Shani Louk

[PineappleWater]

This is how Shani Louk's family asked for her to be remembered. Smiling and alive.

The biggest photojournalism competition in the world decided to trample on the family's wishes in favor of giving a photo of Shani's mutilated body a prestigious award. She wasn't even named in the caption.

Among the photographers honoured is Ali Mahmud, the AP freelancer who came under fire for logging photos during the early hours of October 7th, indicating previous knowledge of Hamas's brutal attack.

Photos showing violence and death can be newsworthy or important when they humanize the dead or galvanize the public. The "winning" photo does neither; it only further dehumanizes Shani, retraumatizes her family, and legitimizes Hamas's actions under the guise of journalistic neutrality.

No one should be rewarded on the backs of murdered women.

Rest in power Shani Louk, we'll remember you as the beautiful soul you were 💜

As for Ali Mahmud, it beggars belief that he is being celebrated for taking the photo of murder-rapist-terrorists with the brutalized and contorted body of Shani.

Seems to me he should be going to jail, not getting a prize.

I agree with you completely.

Some of the journalists tweeted comments supporting the attack, others had very early pictures indicating that they went along. The early footage of people cheering in the streets of Gaza when hostages and bodies of dead individuals from the festival or kibbutz were paraded on the back or in their vehicles.

He needs investigating, not an award. They'll be given awards to Hamas body cam images next. It's appalling.

Shani was a beautiful young woman inside and out and had a wonderful life in front of her, taken by evil men. The picture you shared is lovely.

"The publication of the photos in the early hours of October 7 inspired thousands of Gazans to swarm into Israel to conduct further violence, the lawsuit claimed."

https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-789494

So a photo of a young woman that had been brutally murdered and which encouraged Palestinian people to flood into Israel and join in, wins an award. No words.

Rest in peace, Shani.

I saw this and it made me feel sick.
An award for the image of parading a woman's body around like that?
They are absolutely vile and I cannot understand why this image gets rewarded.
Sick.

It’s just more sick and twisted shit. This world is medieval in its brutality. There has been no move forward towards peace. If they brought back public hangings the crowds would still come.

That picture of Shani is lovely, @PineappleWater and how she should be remembered. Not slung on a truck for men to abuse and parade.

When I was reading about Shani, I found a good phrase about her ordeal "rape is not resistance".
There is no defence for this.

Thank you for posting that lovely photograph of Shani @PineappleWater.

What a lovely and thought provoking post @PineappleWater.
When I saw that 'prize' the bottom dropped out of my stomach. Just when you think people can't stoop any lower.

It’s absolutely appalling that the photo has been given an award!

Rest in peace Shani. This is utterly heartbreaking. Her poor family

Agree with every word of this. There are no words for how I feel about this ‘award’. It’s unspeakable.

This is completely dehumanising of Shani and the other Israelis tortured, raped, killed and kidnapped on 7 Oct. Appalling.

It's horrible.
RIP Shani

Humanise women. Seems easy and simple. But on some level we are just bodies to many men.

But we can choose to look at her face and see her. RIP.

I too have no words for this. Absolutely abhorrent. RIP Shani

the award is for capturing of the moment - no matter how horrific- as a piece of photojournalism. It is not an award celebrating the moment.

photographers and journalists have long captured terrible scenes which have had a global impact and changed the course of history. Some of these photos have become iconic such as this photo from the Vietnam war https://abc7.com/napalm-girl-photo-50th-anniversary-vietnam-war/11940443/

RIP Shani Louk and RIP also to the 32,000 Palestinian men, women and children who have also been brutally killed, raped and starved to death and continue to be- to this day- as a result of the ongoing genocide against them.

Thanks for explaining how photography awards work 🙄( I don’t think a photograph of a brutalised murder victim taken by a photographer who seems to have been tagging along with the murderers is up there with ‘Napalm Girl’ but whatever)

No surprise that on this board someone comes along to justify this award and throw in a bit of what-aboutery while they're at it. These so-called "photojournalists" are not without controversy in the context of 7th Oct.

Thanks for sharing this beautiful picture of Shani, OP. May she rest in peace and may her family find the strength they need.

The napalm girl is alive in the photo though and still alive now ( I read an article about her a year or so ago)
completely agree it is absolutely disgusting

Some people were commenting on this award being abhorrent as if what’s happened here is a celebration of the behaviour that was photographed, when it clearly isn’t.

The award has gone to the press agency, for documenting an image which, horrible as it is, was viewed by many as a defining moment of the events on Oct 7th. Like the Vietnam photo of the napalmed girl, it deserves to be recognized as an important image because it captures the brutality of the events in one shot.

As for the photographer, it hasn’t (to my knowledge) been proven that he was in any way personally involved in what happened to Shani Louk or others, except for being there to capture the moment. I don’t recall there being calls for the American photographer who took that image in Vietnam to be jailed, despite “tagging along” with an occupying US army dropping napalm on innocent villagers.

Rest in peace shani louk.

You just know that award was given by a man or men.

What a lovely picture of Shani to post OP, this is how she was and how we will try to remember her, rather than the brutalised broken body taken as a terrorist mascot.
Questions should indeed be asked of the photographer and the agencies he is associated with as to why he just happened to be there with Hamas on the 7th.

The 'journalist' was there in the midst of the hamas terrorist attack, some knew what was going on
His online video showed him laughing happy. He should be on prison not getting an award.

The pictures you refer to were journalists during a war not watching an attack unfold and doing nothing. His images were said to encourage 'ordinary Palestinian men' to join in the free for all into Israel.