One of America’s most prominent African American voices is making a public case for recognizing Jews as a minority community deserving protection and support.
Van Jones, the CNN political commentator, attorney, and civil rights advocate, has joined the advisory board of the Genesis Prize Foundation, the organization announced Wednesday. In remarks accompanying the announcement, Jones pointed to the small size of the global Jewish population and argued that humanity has a special responsibility to stand with a people who have endured centuries of persecution and whose numbers were devastated by the Holocaust.
“There are only about 15 million Jews left in the world,” Jones said in a video released by the foundation, noting that the Jewish population is tiny compared with the world’s largest religious and ethnic groups. He argued that the Jewish community would be significantly larger today had it not suffered generations of violence, discrimination, expulsions, and ultimately the Holocaust.
Jones also highlighted the unique position of Israel, which is home to roughly half of the world’s Jewish population.
“When a group that small comes under attack, humanity has a special responsibility to defend them,” he said, while emphasizing that criticism of Israeli government policies remains legitimate. What he rejects, however, is the idea that support for the Jewish state itself should be abandoned.
“We already ran a 3,000-year experiment where Jews did not have a state,” Jones said, arguing that history demonstrated the dangers of Jewish statelessness.
The appointment carries added significance because Jones is framing the issue as one minority community standing in solidarity with another. A longtime civil rights leader, Jones said one of his goals on the board will be helping rebuild the historic alliance between Black and Jewish Americans.
“Together, Black and Jewish Americans have written some of the most important chapters in the story of American democracy,” Jones said. While acknowledging tensions and divisions in recent years, he argued that the relationship remains too important to abandon amid rising antisemitism and increasing political polarization.
Stan Polovets, co-founder and chairman of the Genesis Prize Foundation, praised Jones’s record of coalition-building and public leadership.
“Van Jones brings moral clarity, public credibility, and practical coalition-building experience,” Polovets said. “At a time of rising antisemitism, voices like his are essential.”
The foundation’s advisory board is chaired by former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, who spent eight years in Soviet prisons because of his pro-democracy activism and support for Jewish emigration rights. Sharansky said Jones’s appointment reflects the foundation’s belief that Jewish achievement carries with it a responsibility to engage with broader society and strengthen democratic values.
The Genesis Prize, often referred to as the “Jewish Nobel,” awards $1 million annually to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional professional achievement and commitment to Jewish values. According to the foundation, the prize has helped generate more than $50 million for charitable causes since its creation in 2013, supporting over 230 nonprofit initiatives in 31 countries.
The 2026 recipient is Israeli actress and producer Gal Gadot, whose award is being matched through the Jewish Funders Network, bringing total charitable giving associated with her prize to $2 million.
Jones’s comments also come as Jewish minority recognition has gained increasing attention in the United States.
In a landmark move, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce on January 13, 2025, formally recognizing Jewish-owned businesses within the agency’s minority-business framework. The agreement marked the first time Jewish-owned businesses were granted access to programs traditionally available to other minority communities through the federal agency.
At the signing, then-Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves described the recognition as an overdue correction and praised the efforts of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce in advancing the initiative. Greater New York Chamber of Commerce President Mark Jaffe called the move “long overdue,” while Duvi Honig, founder and CEO of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, described it as a historic achievement for the Jewish business community.
The timing of Jones’s appointment is notable. Antisemitic incidents have risen sharply in the United States and around the world, while longstanding partnerships between Black and Jewish organizations have faced strains in recent years.
Jones is placing his credibility as a civil rights leader behind the belief that those relationships can be rebuilt—and that a people numbering only about 15 million worldwide should not have to face growing threats alone.
JBizNews Desk
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