Barbra Streisand, winner of the Genesis Prize, receives a glass sculpture of a shofar from Genesis Prize Foundation co-founder Stan Polovets at a ceremony in Los Angeles, June 6, 2024. (Kevin Mazur\/Getty Images for Genesis Prize Foundation)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Fewer may know that Streisand is a philanthropist, advocate and activist whose charity has transformed the lives of thousands in the United States, Israel and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n
Over the past 37 years, the Streisand Foundation has poured tens of millions of dollars into more than 2,000 causes ranging from environmental protection to women\u2019s health. More recently, she\u2019s funded Ukrainian refugees made homeless by Russia\u2019s invasion and, since Oct. 7, has helped Israelis displaced by the war that followed Hamas\u2019s attack from Gaza. <\/p>\n
In recognition of her extraordinary professional achievements, philanthropic generosity, and Jewish pride, Streisand was chosen in May 2023 to receive the Genesis Prize, a $1 million award given annually to celebrate Jewish values, talent and achievement. Like the previous prize honorees \u2014 who have included Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Natan Sharansky and Michael Bloomberg \u2014 Streisand elected to allocate her prize money to an array of charities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am delighted to work with The Genesis Prize Foundation to support organizations that seek to better society and our shared humanity,\u201d Streisand said upon accepting the prize. \u201cI have always been moved by the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam, to repair the world \u2014 and I hope to join and inspire others in their own commitment to build a better world.\u201d<\/p>\n
She highlighted four philanthropic areas of focus: fighting climate change, women\u2019s health equity, combating disinformation and aiding Ukrainians. <\/p>\n
This month, at a June 6 ceremony in Los Angeles, the foundation announced the recipients of the prize grants in Streisand\u2019s honor: the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, the National Resource Defense Council, the Women\u2019s Heart Alliance, the Streisand Center for Truth in the Public Sphere at UCLA, the State Leadership Project, and United24, an initiative launched by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for collecting charitable donations in support of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
In the past decade, the Genesis Prize has leveraged the annual $1 million award into philanthropic initiatives that, with additional donor support, have totaled more than $50 million, including grants to more than 230 nonprofit programs in 31 countries.<\/p>\n
Streisand was unanimously chosen as the prize\u2019s 10th anniversary laureate following nominations from tens of thousands of Jews around the world \u2014 a sign \u201cof the overwhelming display of support and admiration of Barbra by global Jewry,\u201d according to Stan Polovets, the foundation\u2019s founder and CEO.<\/p>\n
Polovets said Streisand meets and exceeds each of the three criteria established by the selection committee for its prize laureates: unparalleled professional accomplishment, contribution to humanity and pride in one\u2019s Jewish heritage.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a time of increased antisemitism, it is important to honor Jewish role models \u2014 especially heroes like Barbra Streisand who have stayed true to their Jewish identity despite the complications one faces today when expressing his or her pride in one\u2019s Jewish heritage, which often leads to personal attacks on social media and elsewhere,\u201d Polovets said. \u201cIt is also important to celebrate what Jews have contributed to the world and remind everyone of our collective accomplishments, strength and perseverance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 1983 movie release of \u201cYentl,\u201d a musical drama starring Streisand that tells the story of a young woman in prewar Poland who disguises herself as a man in order to study the Talmud, was a key milestone of Streisand\u2019s long career \u2014 especially for Jews. Based on the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer, the movie received five Golden Globe nominations including best director, making Streisand the first woman ever to be nominated and win that award.<\/p>\n
Streisand is a winner of too many awards to count: Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Golden Globe, National Endowment for the Arts, Peabody awards, Kennedy Center Honors, the American Film Institute\u2019s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Film Society of Lincoln Center\u2019s 40th annual Chaplin award, France\u2019s L\u00e9gion d\u2019Honneur, the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton, and others. She\u2019s also won the nation\u2019s highest civilian honor: the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Obama.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Streisand has done all of this while being extremely \u2014 and publicly \u2014 proud of her Jewish heritage,\u201d Polovets said. \u201cWhile many influential people in the entertainment industry told Barbra early in her career to tone down her Jewishness, she never did, always staying true to who she was.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was the main theme of Streisand\u2019s 1994 performance of \u201cI\u2019m Still Here,\u201d in which she sings: \u201cI\u2019ve kept my clothes and kept my space \/ I\u2019ve kept my nose to spite my face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Streisand also has been an unabashed advocate for women\u2019s health, highlighting the gender inequality that for decades excluded women as subjects of medical research and thereby resulted in treatments not optimized for women.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though heart disease has been called a man\u2019s disease, since 1984 more women have died annually from heart disease than men,\u201d Streisand said in a 2011 TEDxWomen talk, noting that only 24% of participants in cardiovascular studies were female. \u201cFor 50 years, women have been treated based on diagnostics created for men, and only a very small percentage of research dollars spent in the U.S. focus on the treatment of women with heart disease.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2014, the Barbra Streisand Women\u2019s Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute in Los Angeles and the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute at New York-Presbyterian Hospital\/Weill Cornell Medical Center established the Women\u2019s Heart Alliance \u2014 the only heart-related nonprofit group that studies the impact of cardiac disease and stroke on women exclusively.<\/p>\n
After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine\u2019 president invited Streisand to be one of 24 goodwill ambassadors for United24, and she helped raise $240,000 for urgent medical care for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.<\/p>\n
Streisand also directed a grant to the New York-based Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), in addition to two previous gifts, to help resettle Ukrainian refugees in Poland, Moldova, Romania, the United States and Israel. <\/p>\n
Streisand\u2019s gifts \u201care significant because of who they came from,\u201d said HIAS CEO Mark Hetfield. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes it so meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the November US election approaching, Streisand has channeled thousands of dollars into programming aimed at countering the spread of fake news. The State Leadership Project combats online disinformation and educates voters, and UCLA\u2019s Barbra Streisand Institute challenges the widespread proliferation of lies and disinformation.<\/p>\n
After Hamas\u2019s attack from Gaza, Streisand moved quickly to send funding to Israel through a grant to the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles\u2019s Israel in Crisis Fund. The grant was matched by The Genesis Prize Foundation.<\/p>\n
Among the other nonprofit organizations that have benefitted from Streisand\u2019s generosity in recent years are the Center for American Progress, Planned Parenthood, Mother Jones, ProPublica, Women\u2019s Media Center, People for the American Way and the Union of Concerned Scientists.<\/p>\n
At 82, Streisand shows no sign of letting up, continuing to use her influence, renown and philanthropy to help repair the world. <\/p>\n
This article was sponsored by and produced in partnership with The Genesis Prize Foundation, which aims to foster Jewish identity, inspire Jewish pride and strengthen the bond between Israel and the Diaspora. This article was produced by JTA\u2019s native content team.<\/p>\n
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