The Sinai Awards

[Valin]

Tablet

36 people who have made the world freer for the rest of us

June 102024

This week, Tablet celebrates its 15th anniversary. We can think of no better way to mark this milestone than by saluting our heroes.

Introducing: The Sinai Awards

The following names belong to people who’ve made the world freer in the past few years—not necessarily calmer, or safer, or prettier—or whose work in previous years laid the groundwork for others to be able to fight for freedom in this moment.

To honor Sinai recipients, Tablet commissioned artist Judi Harvest to create a unique award, which you can see in the picture above. Handmade by traditional glass artisans in Italy from a lost-wax mold of a genuine piece of matzo baked in the Venice Ghetto, it is a beautiful, translucent emblem of the struggle toward freedom.

There is a Jewish mystical concept, rooted in the Talmud, called the Tzadikim Nistarim—or, as it came to be known via its Yiddish vernacular, the Lamed Vovniks. It refers to a Jewish belief that at all times there are 36 special people in the world; were it not for them—all of them, if even one were missing—the world would come to an end. All of which is our way of saying: We thank God for each of these human beings, and think you should, too.

 

 

Ayaan Hirsi Ali • Masih Alinejad • Marc Andreessen • Julian Assange • Olivier Assayas • Nayib Bukele • Ted Cruz • George Deek • John Fetterman • Stephen Friend • Michel Houellebecq • Coleman Hughes • Jon Huntsman • Martin Kulldorff & Jay Bhattacharya • Mark Laita • Bernard-Henri Lévy • Conor McGregor • Douglas Murray • Elon Musk • Anonymous UPenn Student • J.K. Rowling • Christopher Rufo • Salman Rushdie • Natan Sharansky • Michael Solomonov • Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik • Thomas Sowell • Amar’e Stoudemire • Nadine Strossen • Quentin Tarantino • Ritchie Torres • Tu Youyou • Michael Walzer • Bari Weiss • Ruth Wisse

 

(Snip)