The Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour (, Itur Nesi Medinat Yisra'el), formerly known as the President's Medal is the highest civil medal given by the President of the State of Israel.
History
The President's Medal was first presented on March 1, 2012, in Beit HaNassi by President of Israel, Shimon Peres. In total, he awarded it to 26 people "who have made an outstanding contribution to the State of Israel or to humanity, through their talents, services, or in any other form." The medal, based on the French Légion d'Honneur, was designed by Yossi Matityahu and includes a verse from the Book of Samuel, which loosely translates as "head and shoulders [above the rest].
President Isaac Herzog revived the institution of the medal in 2022, awarding it for the first time since Shimon Peres in 2014. Under Herzog, the decoration was renamed the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour. Recipients include Czech President MiloÃ
¡ Zeman and U.S. President Joe Biden.
Recipients
President's Medal
2012
2013
2014
- Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, Chief Rabbi of Migdal HaEmek, founder and dean of Migdal Ohr
- Lia Van Leer, founder of the Haifa Cinematheque, the Jerusalem Cinematheque, the Israel Film Archive and the Jerusalem Film Festival
- , Israeli businessman
- Rabbi Avraham Elimelech Firer, chairman and founder of Ezra LeMarpeh, a nonprofit organization that provides medical assistance to the needy
- Brig.-Gen. Avigdor Kahalani, soldier and former Minister of Internal Security
- Avner Shalev, chairman of the Yad Vashem directorate
- Dr. Harry Zvi Tabor, founder of the National Physical Laboratory of Israel, father of Solar power in Israel
- Jack Mahfar, Iranian Jewish philanthropist
- Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
- Giorgio Napolitano, President of Italy
- Ruth Dayan, social activist and founder of the Maskit fashion house
- Stef Wertheimer, industrialist, philanthropist and former Knesset member
- , adviser on minority affairs to seven Israeli Presidents
- Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel
- Prof. Reuven Feuerstein, developmental psychologist and founder of the International Center for the Enhancement of Learning Potential
Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour
2022
2023
- Chava Alberstein, a leading folk musician
- Adi Altschuler, founder of Zikaron BaSalon
- , a Jewish renewal activist
- Rabbi Menachem Hacohen, an interfaith leader and former Knesset member
- Mona Khoury, VP of strategy and diversity at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Maj.-Gen. (res.) Dan Tolkowsky, a retired Israeli Air Force officer
- Carmela Menashe, the military correspondent for Army Radio
- Bibars Natcho, former captain of the Israeli national football team
- Assad Araidy, an educator
- Lena Shtern, social entrepreneur
- André Azoulay, a senior adviser to Moroccan King Mohammed VI
- Irwin Cotler, former Canadian Justice Minister
- The Kemach Foundation, which promotes employment in IsraelâÂÂs haredi (or ultra-Orthodox) sector, organizational prize
2024
2025
References