Conservatives made a big deal about the Nobel Prize Committee not awarding Donald Trump this year, even though most of his latest initiatives for peace came after the nomination period was over. We might as well face the truth that the committee isn’t going to give the president any hardware, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not winning accolades for his efforts.
When Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, the prime minister informed the president that Israel is awarding him the 2026 Israel Prize for his “special contribution towards the Jewish people.” It’s a break with tradition to award the prize to a non-Israeli.
“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 announced. “This was announced formally over lunch by our minister of education, who is responsible for the Israel Prize.”
The Jerusalem Post reports that “Trump will be awarded the prize for his ‘work in the fight against antisemitism, his contribution to promoting the return of the hostages to Israel, the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and his consistent support for the right of the State of Israel to defend itself,’ a statement released by the Education Ministry explained.”
Education Minister Yoav Kisch, whose department oversees the prize, announced that he was “proud to present the Israel Prize to President Donald John Trump on behalf of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.” He added that “the prize proves the deep, eternal, and inseparable bond between the Israeli and American people.”
Related: Obama Got the Nobel for Nothing. Trump’s Racking Up Real Peace Deals.
The Israel Prize is the highest civilian honor in Israel. Trump told Netanyahu that he would “consider attending the ceremony.”
“First awarded in 1953 by Minister of Education Ben-Tzur Dinor, the Israel Prize has been awarded every year since during a state ceremony on the eve of Israeli Independence Day,” the Jewish Virtual Library explains. “Usually, Israel’s President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the Knesset, and President of the Supreme Court are all in attendance for the award ceremony.”
That wasn’t the only important announcement that came on Monday when Trump and Netanyahu met at Mar-a-Lago. My friend and colleague, Sarah Anderson, reported on Monday that the president confirmed what he called “a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs” last week in Venezuela.
My friend and Townhall colleague, Matt Vespa, wrote about other announcements that came out of that Mar-a-Lago meeting. Trump and Netanyahu discussed the reconstruction of Gaza, which the president said should start “pretty soon.” Matt wrote that Trump “promises to ‘knock the hell out of Iran’ if it gets cute with his nuclear weapons program again.”
Congratulations to President Trump on the Israel Prize. It’s a well-deserved honor for a sterling friend of Israel. May God continue to bless the United States and Israel.
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