Jay Leno To Give $1M Genesis Prize in Israel
Former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno will visit Israel to host the presentation of the inaugural Genesis Prize.
The May 22 ceremony in Jerusalem will honor former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg with the $1 million award.
“Jay Leno is a comedic icon who has entertained millions of people around the world for over 20 years,” said Stan Polovets, board chairman of the Genesis Prize Foundation. “What many don’t know, however, is that he is also a great friend to Israel.”
It will be Leno’s first visit to Israel, according to the Genesis Foundation.
Major philanthropists, Nobel laureates and global business leaders are expected to attend the ceremony for Bloomberg, who said he will use the award to promote economic ties between Israelis and Palestinians.
In his third and final term as mayor, Bloomberg was chosen from among more than 200 nominees worldwide because of his “track record of outstanding public service and his role as one of the world’s greatest philanthropists,” according to the prize committee.
The prize, which will be given out annually, is awarded to an accomplished, internationally renowned professional who is a role model in his or her community and can inspire the younger generation of Jews worldwide, according to the Genesis Foundation website.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Opinion Yes, the attack on Gov. Shapiro was antisemitic. Here’s what the left should learn from it
- 4
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Exclusive: Trump nominee apologizes for praising Nazi sympathizer while awaiting Senate confirmation hearing
-
Fast Forward Global antisemitism has declined since Oct. 7, Tel Aviv University says
-
Yiddish World VIDEO: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising commemoration highlights women ghetto fighters
-
Music Even the Holocaust could not silence the music of these composers
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.