Genesis Prize Cancels Ceremony After 2018 Winner Natalie Portman Says Won’t Visit Israel. Portman said ‘recent events in Israel’ have been ‘extremely distressing,’ making it uncomfortable for her to participate in any public events in Israel.

On Thursday, the Genesis Prize Foundation, which awards what it calls the “Jewish Nobel,” said it was “very saddened” that the Israeli-American actress would not take part in the ceremony. The foundation said that Portman’s representative notified it that “[r]ecent events in Israel have been extremely distressing to her and she does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel” and that “she cannot in good conscience move forward with the ceremony.”