Sharansky,
a former Prisoner of Zion, human rights activist and politician was
chosen to receive the prize for his service over many years to the
Jewish people and the State of Israel.
Genesis
Prize winners over the years choose a philanthropic idea that is
personally significant and important for them, and distribute
grants to organizations that work in the field. This year,
Sharansky has decided to allocate his prize money of $1m to
philanthropic initiatives in the field of halting the spread of
corona and in helping those who have been affected by the disease.
At the ceremony, Sharansky, the Genesis Fund and Start-Up Nation
Central announced the winners of the start-up competition for those
offering technology solutions relevant to the fight against corona.
Hundreds
of Israeli start-ups and organizations, such as Israel Aerospace
Industries, participated in the competition. 21 companies were
shortlisted for the second round of the competition, and today the
ten winners were announced. The distinguished judging panel
included leading scientists, doctors and philanthropists, including
Dr. David Ogus, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central Prof. Eugene Kandel
and philanthropist and founder of SpaceIL Morris Kahan.
The
president began his remarks saying, “Natan, you never rest. You
took on new roles to promote Jewish unity, strengthen Israeli
society, and fight anti-Semitism. It is therefore no surprise that
you have chosen to use the $1 million Genesis Prize money and to
give that money to philanthropic and high-tech initiatives that are
trying to address the greatest challenge facing the world today,
the coronavirus. The grants were made with a particular focus on
the most vulnerable populations in Israel. Thank you, Natan, my
dear friend! I know that you will not stop here. You will continue
to take on new challenges and to fight for the Jewish people and
for human rights. We are all looking forward to seeing what you do
next.”
“ Natan,
as a Prisoner of Zion who turned into a Proud Defender of Zion,
there is no one more deserving of this prize. You are a source of
inspiration for us all. Mazal tov to you, to Avital, and to your
wonderful family,” added the president. “Thank you to the
leadership of the Genesis Prize for your important work, not only
to strengthen Jewish pride and unity, but to do so through Tikkun
Olam, by bringing together the Jewish People through helping those
in need, both in Israel and around the world,” he said at the end
of his remarks.
Genesis
Prize recipient Natan Sharansky: “I was chosen to receive the
Genesis Prize nearly a year ago and so much has changed since then.
I would like to thank the Genesis Prize for the opportunity to make
a significant contribution to fight the disease. Facing the social
challenges that Israel faces, the contribution of the Israeli
hi-tech industry to the global fight against corona is a great
source of pride that warms my heart. The most basic Jewish value of
mutual assistance has been realized – and I call on other Israeli
companies to join this effort.”
Co-founder,
Chairman and CEO of the Genesis Prize Stan Polovets: “The
competition in honor of Natan Sharansky showed the innovative
potential of the Israeli bio-tech and hi-tech industries. The
participants displayed world-class expertise and ability in
responding to the unprecedented health challenge that the whole
world is facing. Israeli companies and entrepreneurs are taking
their place in the world as suppliers of innovative solutions in
the field of heath and technology and we are glad to support that
growth.”
“The
State of Israel is very experienced in dealing with emergency
situations and in ground-breaking innovative thinking – two
important advantages for Israel and the countries of the world in
fighting the spread of the coronavirus and its implications,” said
Prof. Eugene Kandel, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central (SNC). We are
very proud of the competition winners, and of the whole Israeli
innovation community and its significant contribution to the global
fight against corona.”
The
ten winners are:
- EyeControl,
an innovative communications solution for ventilated patients
in ICUs.
- K
Health, a personalized artificial intelligence-based health
assistant, which shows patients how doctors have diagnosed and
treated other people with similar cases
- Biobeat,
which develops a wearable device for continuous, noninvasive,
accurate, medical-grade monitoring of vital signs
- Kamada,
a plasma-derived protein therapeutics company, which completed
manufacturing the first batch of its plasma-derived
Immunoglobulin G (IgG) product for coronavirus patients
- Sonovia,
the developer of the cutting-edge nanotextile “SonoMask,” a
face mask that has been proven to be more than 90 percent
effective against coronaviruses, and 99.89% effective against
other viruses
- Picodya
Technologies, an in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) platform suitable
for mass deployment at the point of care, from ICUs and
hospital departments to field hospitals, clinics, and home
care settings
- Sight
Diagnostics, which uses advanced computer-vision and
machine-learning technologies in the field of blood
diagnostics
- MyZeppi,
whose technology is designed to help older adults and their
caregivers “visit” each other through video calls via self-flying
helium balloons
- Pluristem
Therapeutics, a regenerative medicine company developing a
novel platform of biological products to treat coronavirus
- Israel
Aerospace Industries, which has developed a model that uses
artificial intelligence, big data, and machine learning to
predict the progression of the disease and coronavirus
patients’ medical status
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