Five organizations supporting hostages’ families awarded Genesis Prize

Five organizations supporting the families of those held hostage by Hamas in Gaza have been awarded Israel’s prestigious 2024 Genesis prize.

The $1 million award is usually given to a person for their professional achievements, contributions to humanity and commitment to Jewish values. This year, the organization made a different choice with Israelis focusing on the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip.

“The purpose of this year’s award is not to influence policy, but to raise international awareness of the plight of the hostages and provide humanitarian assistance focused on recovery, rehabilitation, and treatment,” says a co-founder of the prize, Stan Polovets.

The recipients include the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a grassroots group that sprang up in the wake of October 7 to advocate for the return of the abductees.

Roughly 100 of the hostages were freed about 50 days into their captivity. Some 130 others remain in Gaza as negotiations are underway in Qatar. Israel says about a quarter of them are dead.

Prize money will also go to the Jewish Agency’s Fund for Victims of Terror, Lev Echad, Natal, The Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center, and OneFamily.