Genesis Prize


The Genesis Prize was founded in 2012 as a US$1 million award given annually to Jewish people who have attained recognition and excellence in their fields. The prize was founded with the objective of inspiring and developing a sense of pride and belonging among young unaffiliated Jews throughout the world.

Laureate selection

Committee members who select awardees have been chosen based on their leadership and support of Jewish causes.

Laureates

Genesis Prize laureates

Genesis Lifetime Achievement Award laureates

Cancellation of 2018 prize ceremony

On November 7, 2017, the Genesis Prize Foundation announced that actress Natalie Portman was the 2018 Genesis Prize Laureate, and that she would donate the $1 million Genesis Prize Award to philanthropic programs focused on women's equality, education, economic advancement, health, and political participation. A month after the announcement, Israeli philanthropist Morris Kahn pledged another $1 million in Portman's honor, bringing the total gift to $2 million. The prize ceremony was scheduled for June 2018, but was canceled in April 2018 after Portman's representatives told the press that "recent events in Israel have been extremely distressing to her and she does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel", and the Foundation decided not to allow for the possibility of the event becoming politicized by her absence. Portman later clarified that she was not boycotting Israel, but that she didn't want to "appear as endorsing" prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was set to give a speech at the ceremony.
On January 27, 2020, the Genesis Prize Foundation, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, and the Jewish Agency for Israel issued a joint statement that the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office would no longer be part of the administration of the prize.