Trump, in absentia, becomes first non-Israeli to receive Israel’s top civilian honour

JTA – United States President Donald Trump officially became the first non-Israeli to receive Israel’s top civilian prize on Wednesday, but he wasn’t on hand to receive his honour. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced that Trump would receive the Israel Prize after meeting with him at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, in December. 

“We decided to break a convention, or create a new one, and that is to award the Israel Prize, which in almost our 80 years we’ve never awarded to a non-Israeli, and we’re going to award it this year to President Trump,” Netanyahu said at the time. He added, “It’s going to be awarded to President Donald J Trump for his tremendous contributions to Israel and the Jewish people.” 

Israel’s education minister, who oversees the prize, extended the invitation officially in early February. But even though Trump indicated at one point that he might attend the award ceremony, held annually on Independence Day, he was absent on Wednesday when it took place. 

Trump has delighted in his support from Israelis, many of whom have viewed him as unusually willing to go to bat for Israeli interests. A video played at the ceremony in Jerusalem showed him meeting with Netanyahu, speaking to the Israeli Parliament last year, and announcing the historic normalisation deals with Arab countries negotiated during his first administration. 

But conditions changed sharply since Netanyahu announced the prize. In February, Trump joined Netanyahu in launching a war on Iran that has been unpopular in the United States. Reports that Netanyahu persuaded him to enter the war, which Trump has ceased despite not achieving the varied goals he offered, have deepened anti-Israel sentiment among Americans, including Trump’s base. 

Trump reportedly planned at one point to accept the prize with a videotaped address, but he did not offer one during the ceremony. 

The award for Trump came amid Independence Day festivities that featured an unusual honour for a different non-Israeli head of state. Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, who has been a vocal defender of Israel, became the first foreign leader to light a torch as part of the celebrations. 

The only other non-Israeli citizen to be honoured with an Israel Prize did not receive the standard one, but a designation for non-citizens. In 1992, Zubin Mehta, the non-Jewish longtime music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, was given a special prize for his contributions to the state. This year, Mehta announced that he was cancelling his coming appearances in Israel, citing “my objection to Mr Netanyahu’s way of treating the whole Palestinian issue”.