Truth to Power

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

NEW YORK, Today, the New Israel Fund announced that its top prize for 2025 will go to Adi Argov, an Israeli activist who has made it her mission to bring the images of innocent civilians suffering in Gaza to mainstream Israeli audiences. Argov is the founder and director of the Daily File, a tri-lingual website (Hebrew, Arabic, and English) she launched in 2020 that systematically documents harm done to Palestinians, particularly children, in Gaza. The goal is public education: to bring images and information to the Israeli public that they would not encounter in mainstream media outlets.

The “Truth to Power” Award, worth NIS 100,000, is the largest individual award granted within Israeli civil society. The Award is given to an individual who acts fearlessly and publicly against power structures in order to fight discrimination, inequality or injustice–and who has paid a personal price for it. Candidates are evaluated according to the effectiveness of their work, as well as their display of courage, future potential, inspiration, and commitment to the values of justice, equality, and democracy. Argov is being awarded the prize in recognition of her exceptional work, which is characterized by courage, determination, and unwavering moral commitment.

She was quoted by the Washington Post in an in-depth feature about the leaders of Israel’s anti-war protests. “This war is a war of denial,” Argov told the Post, but the protests—where Israelis stood, silently, holding photos of children who had been killed in Gaza—“felt like there was a light in the darkness,” she said, "like we were finally standing with humanity.”

Argov, a 59-year-old clinical psychologist, mother, grandmother, and long-time political activist, receives no compensation for her work verifying and posting information about the harm being done to Palestinians, especially children. Argov began the Daily File in 2020, but since October 7th and the war in Gaza, Argov’s site has gained popularity as one of the most comprehensive and consistent data sources in Israel. It has become a tool for journalists, researchers, and activists in Israel and abroad, offering reliable and up-to-date information largely excluded from mainstream media. Argov documents daily incidents of violence, clashes, home demolitions, and human rights violations in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The prize committee said of their decision: “In the face of silencing, fear, and alienation—Adi provides chilling fragments of truth, consistently, precisely, and with sensitivity. She creates a visible, tangible reality that challenges the wall of denial, confronting powerful political and media forces, at real personal risk.”

Alongside her work, Argov has faced severe personal attacks; she was slandered by the far-right organization Im Tirtzu, her personal details were exposed in a doxxing attack. Despite all of this, Argov, driven by a deep sense of mission, continues her work.

This prize will enable Argov to expand the project’s activities to ensure the existence of an independent, moral, and responsible voice in Israel’s public sphere.

The “Truth to Power” award was previously awarded to Einav Zangauker, protest leader and mother of Hamas captive Matan Zangauker, and Nassar Nawaje, a steadfast Palestinian activist from the West Bank village of Susiya. The award is named for the late Bill Goldman, an activist, Professor of history at the University of San Francisco, and board member of the New Israel Fund, who courageously worked to promote compassion, justice and equality and who contributed so much to organizations that worked to build bridges between people.