Gal Gadot turns her $1 million Genesis Prize into $3 million for trauma care in Israel
The actress gave up her prize money, and matching gifts tripled it into grants for two dozen nonprofits treating trauma and supporting mental health workers.
On 23 September 2026 the Genesis Prize Foundation announced that the $1 million prize awarded to Israeli actress Gal Gadot earlier in the year had grown into a $3 million fund for trauma and mental health care in Israel. Gadot, the 2026 Genesis Prize laureate, chose not to keep the award and asked that it go to organisations and professionals working on the country's long-term psychological recovery. A matching campaign run by the Jewish Funders Network raised a further $2 million from private and corporate donors.
The money is being distributed as grants to about two dozen Israeli nonprofit organisations. Some provide direct trauma treatment, while others support the doctors, nurses, medics, social workers, therapists and caregivers who have carried an enormous load since the 7 October 2023 attacks and the wars that followed, many of whom are coping with trauma themselves. Gadot said she wanted to strengthen the people who care for others, noting that some of the groups bring different communities together by their very nature while others are simply there for people at their most vulnerable.
The scale of need is large. Former Israeli state comptroller Matanyahu Englman has estimated that as many as three million Israelis have experienced symptoms of trauma or post-traumatic stress connected to the events of the past three years. Mental health services in the country have faced long waiting lists and staff shortages throughout that period.
The Genesis Prize, sometimes described as the Jewish Nobel, is a $1 million annual award that honours people for professional achievement, contributions to humanity and commitment to Jewish values or the State of Israel. Laureates traditionally redirect the money to causes of their choice; previous winners include Michael Bloomberg, Barbra Streisand, Natan Sharansky and Steven Spielberg. Gadot, born in Israel and best known worldwide for playing Wonder Woman, linked the decision to her Jewish heritage and its emphasis on caring for those who are hurting and repairing what has been broken.
“Caring for one another is how we begin to move forward.”
Psychological wounds from mass trauma can last for decades if untreated, and the professionals who treat them are themselves at risk of burnout. Channelling a celebrity prize into frontline mental health care, and using it to leverage additional giving, helps build lasting capacity for recovery.
Sources
- Gal Gadot's "Jewish Nobel" Becomes a $3 Million Lifeline for Trauma Care in IsraelThe Genesis Prize Foundation, September 23, 2026
- Gal Gadot's million-dollar Genesis Prize grows to $3 million for Israeli trauma careJNS, September 23, 2026
Summarised in our own words from the reporting above.
Tikkun olam, today. This is part of tikkun olam, the Jewish idea of repairing the world, and every one of us can add to it.