The Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor ( he, עיטור נשיא מדינת ישראל, ''Itur Nesi Medinat Yisra'el'') is the highest civil medal given by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the State of Israel.

History

The President's Medal was first presented on March 1, 2012, in

Beit HaNassi The President's House, known in Hebrew as Beit HaNassi ('בֵּית הַנָּשִׂיא) and Mishkan HaNassi (מִשְׁכָּן הַנָּשִׂיא), is the official residence of the President of Israel. It is located in the Talbiya neighborho ...

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 The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, was designed by Yossi Matityahu and includes a verse from the Book of Samuel, which loosely translates as "head and shoulders bove the rest President

Isaac Herzog Isaac "Bougie" Herzog ( he, יצחק "בוז׳י" הרצוג, Yitskhak "Buzhi" Hertsog; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving as the 11th president of Israel since 2021. He is the first president to be born in ...

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 Honor. Recipients include Czech President

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician serving as the third and current President of the Czech Republic since 2013. He previously served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

and U.S. President Joe Biden.

Recipients

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

, 2012 * Judith Feld Carr, 2012 *Rashi Foundation, 2012 *Rabbi

Adin Steinsaltz Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (11 July 19377 August 2020) ( he, עדין אבן-ישראל שטיינזלץ) was an Israeli Chabad Chasidic rabbi, teacher, philosopher, social critic, author, translator and publisher. His '' Steinsaltz edi ...

(Even-Israel), 2012 *

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the fou ...

, 2012 *Ory Slonim, 2012 *

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

, 2013 *

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, 2013 * Elie Wiesel, 2013 *Rabbi

Yitzchak Dovid Grossman Yitzchak Dovid Grossman ( he, יצחק דוד גרוסמן) (born 15 September 1946 in Jerusalem), also known as the "Disco Rabbi", is the Chief Rabbi of Migdal HaEmek, founder and dean of Migdal Ohr educational institutions, and a member of th ...

, 2014President honors eight Israelis with presidential award.
/ref> * Steven Spielberg, 2013 *

Lia Van Leer Lia van Leer (née Greenberg; he, ליה ון ליר; August 8, 1924 – March 13, 2015) was a pioneer in the field of art film programming and film archiving in Israel. She was the founder of the Haifa Cinematheque, the Jerusalem Cinematheque, t ...

, 2014 *Avi Naor, 2014 *Rabbi Avraham Elimelech Firer, 2014 *Brig.-Gen.

Avigdor Kahalani Tat Aluf (Brigadier General) Avigdor Kahalani ( he, אביגדור קהלני, born 16 June 1944) is a former Israeli soldier and politician. Early life Avigdor Kahalani was born in Ness Ziona during the Mandate era. His parents, Moshe and Sa ...

, 2014 * Avner Shalev, 2014 *Dr. Harry Zvi Tabor, 2014 *Jack Mahfar, 2014 *

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

, 2014 * Giorgio Napolitano, 2014 * Ruth Dayan, 2014Peres honors five Israeli success stories, two weeks before he leaves
/ref> *

Stef Wertheimer Stef Wertheimer ( he, זאב סטף ורטהיימר, born 16 July 1926) is an Israeli billionaire industrialist, investor, philanthropist and former politician. He was a Member of the Knesset, and is known for founding industrial parks in Israe ...

, 2014 *Kamal Mansour, 2014 *Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, 2014 *Prof.

Reuven Feuerstein Reuven Feuerstein (Hebrew: ראובן פוירשטיין; August 21, 1921 – April 29, 2014) was a Romanian-born Israeli clinical, developmental, and cognitive psychologist, known for his theory of intelligence which states “''it is not ‘fixe ...

, 2014 *

, 2022 * Joe Biden, 2022 *

Nicos Anastasiades Nicos Anastasiades ( el, Νίκος Αναστασιάδης ; born 27 September 1946) is a Cypriot politician who is the current president of Cyprus since 2013. He was re-elected in 2018. Previously, he was the leader of Democratic Rally bet ...

, 2022

References

{{use mdy dates, date=March 2013 Orders, decorations, and medals of Israel Awards established in 2012 2012 establishments in Israel