Weekly Kibbitz
The prize dubbed the “Jewish Nobel” will go to Barbra Streisand later this year, in
a return to its tradition of honoring Jewish celebrities for their lifetime of achieve-
ments. The iconic actor and singer is getting the Genesis Prize, which has been
awarded since 2013, in recognition of her contributions to a number of fields,
including the arts and philanthropy.

The prize was endowed by a group of Russian Jewish billionaires, three
of whom stepped down from the board of a related foundation, the Genesis
Philanthropy Group, after being targeted by Western sanctions last year for
their ties to Vladimir Putin following his invasion of Ukraine. The most recent
Genesis Prize, awarded earlier this year, went to Jewish activists and nonprofits
in Ukraine — the first time the prize had not been given to a single individual.

Now, the prize foundation is signaling a return to normalcy by selecting
Streisand, 81, who has served as a symbol of pride for generations of women
and men who saw themselves reflected in her brash, Brooklyn-bred, unapolo-
getically Jewish persona. She has sold more than 100 million records; had more
albums chart in the Top 40 than any other female recording artist; and is one of
just 18 people to rack up an EGOT — an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

The prize’s goal is to stimulate Jewish giving by raising awareness of particular
needs. Streisand will be donating her $1 million award to four groups aimed at
protecting the environment, promoting women’s health, combating disinforma-
tion in the media and aiding the people of Ukraine, according to a press release
from the Genesis Prize Foundation.

“I am delighted to be honored by the special 10th Anniversary Genesis Prize
and to work with The Genesis Prize Foundation to support organizations that
seek to better society and our shared humanity,” Streisand said in a statement.

“I am very proud of my Jewish heritage, and have always been moved by the
Jewish tradition of tikkun olam, to repair the world. I hope to join and inspire
others in their own commitment to build
a better world.”
The ceremony honoring Streisand,
which will be held for the first time in
Los Angeles, marks another change for
the prize.

Before this year, the prize had been
awarded at a ceremony in Israel. In the
past, it was presented in cooperation
with the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office,
and in 2018, actor Natalie Portman,
Barbra Streisand
that year’s honoree, stirred controversy
by declining to attend the ceremony
in protest of “recent events” in Israel. The partnership with the prime minister
ended in 2020.

The award seeks to honor “extraordinary individuals for their outstanding
professional achievement, contribution to humanity, and commitment to Jewish
values,” according to the press release, and has generally gone to a celebrity
who has worn their Jewish identity publicly. Many of its laureates have been
involved in the arts — including actors Michael Douglas and Portman; sculptor
Anish Kapoor; violinist Itzhak Perlman; and, in 2021, filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

“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,” Genesis Prize Foundation founder Stan
Polovets said in a statement about Streisand. “Barbra’s innovative philanthropy
has had significant impact in so many areas, including health, environment, and
gender equality.”
— Jackie Hajdenberg | JTA
NIH Image Gallery from Bethesda, Maryland, USA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Barbra Streisand Is Getting the Next ‘Jewish Nobel’
Actor Brett Gelman proposed to his longtime
girlfriend, musician Ari Dayan, in Jerusalem last
month. The Western Wall and Jerusalem skyline provided
the backdrop for actor Brett Gelman’s proposal to his
now-fiancée musician Ari Dayan.

The couple, together since 2019, announced their
engagement on Instagram.

“SHE SAID YES!!!” Gelman shared. “Can’t wait for
Mr. Gelman to become Mr. Dayan,” Dayan wrote.

Gelman, 46, is best known for his roles as the
conspiracy theorist and private investigator Murray
Bauman on Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and as the
insufferable Martin on the BBC comedy “Fleabag.”
4 MAY 11, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
He grew up in Highland Park, Illinois, a heavily
Jewish suburb of Chicago.

Dayan, meanwhile, is a singer and performance
artist from California. She has posted videos previ-
ously from Tel Aviv and has also shared about her
grandmother, a Holocaust survivor whom she said
inspired her song “Sara.”
The pair have collaborated in the past, including
for the music video for Dayan’s 2022 song “Love”
and in a Chanukah singalong (with Dayan singing in
Israeli-accented Hebrew) taped in their Los Angeles
home and posted to Instagram.

In a joint interview with Ladygunn in 2022, Gelman
called the “Love” video a “total equal collaboration.”
“Ari is a comic genius and her previous videos
hadn’t showcased that side of her,” Gelman said.

“Plus, the song itself has a celebratory tone to it.”
“We found our mutual voice pretty quickly,” Dayan
said. “It has a lot of both of us in it both conceptually
and tonally. I find a lot of joy at laughing at myself,
and I think Brett does, too. This is a love letter to that
part of ourselves.”
In an interview with W Magazine last year, Gelman
said his Jewish background is the motivation behind
his approach to the world both in terms of humor
and empathy. Coining the term “Jaddy” to refer to
a “sexy, Jewish, masculine man,” he said his style
role models are actors like Elliott Gould and Richard
Dreyfuss who dispel the stereotype of nerdy Jewish
men. Gelman will appear alongside Natalie Portman in
the upcoming Apple TV series “Lady in the Lake,”
focused on the disappearances and deaths of a
Jewish girl and a Black woman who were treated
with unequal media attention in the 1960s.

Gelman was previously married, from 2015 to 2018,
to the Jewish performance artist Janicza Bravo with
whom he collaborated on a film called “Lemon”
about a washed-up Jewish actor.

— Jackie Hajdenberg | JTA
Screenshot via Instagram via JTA
‘Stranger Things’ Star Brett Gelman Proposes to
Girlfriend Ari Dayan in Jerusalem