(JTA) — Michael Douglas hadn’t heard of the Genesis Prize when he found out that he’d won it. In fact, the Oscar-winning actor was surprised to discover he was even in the running for an award designed for those who inspire fellow Jews. His father, actor Kirk Douglas, is Jewish. But his mother, actress Diana…
(JTA) — During a ceremony announcing the winners of the Genesis Generation Challenge, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wanted to set aside any confusion: “No, the [Genesis Prize] award will not go only to a ruggedly handsome international heartthrob named Michael,” he jested. Bloomberg last year won the inaugural $1 million prize, bestowed by…
Michael Douglas poses with Michael Bloomberg after winning the $1M Genesis Prize. / Getty Images When Michael Bloomberg was named the first recipient of the Genesis Prize last year, I wasn’t alone in wondering why a billionaire businessman and politician whose Jewishness was mostly hidden and whose ties to Israel were tenuous at best was…
Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire businessman, philanthropist and former New York City mayor, could have flown by private jet to Israel on July 23. But it was the middle of the Gaza conflict, just after the United States Federal Aviation Authority banned U.S. carriers from flying to or from Tel Aviv, and Bloomberg had a point…
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will use the $1 million awarded to him as recipient of the inaugural Genesis Prize to “promote commerce between the people in Palestine and the people in Israel,” the billionaire announced. Speaking at an official Hanukkah party on the evening of December 2, Bloomberg pronounced himself perplexed by the…
I tried. I really did. On the morning after the Genesis Foundation announced the inaugural recipient of its prize to the most inspiring Jew in the world, I sat across a breakfast table from Natan Sharansky and listened hard to his ebullient defense of bestowing the $1 million award on Michael Bloomberg. I didn’t mention…
Billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg will be the first recipient of a new $1 million prize meant to inspire young Jews. The Genesis Prize, backed by a group of Russian Jewish oligarchs, right-wing Israeli politicians, and American Jewish communal leaders, will be awarded to the outgoing New York City mayor on October 21, the New York…
Russian oligarchs, right-wing Israeli politicians and American Jewish communal professionals have a plan to get young Jews interested in being Jewish. Called the Genesis Prize, the plan involves giving $1 million each year to an exceptional Jewish person, then presenting him or her as an inspiration to Jews everywhere. Prize organizers have hired former Hillel…
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