The Genesis Prize Foundation announced Wednesday that US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would receive the foundation's first ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Genesis Prize, which was called the 'Jewish Nobel' by Time Magazine, recognizes Jewish people who have attained recognition and excellence in their fields.
The foundation said that the five previous recipients of the Genesis Prize, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, actor Michael Douglas, violinist Itzhak Perlman, sculptor Anish Kapoor, and this year’s winner, actress Natalie Portman, selected Justice Ginsburg to receive the award.
The previous Genesis Prize recipients stated: “We are honored to bestow the Genesis Lifetime Achievement Award on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her outstanding contribution to the development of a fair and just society that provides equal opportunity for all makes her a perfect role model for young Jews. Over decades, her work has had a transformational effect on society in the United States and beyond. We honor Justice Ginsburg as an outstanding daughter of the Jewish people who made an enduring contribution to human civilization, who is an example of talent and achievement, and who is committed to bettering the world. She is a source of inspiration not just for Jews but for people of all faiths and ethnicities around the world.”
Former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak will present the award to the Ginsburg judge at a festive event in Tel Aviv in early July 2018.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first woman to be appointed as a tenured professor at the Columbia Law School and the second woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. She is also the sixth Jewish judge appointed to the Supreme Court and the longest-serving Jewish justice in the court's history. Justice Ginsburg often mentions her pride in her Jewish heritage, and she attributes her love of learning to her and her sensitivity to the plight of the minority groups and the weaker populations.
“We are very pleased with the choice made by the Genesis Prize Laureates to recognize Justice Ginsburg,” said co-founder and chairman of the Genesis Prize Foundation Stan Polovets. “It is an honor and a privilege to celebrate a living legend who has done so much to make the world a better place. We look forward to her visit to Israel, a country where she is widely respected and admired.”
Polovets said that unlike the annual Genesis Prize, which includes an award of $1 million, the Lifetime Achievement Award does not include any financial rewards.