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Monday, February 2, 2026
Deborah Lipstadt wins Bar-Ilan University’s Jonathan Sacks Prize for fighting antisemitism
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Historian Deborah Lipstadt has been named by Bar-Ilan University as the 2026 recipient of the Jonathan Sacks Institute Prize for Outstanding Achievement as a Public Intellectual, the university says.
Lipstadt, a longtime professor at Emory University and one of the world’s leading authorities on Holocaust history, is honored for her decades-long work in combating antisemitism and “defending historical truth,” Bar-Ilan says.
For more than 30 years, Lipstadt has been at the forefront of the fight against antisemitism, reaching broad audiences through her books. She also served as US special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism and is widely known for her successful legal defense against Holocaust denier David Irving.
“Lipstadt exemplifies the rare combination of intellectual rigor, moral courage, and public engagement that Rabbi [Jonathan] Sacks so deeply admired,” said Jonathan Rynhold, academic director of the Jonathan Sacks Institute. “Her work has shaped global discourse on antisemitism, truth, and democratic resilience at a moment when these issues are more urgent than ever.”
The prize, which carries a NIS 100,000 ($32,250) award, will be presented at a ceremony at Bar-Ilan University in May.
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