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