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.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From 
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
