Washington, DC—With his acceptance of the Congressional Gold Medal in the Capitol rotunda, outgoing Israeli President Shimon Peres joins Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela as one of only three foreign heads of state to receive the highest civilian award in the United States and becomes the first sitting Israeli president to receive the Congressional Gold Medal.
Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Democratic Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado introduced legislation to honor Peres with the medal for his decades long role in cementing the exceptionally close alliance between the United States and Israel in August 2013, with similar legislation brought in the House of Representatives by Republican Congressman Trent Franks and Democratic Congressman Joseph Kennedy of Massachusetts. The legislation passed the House in March, was unanimously approved by the Senate in May and was signed by President Obama on June 9th.
The effort to recognize Peres for his service and to publicly affirm the close relationship between the United States and Israel began two years ago and was initiated by Ezra Friedlander, CEO of The Friedlander Group, and spearheaded by Robert Rechnitz, founder and chairman of The Jerusalem Conference and Iron Dome Tribute, and Lee Samson of the international board of trustees of Jerusalem’s Museum of Tolerance and founder and chairman of the Kiryat Shemona Foundation. Also involved were Simon Falic of Miami Beach; Ron Plotnik, a major supporter of the Republican Jewish Coalition; Stanley Treitel; Rabbi David Baron of Temple of the Arts of Beverly Hills, who served as Chair of the Clergy Cabinet, and Hassan Ali Bin Al, International Chairman of the Shimon Peres Congressional Gold Medal Commemoration Committee. The introduction of the legislation in Congress was timed to coincide with the Israeli president’s 90th birthday, casting the spotlight on Peres, a close disciple of David Ben-Gurion, and the only living member of Israel’s founding generation of political figures.
Rechnitz described Peres as a highly regarded statesman with a reputation as a man of peace.
The opportunity to take part in a congressional ceremony honoring the president of Israel was an emotional one for Rechnitz, the son of Holocaust survivors.
“To be standing in the Capitol rotunda while the Marine choir is singing “Hatikva” and playing Jewish music was very moving. There were moments when there were very few dry eyes in the room,” said Rechnitz. “It was an incredible opportunity to witness firsthand the respect and support that Congress has for Israel.”
In his remarks prior to the presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal, Rechnitz described the day as both historic and significant.
“Today is a proud day—a triumph for us all—because today is a public affirmation of the unbreakable bond which not only exists, but indeed flourishes between the United States and Israel,” said Rechnitz. “It is a relationship which is being constantly scrutinized. But today, we are able to show to the world that the ties between our two countries can never be weakened.”
Israel by presenting him with the Congressional Gold Medal, Peres honored Samson and Rechnitz with the US-Israel Advocacy Leadership Award, presented at a Washington ceremony one day before receiving his own award with an inscription:
“In recognition of their pivotal role of stewardship and sustaining the bilateral relationship between the United States of America & State of Israel and forging the unbreakable bond between the people of the United States and Israel.”
By Nora Gutekanst
