President’s Medal of Honor awarded to Diaspora leaders

The medal was awarded in recognition of their long-term defense of Israel, their combating of antisemitism, and their fight for human rights for people of all faiths and nations.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN JANUARY 9, 2025 08:28 Updated: JANUARY 9, 2025 08:29

President Isaac Herzog (photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)

President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday night awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor to a group of Jewish and non-Jewish diaspora leaders in recognition of their long-term defense of Israel, their combating of antisemitism, and their fight for human rights for people of all faiths and nations.

The ceremony at the President’s Residence was a much more intimate affair than that which took place in the summer of 2023 when many more people could be seated in the grounds of the residence than in the main hall indoors.

The honorees were Sir Frank Lowy of Australia and Israel; Sir Trevor Chinn of the UK;  Brigitte Zypries of Germany; Maurice Levy of France; Mark Leibler of Australia; Malcolm Hoenlein and Julie Platt, both of the US. Another American honoree, Ronald Lauder, was unable to be in Israel at this time and will receive his medal at a later date.

Among the guests were Ambassadors Ralph King of Australia, Steffen Seibert of Germany,  and Simon Walters of the UK.  The US and French ambassadors did not attend, but Abdul Wahab Allalli, the Moroccan representative in Israel, was present for two reasons. Some of the honorees had been involved in bringing about the Abraham Accords, and Maurice Levy, though considered a Frenchman, was born in Morocco.

Herzog introduced each of the honorees in a series of videos.

Beit HaNassi, the residency of the Israeli President (credit: PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON OFFICE)

The first was Lowy, a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor, a fighter in Israel's War of Independence, builder of a business empire, and generous philanthropist to many causes, whom Herzog noted he had met at the Israel National Library, where Lowy dedicated a room in memory of his father who was murdered in Auschwirz-Birkenau. Lowy has also dedicated a cattle car in Birkenau in memory of his father and the six million Jews who perished or were murdered during the Holocaust. 

In a clip from the video, Lowy said: You don’t forget what happened to Jews.” He also warned that “the biggest danger  Israel faces is the division.”

All the videos featured introductions of the honorees by Herzog, plus clips of their various activities and excerpts from their speeches at different times over the years.

Illness prevented Sir  Trevor Chinn from coming to Israel, but he watched the event on livestream and was seen smiling when his son David accepted the award on his behalf.  Herzog's parents were close friends of Trevor Chinn, whom Herzog has known since boyhood and recalled visiting in his home.  Herzog described him as “the voice of British Jewry for decades.”  One of the video clips showed Chinn addressing a huge outdoor crowd of British Jews and declaring, “We stand with Israel - now and forever!”

Zypries,  who was the first woman in Germany to be appointed as Economics and Energy Minister, was honored for her courageous fight against antisemitism and anti-Israel boycotts.

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Maurice Levy, who heads one of the world’s largest media conglomerates,  was credited by Herzog with enabling Israel to be represented in last year’s Eurovision contest.  Herzog said that Levy had been protecting and defending the State of Israel and the Jewish people and promoting a better and more peaceful Middle East while simultaneously bolstering Israel’s standing in the family of nations.

Herzog noted that before embarking on his public roles, he had been a lawyer like Mark Leibler and praised him for his leadership and for using his legal skills on behalf of the State of Israel and the Jewish people, as well as championing human rights and social justice and engaging with every community and political party.

In introducing Hoenlein, Herzog spoke of his ‘big Jewish heart” and all the causes that he fought for, citing as an example  Hoenlein’s dedication to the struggle for Soviet Jewry in which he had been one of the early activists.   Hoenlein was pictured thundering on screen: “We’re not going to allow Jews to be victims again.”

On another occasion, when he was speaking out on behalf of people of all faiths and nations who suffer persecution, he declared, “We will be judged if we are silent.”  As the thirty-year chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Hoenlein took his guidelines from the Bible in the chapter in which Jacob urged the tribes to work together.

Julie Platt, who is the chair of the Jewish Federations of North America,  said that when her children were young, she sometimes felt guilty about getting her daughter to look after her younger siblings while Platt was focusing on Jewish communities. But her daughter always said: “Don’t worry, Mom.  You take care of the Jews out there, and I'll Take care of the Jews in here.”

'Tidal wave of antisemitism'

Reviewing events of the past year, Platt said, “There is a tidal wave of antisemitism and anti-Zionism throughout the world, and we have to fight back.”

Chosen to give the address of appreciation on behalf of all the honorees, Platt quoted from the prophet Isaiah: “Nachamu, Nachamu Ami,” (Be comforted, be comforted, my people). 

She drew the double quote as an analogy to Herzog and his wife, “who have provided comfort for our people with courage and deep love. Our gratitude is immeasurable.”

In referencing her fellow honorees, Platt quoted from the Talmud that leadership is not for glory but for service.  “Each of us has been enriched beyond measure for the opportunity to lead,” she said.

In his address at the start of the ceremony, Herzog, who since October 7 and the beginning of the ordeal for the hostages and their families, has spoken out on the urgency of bringing the hostages home and has maintained close and frequent contact with the families, expressed his sorrow at the death of hostage Youssef  Ziyadne.

He also mentioned the hostages again at the conclusion of his address, saying, “Failure to bring home loved ones will leave our nation scarred  for generations.”