Israeli President Isaac Herzog will award the country’s highest civilian honor to seven Jewish communal leaders, as well as a non-Jewish former German minister, to recognize their contributions to the State of Israel and world Jewry, his office announced on Monday.

This marks the first time that the award, which was created by former President Shimon Peres, will be presented solely to recipients from outside of the country.

The recipients are: philanthropist Ronald S. Lauder; Julie Platt, board chair of the Jewish Federations of North America; Malcolm Hoenlein, the former executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Sir Frank Lowy, an Australian-Israeli philanthropist who survived the Holocaust and fought in Israel’s War of Independence; Sir Trevor Chinn, a British businessman and longtime supporter of Jewish and Israeli causes; Mark Leibler, an Australian lawyer whose family is active in Zionist causes; Maurice Lévy, a Moroccan-born French advertising executive; and Brigitte Zypries, a former German minister for economics and energy who spearheaded many Israeli-German governmental partnerships.

“Against the background of the ongoing conflict, the president chose these leaders for their unwavering commitment to Israel and their exceptional support of the Jewish people over decades of endeavors, particularly since the atrocities of Oct. 7,” Herzog’s office said in a statement. 

The president personally informed each recipient of their selection. A spokesperson for Herzog’s office said the award ceremony will be held later this year, but that a date has yet to be set.

“The past year, the most difficult since the founding of the state, tested our resilience as a nation and as the Jewish people,” Herzog said in a statement to the recipients. “[The past year] showcased the diverse and beautiful face of Israeli society and proved, as we have always known and believed, that all of Israel is responsible for one another, that the Jewish communities worldwide and the State of Israel share a common destiny, and that we have great friends and supporters in the world who fight alongside us against antisemitism, defend Israel’s name in the media and have long fought for Israel’s place among the nations.”

The eight recipients were nominated by an advisory committee chaired by retired Israeli Supreme Court Justice Yoram Danziger. Previous recipients of the award include three U.S. presidents — Bill Clinton and Barack Obama in 2013, and Joe Biden in 2022 — as well as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, film director Steven Spielberg, human rights activist Elie Wiesel, along with Israeli activists, artists and former politicians.