Simon Wiesenthal Award

The first Simon Wiesenthal Humanitarian Laureate award was conferred upon Elizabeth Taylor [then Warner] "for her magnanimous efforts on behalf of the Jewish people and all mankind" and presented to her on November 9th, 1980 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. She received this award as recognition of her contribution to Jewish causes, including fundraising efforts and even offering herself in exchange for the hostages at Entebbe in 1977. She also donated her services to narrate the film Genocide, along with Orson Welles.  Co-produced by Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, it became the first Holocaust film to win an Academy Award for best documentary feature.