Pulitzer Prize Controversy Erupts Over Award to Palestinian Poet with Hostage Comments

The Pulitzer Prize board’s decision to award a prize to Palestinian poet and author Mosab Abu Toha has ignited a firestorm of controversy, fueled by social media posts where he disparaged Israeli hostages, casting doubt on their suffering and questioning their status as civilians. The award, recognizing his essays in The New Yorker detailing the war in Gaza, is now facing intense scrutiny and condemnation.

Honest Reporting, a journalism watchdog group, uncovered the posts and shared them exclusively with Fox News Digital, revealing a pattern of hostility towards the Israeli hostages, particularly the women. The posts, dated in 2025, paint a disturbing picture.

In one post from January 24, 2025, Toha questions the "hostage" status of Emily Damari, a 28-year-old UK-Israeli soldier who was captured by Hamas on October 7th. He wrote, "How on earth is this girl called a hostage? … This soldier who was close to the border with a city that she and her country have been occupying is called a ‘hostage?’"

Damari endured a harrowing 471 days in Hamas captivity after being shot in the hand during the October 7th terrorist invasion. She lost two fingers as a result and suffered immense pain from an open wound that was poorly treated by Hamas. Her mother described the medical care as if she was "sewed her up like a pin cushion."

Another post from February 3, 2025, targeted Agam Berger, a 28-year-old Israeli violinist and former Gaza border scout who was held captive for 482 days. Toha wrote, "The Israeli ‘hostage’ Agam Berger, who was released days ago participates in her sister’s graduation from an Israeli Air Force officers’ course. These are the ones the world wants to share sympathy for, killers who join the army and have family in the army! These are the ones whom CNN, BBC and the likes humanize in articles and TV programs and news bulletins." Berger revealed that her captors attempted to convert her to Islam and that she and another scout were held in a small room without natural light.

Toha has also cast doubt on the fate of the Bibas children, 9-month-old Kfir and 4-year-old Ariel, who were kidnapped from their home. In a February 21, 2025 post, he criticized the BBC for reporting on forensic findings suggesting the boys were killed with "bare hands." He wrote, "Shame on BBC, propaganda machine. IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said ‘forensic findings’, which have not been seen by the BBC, suggested the boys had been killed with ‘bare hands.’ If you haven’t seen any evidence, why did you publish this. Well, that’s what you are, filthy people." Israeli forensic analysis confirmed the boys were killed by their captors.

Furthermore, Toha has questioned the claims of torture made by released Israeli hostages. In a February 1, 2025 post, he wrote, "When the Israeli hostages were released, did you see any torture signs? Even the soldiers among them?" This statement flies in the face of testimonies from freed captives like Eli Sharabbi, who revealed he was kept in chains so tight they ripped his skin, beaten, and practically starved. Sharabbi lost half his body weight during his captivity and was described by President Trump as looking like a "Holocaust survivor." An Israeli health ministry report also documented instances of teenage captives being forced to perform sexual acts on each other.

Adding to the controversy, Toha appeared to echo Hamas propaganda by accusing Israel of bombing the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza on October 17, 2023. Despite international authorities concluding that the explosion was caused by a misfired Palestinian terrorist group’s missile, Toha wrote in an April 13, 2025 post, "Remember when Israel denied its responsibility for the bombing of the Ahli/Baptist Hospital in 10/2023? Today Israel bombed a building and a power plant minutes after it threatened to bomb."

The backlash against the Pulitzer Prize board’s decision has been swift and fierce. Gil Hoffman, Executive Director of Honest Reporting, stated, "The Pulitzer Prize is the top award in journalism and should not be blemished by bestowing it to a man who repeatedly twisted facts, Abu Toha justifies abducting civilians from their homes, and spreads fake news. That doesn’t sound prize-worthy to me."

Israeli Consul General in New York Ambassador Ofir Akunis added, "To state the obvious these posts are an absolute disgrace and this man should be condemned for his comments, not given a Pulitzer Prize. Reading these posts should make any decent person absolutely sick to their stomach."

The Pulitzer committee defended its decision, stating that Toha was awarded the prize for his "essays on the physical and emotional carnage in Gaza that combine deep reporting with the intimacy of memoir to convey the Palestinian experience of more than a year and a half of war with Israel."

Toha himself had previously written about being detained by Israeli forces while attempting to flee Gaza with his family in 2023, claiming he was beaten and interrogated.

The Pulitzer Prize organization, The New Yorker, and Toha have not yet responded to requests for comment. The controversy surrounding the award has raised serious questions about the vetting process and the standards used to evaluate journalistic work, particularly in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The debate continues to rage, highlighting the deep divisions and sensitivities surrounding the conflict and the role of media in shaping public perception.