Genesis Prize marks tenth anniversary by honoring Barbra Streisand

Los Angeles, June 6th, 2024 –The Genesis Prize Foundation (GPF) today honored actor, director, producer, author, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, and activist Barbra Streisand at a special event in Los Angeles. The 10th anniversary Genesis Prize was awarded to Streisand in recognition of her lifelong pursuit of social justice and commitment to being a “force for good.” 

The Genesis Prize was established in 2014 when New York City Mayor, businessman and philanthropist Michael R. Bloomberg was announced as its inaugural laureate. Described as “The Jewish Nobel Prize” by TIME Magazine, the annual $1 million award recognizes individuals for their outstanding professional achievements, contributions to humanity and commitment to Jewish values. In addition to Bloomberg, past honorees include Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Natan Sharansky, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Robert Kraft, Steven Spielberg, Itzhak Perlman, and other extraordinary Jewish leaders. (https://www.genesisprize.org/honorees) 

Founder and Chairman of The Genesis Prize Foundation Stan Polovets said: “The entire world knows and adores Barbra Streisand as a singer, actress, and director. Yet her important and passionate work to pursue social justice and fight discrimination and inequality should be as well known. Today we celebrate Ms. Streisand’s leadership in tackling some of the most important social problems our society has faced over the past five decades, her indefatigable activism and her countless philanthropic endeavors rooted in her Jewish values and upbringing. We honor her exemplary connection to her Jewish identity. This connection inspires and empowers her to be a force for good in this world – just as our Jewish tradition prescribes.”

 Barbra Streisand stated: “I am delighted to be honored by the special 10th Anniversary Genesis Prize and to work with The Genesis Prize Foundation to support organizations that acknowledge our shared humanity and seek to better our society. I am moved by the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam, which means to repair the world.” Addressing the audience at the award dinner, Streisand said: “According to Jewish teachings, compassion is one of the highest virtues… I believe in the power of love and prayer, and I pray that people will eventually be able to live together…in peace.”

All Genesis Prize laureates donate their $1 million prize to philanthropic causes. Barbra Streisand elected to give her $1 million Genesis Prize award funds to seven nonprofit organizations working in the fields of women’s health, climate change, truth in the public sphere, and humanitarian support to the people of Ukraine. These organizations include the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (https://hias.org), United 24 (https://u24.gov.ua), Women’s Heart Alliance (https://womensheartalliance.org), League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (https://www.lcvef.org), National Resources Defense Council (https://www.nrdc.org), and the UCLA Center for Truth in the Public Sphere (https://csw.ucla.edu/streisand-center).

Previously, Streisand made significant contributions to the Peres Center, Hebrew University, the New Israel Fund, the Wolfson Medical Center, and the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles Emergency Israel Fund. The fund was established to provide medical care, emergency services, evacuation support, transport, and housing for families impacted by October 7th. The Genesis Prize Foundation matched this grant, directing its donation to Shalva, an Israeli nonprofit that supports those with severe disabilities and took in more than 1,000 refugees from southern Israel. 

https://www.genesisprize.org/press-center/2023-11-01-the-jewish-nobel-prize-rallies-support-for-israel

About Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand is one of the most successful personalities in the world of entertainment. She is the only person ever to receive all of the following: Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Golden Globe, National Endowment for the Arts, and Peabody awards, as well as the Kennedy Center Honor, American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Film Society of Lincoln Center's 40th annual Chaplin award. She’s also been awarded France’s Légion d'Honneur, the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton, and the nation’s highest civilian honor—the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama.

Throughout her life, Streisand has been a passionate advocate for the causes she believes in. She created the Streisand Foundation in 1986 to advance her philanthropic interests, ranging from gender equality, human rights, and voting rights, to protecting our environment and warning against the dangers of nuclear proliferation. She founded the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai to support research and raise awareness about women’s heart disease. Recently, she has endowed the Barbra Streisand Institute at UCLA to examine critical issues of our time such as truth in the public sphere, the impact of climate change, the dynamics of intimacy and power between women and men, and the impact of art on the culture. 

About The Genesis Prize Foundation

The Genesis Prize is a global award that celebrates Jewish achievement and contribution to humanity.

Previous Genesis Prize honorees are former New York City Mayor and philanthropist Michael R. Bloomberg (2014); actor, producer and peace activist Michael Douglas (2015); Itzhak Perlman, virtuoso violinist and advocate for individuals with special needs (2016); sculptor and advocate for the rights of refugees Sir Anish Kapoor (2017); Oscar-winning actress and social activist Natalie Portman (2018); U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Lifetime Achievement Award 2018); Chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group, owner of New England Patriots, and Founder of The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism Robert Kraft (2019); legendary Jewish leader and human rights activist Natan Sharansky (2020); filmmaker Steven Spielberg (2021); Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (Lifetime Achievement Award 2021); Chairman and CEO of Pfizer Albert Bourla (2022); Jewish activists and NGOs supporting Ukraine (2023); Israeli organizations supporting the hostages and their families (2024).

The $1 million prize award, along with matching funds, have been donated in honor of the Laureates to various initiatives, including: support of social entrepreneurship based on Jewish values, inclusiveness of intermarried families in Jewish life, improving the lives of individuals with special needs, helping to alleviate the global refugee crisis, advancing women’s equality, combatting antisemitism and efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel, assistance to those affected by the COVID pandemic and to nonprofits fighting for racial and economic justice; preserving the memory of Jewish communities destroyed during the Nazi occupation of Greece; assistance to Jewish activists and NGOs working to alleviate the suffering of the people of Ukraine; humanitarian assistance, treatment, rehabilitation and counseling for hostages rescued or released from Hamas captivity and their families.

Since its inception in 2013, The Genesis Prize has leveraged the annual $1 million award into philanthropic initiatives totaling more than $50 million, with grants going to more than 230 nonprofit programs in 31 countries, directly impacting the lives of tens of thousands of people.