesday with the Manuel Vázquez Montalbán International Journalism Award 2026. It was awarded in the category of cultural and political journalism. The jury unanimously recognized Hass’s career and commitment to rigorous journalism. They also highlighted her work in explaining the reality of the occupied Palestinian territories with a critical perspective from her correspondent position at the newspaper Haaretz. The jury described her work as “a clear exercise in defending freedom of information and expression.” The award ceremony will take place on Monday, October 5, 2026, at the CPC headquarters in Barcelona.
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Amira Hass was the first Israeli journalist to decide to settle in the occupied Palestinian territories. Born in Jerusalem (Israel) in 1956, she settled in Gaza in 1993. Since 1997 she has lived in Ramallah (West Bank). In 1991 she began working for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, from where she has documented the Israeli occupation and the daily reality of Palestinian society. Her career has made her an internationally recognized journalistic voice for her critical perspective, even towards the Israeli government, and for her direct knowledge of the territory. Throughout her career, she has also received other recognitions such as the Bruno Kreisky Human Rights Award.
The decoration now awarded to her was created in 2004 to commemorate the figure and legacy of the Barcelona writer and journalist Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, who passed away the previous year. The award, endowed with 5,000 euros, recognizes outstanding professional careers in two categories: cultural and political journalism, and sports journalism. Awarding the prize to Amira Hass represents the revival of this category, which had not been granted since 2019. It was interrupted after that year due to the Covid pandemic. In that last edition, the awardee was Argentine journalist Leila Guerriero.
In previous editions, professionals such as Maruja Torres, Tomàs Alcoverro, Seymour Hersh, Teresa Pàmies, Roberto Saviano, Jordi Évole, and Andreu Missé have also received this distinction.
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