• Yasmeen Lari rejects Israel’s Wolf Prize over “continuing genocide in Gaza”.
• In a letter penned to the Wolf Foundation she cites how Gaza is the ‘worst situation in term of displacement’.
Renowned Pakistani architect Yasmeen Lari has declined the 2025 Wolf Prize in architecture, citing the ongoing genocide in Gaza as her reason. “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,” Lari stated.
The Wolf Prize, awarded annually in Israel since 1978, includes a $100,000 monetary prize and is presented across six fields: agriculture, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, physics, and a rotating arts category. Lari’s refusal highlights her stance against accepting an accolade tied to Israel amid its continued inhumane assault on Gaza.
Known for her sustainable and socially conscious architecture, Lari announced her decision to decline the award on 11 March in a letter to the privately-owned Wolf Foundation, which she later shared on Instagram.
