Genesis Prize
The Genesis Prize ( Hebrew פרס בראשית) was founded in 2012 by the Office of the Israeli Prime Minister, the Genesis Philanthropy Group and the Jewish Agency for Israel and was first awarded in 2014.
The price
The prize, also known as the Jewish Nobel Prize, is awarded to Jews who have achieved international recognition through achievements in the fields of science and art, thereby inspiring other people and who are committed to the Jewish people or the State of Israel . The aim is to highlight the contributions of Jews to world history and to encourage the younger Jewish generation to identify more strongly with the State of Israel and Judaism.
The prize was endowed by the Russian-Jewish foundation Genesis Philanthropy Group and is presented by the Israeli Prime Minister .
The Genesis Philanthropy Group invested $ 100 million in the prize fund. It was founded in 2007 by the five Jewish-Russian business people Michail Maratowitsch Fridman , Pyotr Aven, German Borissowitsch Chan , Alexander Knaster and Stan Polovets.
The award committee consists of the chairman of the Jewish Agency , a representative from the office of the Israeli Prime Minister and the Genesis Philanthropy Group, and retired judges and personalities from the Jewish diaspora. The award is endowed with $ 1 million.
Selection process
Candidates are selected by the leaders of leading Jewish institutions and organizations in all major Jewish communities around the world, as well as by leading universities. The selection committee filters the list and selects five candidates. The winner will be selected from this list by the award committee.
The chairman of the selection committee is the incumbent chairman of the Jewish Agency. In addition to Jitzchak Herzog , the selection committee currently consists of Eli Gruner, a former member of the Prime Minister's office; Fiamma Nirenstein , Italian MP from 2008-2013; Shlomit Barnea Fargo, Legal Adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister; a representative from the Genesis Foundation; Jack Rosen, President of the American Jewish Congress ; Andres Spokoyne, President of the Jewish Funders Network and David Hatz, Director of the Spanish EXCEM Group.
The chairman of the award committee is the incumbent spokesman for the Knesset. In addition to Yuli Edelstein, the award committee consists of Meir Shamgar , former President of the Supreme Court ; Tova Strasberg-Cohen, former Supreme Court Justice; Lawrence Summer , Professor of Economics and Director of the National Economic Council; and Jill Smith President of the Jewish Foundation for Women's Education.
The selection committee and award committee are supplemented by a board of directors and an advisory board.
Award winners
| year | Award winners | country | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 |
|
Michael Bloomberg |
 United States
|
For his very successful work in public service and his remarkable philanthropic activities. |
| 2015 |
|
Michael Douglas |
United States
|
For his work as an actor and producer; his passionate advocacy as an ambassador for peace for the United Nations focusing on human rights, gun violence prevention and nuclear anti-proliferation work and his passion for his Jewish ancestry. |
| 2016 |
|
Itzhak Perlman |
 Israel / United States
|
For his unparalleled professional success and because his music has brought joy to millions of people around the world. A 16-time Grammy Award winner, he's been an incredible source of inspiration for people with special needs who face great personal challenges. |
| 2017 |
|
Anish Kapoor |
 United Kingdom
|
For the profound impact of his work, which carries on a long history of Jewish contribution to art, and for his social activism, which reaffirms the Jewish people's commitment to humanitarian causes. In a time marked by cynicism and indifference, he constantly stands up for the disadvantaged in the world. |
| 2018 |
|
Natalie Portman |
Israel / United States
|
In recognition of her commitment to social causes and deep attachment to her Jewish and Israeli roots. |
| 2019 |
|
Robert K. Kraft |
United States
|
For his commitment to Israel, social justice and equality. |
| 2020 |
|
Natan Sharansky |
Israel
|
He is a symbol of Jewish freedom and has played a key role in strengthening the Jewish state and Jewish identity. |
Awards ceremonies
On October 21, 2013, the first award winner, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, was announced. Knesset spokesman Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the awards committee, said of Bloomberg's election it was an indication of his excellence in public service and his work as one of the world's greatest philanthropists. Another reason to choose Bloomberg is its outspoken support for Israel and the fact that it has shown great pride in its Jewish identity. The award ceremony took place on May 22, 2014 in the City Theater of Jerusalem and was moderated by Jay Leno and Ayelet Zurer . Michael Bloomberg donated the prize money for the Genesis Challenge - a unique global competition in which 10 young business groups receive a starting budget for projects that are looking for innovative solutions to major global and local problems.
