President's Medal (Israel)

President's Medal (Israel)
The Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor (Itur Nesi Medinat Yisra'el) 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 Honor. Recipients include Czech President Miloš Zeman and U.S. President Joe Biden.
Recipients
2012
Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State of the United States
Judith Feld Carr, Canadian human rights advocate who arranged the freedom of thousands of Syrian Jews
Rashi Foundation, advocates social mobility and equality
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz (Even-Israel), editor of The Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition
Zubin Mehta, music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Ory Slonim, Special Consultant to several of Israeli Ministers of Defense on POWs and MIAs
2013
Barack Obama, President of the United States
Bill Clinton, former U.S. President
Elie Wiesel, human rights activist
Steven Spielberg, movie director
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
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 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
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
Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic
Joe Biden, President of the United States
Nicos Anastasiades, President of Cyprus
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
Maj.-Gen. (res.) Dan Tolkowsky, a retired Israeli Air Force officer
Carmela Menashe, the military correspondent for Army Radio
Bibras 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 Israel’s haredi (or ultra-Orthodox) sector, organizational prize
References
2012 establishments in Israel
Awards established in 2012
Civil awards and decorations of Israel