MUMBAI: The Anti-Defamation League bestowed its highest honor on Steven Spielberg by presenting the America‘s Democratic Legacy Award to Steven Speilberg on Wednesday.

Praising Spielberg‘s ability, ADL national director Abraham Foxman said.

"Steven, we honour you for your exceptional contributions to the well-being and security of the Jewish people. Your masterpiece, Schindler‘s List literally changed the way we teach about Jewish history and the Holocaust and it arrived at exactly the time when we started to see a startling rise in Holocaust denial."

Accepting the honour, Spielberg spoke of the importance of pausing amid the distractions of the digital age to face such enduring evils as xenophobia, bigotry, racism and anti-Semitism that have found a new home in cyberspace.

"I don‘t believe that intolerance is encoded in the DNA of human kind. Bigotry is an acquired condition that can only be eradicated through education, experience and through mindfulness."

The proceedings, that raised more than $2 million for the ADL, kicked off with Adam Lambert singing an a capella version of The Star-Spangled Banner and Noa Dori performing the Israeli anthem.

Previous winners of the prestigious award range from US presidents (from Harry Truman through Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan) to Hollywood moguls Darryl Zanuck and Dore Schary.