Steven Spielberg Wins Israel’s Genesis Prize for 2021
American film director, producer, and screenwriter Steven Spielberg is the 2021 Genesis Prize Laureate. The Genesis Prize Foundation announced the honor, which comes with a $1 million award that all previous laureates have chosen to direct to a philanthropic cause, on Wednesday.
Spielberg is being recognized for “outstanding achievement as one the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema; his social activism and prolific philanthropy; and his principled stance against anti-Semitism and all forms of intolerance. The Prize also recognizes his extraordinary work to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and prevent future genocides through film, public advocacy and philanthropy,” The Genesis Prize said in its announcement.
For the first time, the prize committee invited Jews from around the world to take part in the decision. Some 200,000 people voted online for the 2021 laureate. “While the Prize Committee had the ultimate discretion about the selection of the recipient of this prestigious award, the fact Spielberg received the most votes was a major determining factor,” according to the announcement.
In 1994, Spielberg established the USC Shoah Foundation, dedicated to preserving Holocaust survivor testimonies. The foundation also works to preserve the memory of other 20th century genocides – in Cambodia, Armenia and Rwanda. Over 55,000 survivor testimonies have been recorded.
Spielberg is the ninth recipient of the Genesis Prize. Previous winners have included businessman and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; actor Michael Douglas; violinist Itzhak Perlman; sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor; actress Natalie Portman; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft; and former Israeli politician, human rights activist and refusenik Natan Sharansky.
