Genesis Prize Ceremony Relied on Work of Doctor/ Author Ron Eisenberg

By Eileen Wingard

Eileen Wingard
Dr. Ron Eisenberg

SAN DIEGO — In a special ceremony last month in Jerusalem, Isaac Herzog, President of Israel, awarded Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO, the Genesis Prize, often called the Jewish Nobel Prize. Bourla was selected as the 9th Genesis Prize Laureate for his leadership in delivering a vaccine against Covid-19, which saved millions of lives during the pandemic. The award also celebrated the Pfizer CEO s pride in his Jewish heritage and his strong support of the State of Israel.

Dr. Bourla, a native of Thessaloniki, Greece, requested that the Genesis Foundation donate his $1 million prize award toward the establishment of the Holocaust Museum of Greece, to be built in Thessalonika to immortalize the history of the Greek Jewish community from antiquity to the modern age. Of the 55,000 member Jewish community that existed before the Holocaust, Bourla and his parents were among the 2000 who survived.
 
Hundreds of prominent Israelis and international guests gathered in Jerusalem to honor the Laureate and pay tribute to Jewish doctors, scientists and first aid responders.  Among the attendees were heads of hospitals, universities and leaders of philanthropic and business organizations.
 

A highlight of the proceedings was a ten-minute video, Jews in Medicine: A Legacy of Healing and Hope, much of it based on the book written by Dr. Ron Eisenberg, Jews in Medicine: Contributions to Health and Healing Through the Ages (Urim Publications, 2019).

 

Ron Eisenberg, my brother-in-law, shared with me the note sent to him by a Senior Associate of the Genesis Prize Foundation:

 

“I’m pleased to share with you Jews in Medicine: A Legacy of Healing and Hope, the ten-minute film we produced which relies in many ways on your excellent scholarship. The film was a highlight of last week’s ceremony. Thank you for your book, the time you spent speaking with our team, and the documents and images you shared afterwards, all of which proved invaluable.”

 

Since its publication, Ron s book, Jews in Medicine, has been my favorite gift to all my Jewish doctor friends. Some of his other books serve as my Bar and Bat Mitzvah gifts, like The Jewish World of Stamps, on display in the glass case at the Astor Judaica Library at the Lawrence Family JCC; The JPS Guide to Jewish Tradition; and the three-part series: Essential Figures in the Bible, Essential Figures in the Talmud and Essential Figures in Jewish Scholarship. Ron has written over a dozen books on Jewish topics and more than 20 on Radiology.

 

Dr. Ron Eisenberg is a radiologist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School. He has a doctoral degree in Jewish Studies from the Spertus Institute of Jewish Learning and Leadership. He, too, is proud of his Jewish heritage and is a great supporter of the State of Israel.

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Eileen Wingard is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.  She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com