On January 14, 2015, the Genesis Foundation announced that the second prize winner of the film actor of Jewish origin is Michael Douglas . Douglas responded to the award by saying, I share this respect with my family, who encouraged me to explore the depths of the Jewish faith. I hope that these discoveries and values are part of the heritage in the world that I leave to my children. He announced that the prize money would be used to promote awareness of the importance of openness and diversity in the Jewish world. The award ceremony took place on June 18, 2015 and was again moderated by Jay Leno.
On December 14, 2015, it was announced that the next award winner would be the Jewish violinist Itzhak Perlman , who embodies all the characteristics of the ideal Genesis Prize: exceptional professional achievement, contribution to humanity and commitment to the Jewish community and the State of Israel. The award ceremony took place on June 23, 2016, moderated by Ronen Peled Haddad and Helen Mirren . At the end of the ceremony, the six leading Israeli violinists played, each violinist representing a musical genre from one part of the world, namely Galia Hai (Israeli music), Michael Grylesmer (Irish music), Aviva Aliyev (music from Bukhara), Liat Rosenberg (country ) and Meir Mishali (eastern music). Perlman donated the award to 17 Israeli organizations promoting art for the disabled.
In January 2017, the victory of the Indian-British-Jewish sculptor Anish Kapoor was announced. Kapoor decided to donate the prize money to Syrian civil war refugees . The award fund's statement said that Kapoor and the organizers of the award ceremony decided to cancel the award ceremony in light of the escalation of the war in Syria.
Natalie Portman , an American-Israeli actress and director, was announced as the 2018 winner in November 2017. As she neared the award ceremony, she announced that she would not come to Israel to receive the award. Portman later justified her decision by saying that she did not want to support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was supposed to give a speech at the ceremony. According to the decision of Israeli philanthropist Morris Kahn , who had doubled the prize money for this year, the prize went to Portman and the US $ 2 million prize money was transferred directly from the Genesis Prize to women's rights organizations.
Shortly after the fifth award winner was selected, the five award winners selected Ruth Bader Ginsburg , Justice of the United States Supreme Court, as the Lifetime Achievement Awardee. The award was presented to her in July 2018 by Aaron Barak, retired President of the Supreme Court.
The 2019 prize was awarded to Robert K. Kraft . Reasons for the award were Kraft's commitment to fighting anti-Semitism, his close connection to his Jewish roots and the State of Israel, as well as his numerous contributions to health, education and sports. In February 2019, Kraft was brought on two charges of prostitution in a massage parlor affiliated with a human trafficking network. After the award committee upheld its decision and honored Robert Kraft, Rebecca Carmi resigned from her membership in the advisory board.
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Jewish Nobel Prize" In: Israelnetz.de , June 27, 2012, accessed on August 17, 2018.
- ↑ "Jewish Nobel Prize" In: Israelnetz.de , June 27, 2012, accessed on August 17, 2018.
- ↑ Michael Bloomberg receives the Jewish Nobel Prize In: Israelnetz.de , May 23, 2015, accessed on August 17, 2018.
- ↑ Michael Douglas receives Genesis Prize In: Israelnetz.de , June 19, 2015, accessed on August 17, 2018.
- ↑ Genesispreis.org/Laureate 2016 English, accessed on August 17, 2018.
- ↑ Genesispreis.org/Laureate 2017 English, accessed on August 17, 2018.
- ↑ US philanthropist Robert Kraft receives Genesis Prize . deutschlandfunkkultur.de, published and accessed on January 9, 2019.
- ^ Former minister Sharansky receives Jewish prize. Israelnetz.de , December 10, 2019, accessed on December 28, 2019 .