The Black Swan star, who was born in Israel, jetted to Washington, D.C. to speak at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's 2012 Elie Wiesel National Tribute Dinner, ahead of the national holiday on Thursday (19Apr12).

And the actress showed support for her Jewish faith by stepping up to the podium to honour this year's tribute recipient, Aung San Suu Kyi, praising the non-violent activist's work to rescue Burmese refugees.

The Oscar winner also addressed the need to continue educating younger generations of the genocide in an effort to stomp out hate across the world.

The event was particularly near and dear to Portman's heart - her great-grandparents perished at Auschwitz, one of the largest Nazi concentration camps of World War Two.