The Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour (, ''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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

History

The President's Medal was first presented on March 1, 2012, in Beit HaNassi by President of Israel,

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

. 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 ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, was designed by Yossi Matityahu and includes a verse from the

Book of Samuel The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) that constitute a theological ...

, which loosely translates as "head and shoulders bove 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

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician who served as the third president of the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2023. He also 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 Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

Recipients

2012

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

, former

Secretary of State of the United States A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

* Judith Feld Carr, Canadian human rights advocate who arranged the freedom of thousands of

Syrian Jews Syrian Jews ( ''Yehudey Surya'', ''al-Yahūd as-Sūriyyūn'', colloquially called SYs in the United States) are Jews who live in the region of the modern state of Syria, and their descendants born outside Syria. Syrian Jews derive their origin ...

* Rashi Foundation, advocates social mobility and equality * Rabbi

Adin Steinsaltz Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (; 11 July 19377 August 2020) was an Israeli Chabad Chasidic rabbi, teacher, philosopher, social critic, author, translator and publisher. His '' Steinsaltz edition of the Talmud'' was originally published in ...

(Even-Israel), editor of '' The Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition'' *

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 :wikt:emeritus, emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father ...

, music director emeritus of the

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is a major Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert ...

* Ory Slonim, Special Consultant to several of Israeli Ministers of Defense on

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

s and MIAs

2013

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

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, former U.S. President *

Elie Wiesel Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel (September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates#1980, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel bibliogra ...

, human rights activist *

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

, movie director

2014

* Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, Chief Rabbi of Migdal HaEmek, founder and dean of Migdal OhrPresident honors eight Israelis with presidential award.
/ref> * Lia Van Leer, founder of the Haifa Cinematheque, the Jerusalem Cinematheque, the Israel Film Archive and the

Jerusalem Film Festival The Jerusalem Film Festival (, ) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israeli Film Archive, Lia van Leer, Lia Van Leer, and has since become th ...

* Avi Naor, 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 Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

directorate * Dr. Harry Zvi Tabor, founder of the National Physical Laboratory of Israel, father of

Solar power in Israel The use of solar energy began in Israel in the 1950s with the development by Levi Yissar of a solar water heater to address the energy shortages that plagued the new country.Petrotyranny by John C. Bacher, David Suzuki, published by Dundurn Pr ...

* Jack Mahfar, Iranian Jewish philanthropist *

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; 29 June 1925 – 22 September 2023) was an Italian politician who served as President of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first to be re-elected to the office. In office for 8 years and 244 days, he was the longest-serving pre ...

President of Italy The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic (), is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity and guarantees that Politics of Italy, Italian politics comply with the Consti ...

* Ruth Dayan, social activist and founder of the Maskit fashion housePeres honors five Israeli success stories, two weeks before he leaves
/ref> * Stef Wertheimer, industrialist, philanthropist and former Knesset member * Kamal Mansour, 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

2022

President of the Czech Republic The president of the Czech Republic, constitutionally defined as the President of the Republic (), is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The presidency has largely bee ...

, President of the United States *

Nicos Anastasiades Nicos Anastasiades ( ; born 27 September 1946) is a Cypriot politician and businessperson, who served as the seventh president of Cyprus from 2013 to 2023. Previously, he was the leader of Democratic Rally between 1997 and 2013 and served as Me ...

President of Cyprus The president of Cyprus, officially the president of the Republic of Cyprus, is the head of state and the head of government of Cyprus, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Cypriot National Guard. The office was established by the Constitu ...

* Dalia Fadila, Arab Israeli educator

2023

* Chava Alberstein, a leading folk musician * Adi Altschuler, founder of Zikaron BaSalon * Meir Buzaglo, 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 The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

* Maj.-Gen. (res.) Dan Tolkowsky, a retired Israeli Air Force officer * Carmela Menashe, the military correspondent for Army Radio *

Bibras Natcho Bibars Natcho (, ; born 18 February 1988) is an Israeli professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serbian club FK Partizan, Partizan. Natcho made his senior international debut for Israel national football team ...

, 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 Israel’s haredi (or ultra-Orthodox) sector, organizational prize

2024

Frank Lowy Sir Frank P. Lowy ( ; born 22 October 1930) is an Australian people, Australian-Israeli people, Israeli businessman of Jewish Slovak-Hungarian origins and the former long-time chairman of Westfield Corporation, a global shopping centre company ...

, Australian billionaire * Mark Leibler, former President of the Zionist Federation of Australia

References

{{Orders, decorations, and medals of Israel 2012 establishments in Israel Awards established in 2012 Civil awards and decorations of Israel