Vienna – November 02, 2026 -- Vienna-based think tank Mena-Watch will present the 2026 Arik Brauer Journalism Prize to filmmaker and journalist Sarah Maria Sander and journalist Andrea Schurian on the evening of November 5.

Sander relocated to Israel to counter German-language coverage after October 7, 2023

Sander concluded after the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023 that many German-language media outlets conveyed a picture of Israel marked by half-truths, distortions and disinformation. She moved to Israel to report from there through newspaper articles, video features and films. Author and journalist Tobias Huch will deliver the laudatory speech.

Schurian led Der Standard's culture desk for nine years

Schurian headed the culture section of the daily Der Standard from 2008 to 2017, following long-standing work at Austrian broadcaster ORF. She also served as editor-in-chief of Nu, a quarterly Jewish magazine. Since 2018 she has written the "Quergeschrieben" column in Die Presse, where she repeatedly addresses antisemitism and hostility toward Israel. Almuth Spiegler, co-head of the Die Presse arts and culture section, will give the laudatory speech.

Independent international jury selects annual laureates

Mena-Watch awards the prize once a year for well-founded contributions to public debate that examine the Middle East from a fair, reality-based perspective. An independent international jury chooses the recipients.

Previous laureates include Nobel literature laureate Herta Müller, historian Michael Wolffsohn, journalists Ester Schapira and Christian Ultsch, author Mirna Funk, terrorism expert Rebecca Schönenbach, publicist Arye Sharuz Shalicar, psychologist Ahmad Mansour, journalist Nikolaus Wildner, writer Karl-Markus Gauß and politician Karoline Preisler. Singer-songwriter and poet Wolf Biermann received a lifetime achievement award.

The ceremony begins at 7 p.m. in a smaller setting and will be livestreamed.