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.
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
