On Tuesday evening, 19 May 2026, in Berlin, WerteInitiative – jüdisch-deutsche Positionen e.V. presented the Tacheles Prize for services to Jewish life in Germany 2026 to the editorial team of the Jüdische Allgemeine .
Around 50 guests from politics, the media, civil society and the Jewish community came together for the ceremonial award. Over dinner, WerteInitiative honoured the outstanding journalistic work of the Jüdische Allgemeine and its significance as a Jewish voice in the German public sphere.
After words of welcome from Elio Adler, Chairman of WerteInitiative, and Kai Uwe Peter, association managing director of the Sparkasse, Dr Lothar Müller, head of department at the Bundesministerium des Innern, and Abraham Lehrer, Vice-President of the Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland, delivered greetings.
“We are honouring the Jüdische Allgemeine because it does outstanding journalism. Because it accompanies relevant debates swiftly, precisely, on the basis of facts and responsibly. And because, under its editor-in-chief Philipp Peymann Engel, it has undergone an impressive development,” said Elio Adler, Chairman of WerteInitiative e.V.
Photo: Yehuda Swed/WerteInitiative
From left to right: Daniel Kohn, Lydia Bergida, Elio Adler (all three board members of WerteInitiative), Philipp Peyman Engel (editor-in-chief of the Jüdische Allgemeine) Bettina Piper, Tobias Kühn and Marco Limberg (members of the editorial team of the Jüdische Allgemeine), Helge Fuhst
The laudatory speech was given by the journalist Helge Fuhst. He honoured the editorial team of the Jüdische Allgemeine as an indispensable journalistic institution of Jewish life in Germany: an editorial team that informs, contextualises, contradicts and makes Jewish perspectives visible in a challenging social situation.
The prize was accepted by Philipp Peyman Engel, editor-in-chief of the Jüdische Allgemeine, on behalf of the editorial team. “Writing what is. Saying what is. That is our task as journalists. Also and especially when they are uncomfortable truths,” said the editor-in-chief in his acceptance speech. “It pleases us enormously that this is seen and recognised by WerteInitiative and now also valued with this prize. We therefore also understand this prize as an encouragement to carry on at full strength and with a strong voice.”
Abraham Lehrer, Vice-President of the Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland, emphasised the outstanding role of the Jüdische Allgemeine in German discourse: “The Jüdische Allgemeine addresses uncomfortable truths from a Jewish perspective, precisely where others are loudly silent. It does not let itself be beaten down. It fills the gap that all too often yawns in public debate.”
About the Tacheles Prize
With the Tacheles Prize, WerteInitiative honours every two years individuals or organisations that work in a particular way for securing a Jewish future in Germany. The previous prizewinners were the board members of the Jüdische Studierendenunion Deutschland (JSUD), who stood up for the interests of young Jews in Germany under the most difficult conditions.
This year’s award honours the continuous work of the Jüdische Allgemeine as a journalistically well-founded, opinionated and visible voice of Jewish life in Germany. Since 7 October 2023 the Jewish community worldwide and also in Germany has been under massive pressure. Antisemitism appears more openly, more aggressively and more self-confidently. In this situation, Jewish journalism that makes experiences visible, contextualises developments and clearly names antisemitism takes on particular importance.
