Jhumpa Lahiri Declines Award From NY Museum

Photo: Reuters/Olivia Harris

WASHINGTON, DC (REUTERS) – Pulitzer Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri declined to accept an award from New York City’s Noguchi Museum after it fired three employees for wearing keffiyeh head scarves, an emblem of Palestinian solidarity, following an updated dress code.

“Jhumpa Lahiri has chosen to withdraw her acceptance of the 2024 Isamu Noguchi Award in response to our updated dress code policy,” the museum said in a statement on September 25.

“We respect her perspective and understand that this policy may or may not align with everyone’s views.” Lahiri received the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for her book “Interpreter of Maladies.”

The New York Times first reported the news.

Across the world, in protesters demanding an end to Israel’s war in Gaza have worn the black-and-white keffiyeh head scarf, a symbol of Palestinian self-determination.

Israel’s supporters, on the other hand, say it signals backing extremism.

Last month, the art museum – founded by Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi – announced a policy prohibiting employees from wearing anything that expressed “political messages, slogans or symbols.”