Barbra Streisand to be awarded 'Jewish Nobel', prize ceremony to take place outside Israel

Celebrated Jewish-American singer Barbra Streisand will receive a prize commonly known as the 'Jewish Nobel' later this year, but in unusual circumstances, according to Haaretz. 

Streisand will be given the Genesis Prize at a ceremony in Los Angeles - a rare break with tradition for the prize, which is usually given in Israel.

The Genesis Prize Foundation was established a decade ago and has since granted $1 million each year to individuals who have excelled in their fields while showing a commitment to 'Jewish values'. 

Streisand will receive a special 10th Anniversary Genesis Price in addition to this year’s award at a ceremony scheduled to take place in October.

I am delighted to be honored by the special 10th Anniversary Genesis Prize and to work with @TheGenesisPrize Foundation to support organizations that seek to better society and our shared humanity.

— Barbra Streisand (@BarbraStreisand) May 1, 2023

Organisers have denied that the ceremony is taking place outside Israel because of the current situation in the country, where thousands are protesting against the judicial overhaul proposed by Israel’s right-wing government. 

Moving the ceremony "was a joint decision taken between Barbra Streisand and the Genesis Prize Foundation. It has nothing to do with the situation in Israel right now," a spokesperson for the organisation was quoted by the Israeli newspaper as saying.

The spokesperson noted that this would not be the first time that the prize was awarded outside of Israel. Former chief rabbi of Britain Baron Jonathan Sacks received the Genesis Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in a ceremony in London in 2021.

Streisand, 81, has not performed on stage for several years. She was last in Israel in 2013, when she performed at two concerts and an event to commemorate then President Shimon Peres. 

"Genesis" award will be awarded to Barbra Streisand
The "Jewish Nobel" prize in the amount of one million dollars will be awarded to the icon of entertainment, the Jewish singer and actress, which she will donate to organizations that work, among other things, in the fields of… pic.twitter.com/KqYiPNOVgP

— Eli Dror (@edrormba) May 2, 2023

"In addition to delighting audiences all over the world for the past six decades with her amazing talents, Barbra has dedicated her time, resources, and passion to numerous important causes, speaking out whenever and wherever she saw injustice," said the Genesis Prize Foudation’s founder and chairman in a statement.

"Her sense of responsibility to heal the world grows out of her Jewish values and her Jewish identity, which Barbra has displayed proudly since the very beginning of her extraordinary career."