International March of the Living congratulates Albert Bourla on being chosen as the Genesis Prize Laureate for 2022.

The Genesis Prize is a global award that celebrates Jewish achievement and honors extraordinary individuals for their outstanding professional achievement, contribution to humanity, and commitment to Jewish values. The appointment of Albert Bourla, two years since the onset of the global pandemic , is a very worthy choice given his extraordinary contributions to combatting the pandemic through his work as CEO of Pfizer, whose life saving vaccine has helped protects the lives of billions of people around the world.

Albert Bourla, the son of Holocaust survivors from Thessaloniki (Salonika), carries in his heart the story of the Holocaust and its lessons, and works to preserve the memory of Greek Jewry annihilated during the Shoah.

In 2021 International March of the Living paid tribute to medical heroes of the Holocaust, as well as modern day medical figures leading the fight against Covid-19, including Albert Bourla, who was the guest of honor at our 2021 Virtual March of the Living.

Previously, International March of the Living paid tribute to the history of Jews from Greece and Salonika and their tragic destruction at the hands of Nazi Germany during the Shoah. Before World War II, Salonika was the largest Jewish community in Greece with a Jewish population of over 50,000. Only 1200 returned there after war, including Albert Bourla’s parents, the majority being murdered in Auschwitz.