Amy Gutmann and Daniel Zajfman receive the Prize for Understanding and Tolerance
Press Release, Sat 15 Nov 2025
On Saturday, 15 November 2025, the Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB) and the FRIENDS OF THE JMB awarded the Prize for Understanding and Tolerance for the twenty-fourth time, in the presence of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz. This year, the prize went to Ambassador Dr. Amy Gutmann, President Emerita and Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and Prof. Daniel Zajfman, former President of the Weizmann Institute of Science and Chair of the Academic Board of the Israel Science Foundation. The tribute to Amy Gutmann was delivered by Dr. Felix Klein, the Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Antisemitism. Prof. em. Dr. Helga Nowotny PhD, former President of the European Research Council, spoke in praise of Daniel Zajfman. Hetty Berg, Director of the JMB, presented the awards.
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Dr. Margret Karsch
Head of Press
T +49 (0)30 259 93 419
presse@jmberlin.deMelanie Franke
Press Officer
T +49 (0)30 25 993 340
presse@jmberlin.de
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Jewish Museum Berlin Foundation
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The Prize for Understanding and Tolerance
Since 2002, the JMB has awarded the Prize for Understanding and Tolerance to individuals from the realms of culture, politics, and business who have rendered outstanding service to the promotion of human dignity, international understanding, the integration of minorities, and the coexistence of different religions and cultures. The prize, presented at a gala dinner, is awarded jointly by the JMB and the FRIENDS OF THE JMB.
Prizewinner Amy Gutmann
Amy Gutmann was born in 1949 in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of a Jewish immigrant from Franconia, and built an international career as a writer, teacher, diplomat, and consultant in scientific and ethical advisory bodies. She has received numerous honors for her commitment, including the William Penn Award and the Leo Baeck Medal. From 2022 to 2024, she was Ambassador of the United States in Germany. Currently, Amy Gutmann is Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science in Penn Arts & Sciences and Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
Hetty Berg says: “Amy Gutmann reminds us that democracies need our care, our resilience, and our action. She represents a stance that unites theory and practice – as a scholar who investigates democracy and as a public figure who brings it to life. Her active commitment to educational justice and mutual understanding sends a strong signal in our times.”
Prizewinner Daniel Zajfman
The Israeli physicist Daniel Zajfman sees science as a universal language of dialogue and mutual understanding. He was born in Brussels in 1959, the descendant of Holocaust survivors, and emigrated to Israel, where he left his mark on international research as the president of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Daniel Zajfman has initiated numerous collaborations between Israel and Germany, including as president of the multidisciplinary Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot (Israel), as director of the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, as a member of the Senate of the Max Planck Society, as Chairman of the Academic Advisory Board of the Israel Science Foundation, as Chairman of the Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Centre in Rehovot/Ness Ziona, and as a member of the Board of the Minerva Foundation.
Hetty Berg comments: “Daniel Zajfman shows that science can build bridges – between countries, cultures, and people. His work stands for the conviction that scientific research generates not just knowledge, but also mutual understanding. He embodies the spirit of dialogue that brings our societies together.”
