Genesis Prize
Award honoring Jews established in 2012 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Genesis Prize (Hebrew: פרס בראשית) is a $1 million annual prize awarded to Jewish people who have achieved significant professional success, in recognition of their accomplishments, contributions to humanity, and commitment to Jewish values.
The Genesis Prize | |
---|---|
Awarded for | Outstanding expression of Jewish values or service to the Jewish community and/or to the State of Israel. |
Date | 2013; 11 years ago (2013) |
First awarded | 2014 |
Website | www |
The prize was founded in 2012 with a $100 million endowment from five Russian philanthropists: Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven, German Khan, Stan Polovets, and Alexander Knaster.[1][2] The prize was established under the administration of the Genesis Prize Foundation, in partnership with the Israeli Prime Minister's Office[3] and the Jewish Agency for Israel.[4] It has been referred to as the "Jewish Nobel Prize", causing some commentators to question the need for a "Jewish" Nobel Prize.[5][6]
In 2018, prize winner Natalie Portman declined to attend the prize ceremony because Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was set to give a speech at the ceremony.[7] In 2019 Robert Kraft's award was also questioned because of his legal troubles.[8]
In 2021, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was awarded a posthumous Genesis Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to his wife by President of Israel, Isaac Herzog.[9]
Thus far, all laureates have opted to give the $1 million prize money to philanthropic causes of their choice.[10]