Bar-Ilan University to award the Jonathan Sacks Institute Prize to distinguished historian Prof. Deborah Lipstadt

Israel’s Bar-Ilan University announced today that Prof. Deborah Lipstadt, one of the world’s leading authorities on Holocaust history and antisemitism, will receive the Jonathan Sacks Institute Prize for Outstanding Achievement as a Public Intellectual for 2026.

The prize, which carries a monetary award of NIS 100,000 (AUD46,000), recognises Lipstadt’s leadership in combating antisemitism and strengthening public awareness of its contemporary threats. The award will be presented at a ceremony in May 2026, where Lipstadt will deliver a lecture titled “Antisemitism: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.”

“Prof. Lipstadt exemplifies the rare combination of intellectual rigour, moral courage, and public engagement that Rabbi Sacks so deeply admired,” said Prof. 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.”

Distinguished Career Spanning Decades

Lipstadt, a longtime professor at Emory University, has spent more than three decades at the forefront of the struggle against antisemitism. Her landmark works include “Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory” and “Antisemitism: Here and Now,” which have reached both academic and general audiences.

Beyond scholarship, Lipstadt has played pivotal roles in public service, including serving as United States Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism and on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. She gained international recognition for her successful legal defence against Holocaust denier David Irving.

Timely Recognition Amid Rising Antisemitism

The Prize Committee cited the dramatic global rise in antisemitism since October 7 as making Lipstadt’s work particularly relevant. The committee unanimously determined that she is “an exceptionally worthy and timely recipient” for her extraordinary leadership as one of the most effective public intellectuals confronting antisemitism worldwide.

Despite her work focusing on combating hatred, Lipstadt has cautioned against allowing antisemitism to define Jewish identity. “If antisemitism becomes the reason through which your Jewish view of the world is refracted, if it becomes your prism, then it is very unhealthy,” she has written. “Jewish tradition never wanted that.”

Lipstadt expressed deep gratitude for the recognition, calling it particularly meaningful due to her family’s connection to Bar-Ilan University.

She said, “I have been blessed to receive many honours in my life.  But this one, to paraphrase the last chapter of the Book of Proverbs, surpasses them all because of its connection with Bar-Ilan. Bar-Ilan is a university that was dear to my family. It honoured me with an Honorary Doctorate, and was led by Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, who was one of the great role models in my life,” said Prof. Lipstadt. “And Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, whom I was privileged to know, was a driving force in shaping contemporary Jewish life. He was unparalleled, beloved and honoured not just in the Jewish world, but the world at large. I am, therefore, more than honoured. I am humbled by this,” she added.

The Jonathan Sacks Institute Prize was established by the Gewurz family of Montreal in memory of Samuel Gewurz. It honours individuals whose work advances the ideas, values, and moral vision of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth.

Lady Elaine Sacks, widow of the late rabbi, praised the selection: “Deborah has shown extraordinary courage and integrity in her lifelong commitment to truth, justice, and the defence of human dignity.”

Bar-Ilan University President Prof. Arie Zaban said Lipstadt’s work demonstrates that “standing up for truth requires courage, clarity, and persistence.”