Pakistani architect Yasmeen Lari turns down Israel's Wolf Prize over ‘genocide' in Gaza
The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel since 1978 to living scientists and artists for their 'achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people.'
It is awarded in six fields, including agriculture, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, physics, and an arts prize that rotates between architecture, music, painting and sculpture.
Lari, who works in the intersection of architecture and social justice, wrote to Wolf Foundation that she was grateful for the honor, but could not accept it 'in view of the unfortunate continuing genocide in Gaza.'
'I declined the award because of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, a reason I explicitly stated in my response to them. Given the current situation in Gaza, accepting the award was out of the question,' she told Arab News.
The development came as Israeli fire killed eight people in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, Palestinian officials said on Tuesday, even as a fragile ceasefire with Hamas has largely held. Israel last week suspended supplies of goods and electricity to the territory of more than 2 million Palestinians as it tries to pressure Hamas to accept an extension of the first phase of their ceasefire, which ended on March 1.
Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas instead wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire's more difficult second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.
Israel's war on Gaza, which began after Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, a majority of them women and children. The 15-month Israeli military campaign has laid waste to the Gaza Strip, destroying hospitals, schools and entire residential neighborhoods.
'Declining the award was the very least I could do,' Lari told Arab News.
Lari is known for her socially conscious works on humanitarian grounds and for catering to the spatial needs of Pakistan's most marginalized communities. She co-founded the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan with her husband, Suhail Zaheer Lari, in 1980, and has constructed over 50,000 sustainable self-built shelters and over 80,000 ecological cooking stoves using natural materials like mud, lime, and bamboo.
The philanthropic architect, who advocates that traditional construction techniques can lead to low-impact carbon-neutral buildings, was awarded the prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects Royal Gold Medal in 2023 for her humanitarian work.
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