Israeli President Isaac Herzog will present the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor to philanthropist Dr. Miriam Adelson, tech entrepreneur Yossi Vardi, Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif, German publisher Mathias Döpfner and five other recipients, his office announced on Sunday. 

The other five recipients are: George Costa Karra, one of Israel’s first Arab Supreme Court judges; Moti Malka, founder of the Israeli Andalusian Orchestra; Dr. Avi Ohry, an expert in rehabilitation; Dina Porat, chief historian of Yad Vashem; and Galila Ron-Feder Amit, an Israeli author and journalist. 

The Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor, which was created in 2012 by then-President Shimon Peres, is presented annually to recipients “who, by virtue of their skills, service or in any other way, have made an exceptional contribution to the State of Israel or to humanity.” Last year, for the first time, all of the recipients lived outside of Israel, in recognition of the contributions of Diaspora Jews to the state.

The recipients were selected by an advisory committee, which is chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Professor Yoram Danziger. The medals will be presented at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem later this year.The president called each of the recipients to inform them of their selection. “The State of Israel owes you profound gratitude for your work, for your uncompromising commitment to the values of excellence, solidarity, and innovation, and for your exceptional contribution to strengthening Israeli society and defending the State of Israel in the world,” Herzog told each of the recipients.