Bar-Ilan University honours Deborah Lipstadt with Jonathan Sacks Institute Prize

On the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, Bar-Ilan University held a special ceremony awarding the 2026 Jonathan Sacks Institute Prize to distinguished historian Professor Deborah Lipstadt.

The prize, which carries a monetary award of NIS 100,000, (£23,560) was established by the Gewurz family in memory of Samuel Gewurz, and recognises individuals whose work advances the ideas, values, and moral vision of the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth.

Although Professor Lipstadt served as the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism from 2022-2025, she is perhaps best known in the UK for the High Court trial in which David Irving attempted to sue her for libel regarding her comments on his Holocaust denial. The trial resulted in a resounding defeat for Irving. It was subsequently portrayed in a 2016 Hollywood film, Denial.

Bar-Ilan University president Prof. Arie Zaban said: “Rabbi Sacks believed deeply in the power of ideas to shape societies and communities, but also to challenge assumptions and bring people into conversation across religious and intellectual differences.

“Here at Bar-Ilan, we have the privilege of carrying that vision forward through scholarship, teaching, and the education of a new generation of students and researchers, in what I believe is a unique place. None of this happens without the vision and generosity of those who recognize the enduring importance of Rabbi Sacks’s intellectual legacy.”

The award ceremony was followed by the annual Jonathan Sacks Conversation, in which Prof. Jonathan Rynhold, academic director of the Jonathan Sacks Institute, spoke with Prof. Lipstadt about the contemporary rise of antisemitism, the defence of historical truth, and the challenges of confronting hatred in an increasingly polarised world.

Lipstadt reaffirmed her longstanding opposition to laws prohibiting Holocaust denial, arguing that freedom of speech must be protected even when the speech in question is deeply offensive. The answer, she maintained, is not censorship but the creation of a broad public consensus that antisemitism and Holocaust denial are unacceptable.

She stressed that confronting antisemitism requires sustained public engagement and a willingness to take it seriously wherever it appears.

The conversation also explored the changing experience of Jewish life in the US and Europe since 7 October 2023, including the normalisation of antisemitic rhetoric, security concerns on university campuses, and the growing pressure on Jewish individuals to conceal visible expressions of their identity.

Throughout the discussion, Lipstadt returned to the importance of confronting antisemitism without allowing it to become the defining prism through which Jewish identity is understood. She emphasized the need for intellectual honesty, measured judgment, and sustained engagement.

Joanna Benarroch, president of the Rabbi Sacks Legacy, also described how handwritten notes recently uncovered in Rabbi Sacks’ archives at the National Library of Israel show that he praised Lipstadt’s advocacy for Israel.

• The Jonathan Sacks Institute at Bar-Ilan University was established in 2023 to honour and perpetuate the legacy of the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth.