Michael Douglas begins speaking tour of college campuses amid rising anti-Israelism

Hollywood star sets out on speaking tour along with Natan Sharansky.

By MICHAEL WILNER
Updated: FEBRUARY 12, 2016 02:05
michael douglas (photo credit: REUTERS)
michael douglas
(photo credit: REUTERS)
WASHINGTON – Amid rising anti-Zionism on US college campuses, famed actor Michael Douglas, alongside Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky, are to begin a three-campus speaking tour on Thursday at Brown University in Rhode Island to discuss community and inclusion among American Jewish youth.
The tour will move to Stanford University and the University of California at Santa Barbara next week, where the two plan to discuss the challenges of anti-Semitism in university settings.
Douglas joins Sharansky as the second laureate of the Genesis Prize, a coveted award of $1 million granted with the aim to inspire unaffiliated young Jews worldwide to remain active in the community.
“At a time when the academic community and other forces are making sustained efforts to delegitimize Israel, these visits are particularly important and timely,” said Stan Polovets, co-founder and chairman of the Genesis Prize Foundation.
The prize was originally devised during a time of growth in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, and as more American Jews are choosing to disassociate from Judaism.
“At a time when the new and old forms of anti-Semitism are coming together to undermine Israel’s legitimacy and drive Jews apart from their Jewish identities and from one another, it is crucial that we emphasize the connection between our devotion to human rights, our commitment to peace, and our dedication to strengthening the unity of the Jewish people,” Sharansky, a former iconic refusenik, said in a statement.
The first Genesis Prize – dubbed a “Jewish Nobel” by Time – was awarded to former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2014. The latest recipient is famed violinist and Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Itzhak Perlman.
Douglas chose to defer the $1m. award to promote engagement of intermarried families in the Jewish community. The events at Stanford and UCSB are to be held on February 2 and 3.


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