Meeting PM at Israel Prize event, two recipients warn of danger to society
Artist hands Netanyahu letter expressing concerns over societal rift, while entrepreneur says in his speech Israel must maintain strong, independent democratic institutions
Michael Horovitz is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel
Concluding Independence Day celebrations, the Israel Prize, the country’s highest civilian honor, was awarded on Wednesday to 12 citizens, two of whom used the opportunity to personally appeal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his government’s controversial judicial overhaul plan.
The diverse group of recipients including researchers, scientists, and artists received their prize at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, at a ceremony attended by Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Supreme Court President Esther Hayut, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Education Minister Yoav Kisch.
This year’s prizes included three honorees for lifetime achievement: Amnon Shashua, the president and CEO of Mobileye; Rachel Haber, chair of the Matnat Chaim kidney donation organization; and Druze author and former Likud MK Amal Nasser el-Din, who chairs the Druze branch of Yad Labanim, an organization that assists bereaved families.
The Independence Day tradition came at a time of deep division within Israeli society over the government’s planned overhaul of the judiciary, which the government says will rein in an over-powerful High Court while critics warn it will weaken the country’s democratic foundations.
“Each and every one of you is inspiring in your field. You are the people Israel’s children should look up to,” Kisch said in his speech.
“We should remember the difficult days we experienced in the past. This way, we may put into proportion the social challenges we are experiencing today. As a member of the negotiating team at the President’s Residence, I hope that we will succeed in reaching an outline with as broad a consensus as possible,” Kisch added, referencing talks on a potential compromise to the judicial reform plan.
המחאה רודפת את הנאשם גם בטקס הענקת פרס ישראל.
זוכת פרס ישראל מיכל רובנר מוסרת פתק לנאשם השקרן, המסית והמושחת, ומזהירה אותו שהמשבר הפנימי מסוכן לא פחות מהאויבים החיצוניים. pic.twitter.com/ktvBTnrXNb— Baruch Sharon (@BaruchSharon1) April 26, 2023
In an unusual scene, Michal Rovner, who won the prize for her work in plastic art, was seen handing Netanyahu a note on stage as she received her award.
Rovner later told Channel 12 news that she gave him “a letter from a concerned citizen to the prime minister,” since she was unable to give a speech.
In it, she said, she wrote to the premier: “You often express your concern for the country from the enemies around us. The rift created between us will endanger the country no less.”
She told the network: “I hope the message is clear… It is difficult to accept an award in a torn and divided country. This isn’t an easy period for any of us.”
Shashua, who was awarded the prize for his work on artificial intelligence and transport safety technology, touched on the societal divisions and the need for strong democratic institutions in his speech.
“These are difficult days in Israel, for everyone. We are facing a deep rift. In my field, they say ‘You don’t waste a good crisis.’ An entrepreneur does not envision problems. He sees challenges and opportunities. When there isn’t a way, he paves a new road. This is our urgent mission right now,” he said.
“We must join forces and solve the current crisis while strictly preserving the principle of separation of powers and respect for state institutions in their entirety — the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary – in order not to lose all we have achieved. If we don’t succeed in doing this, even miracles won’t help,” Shashua urged.
Mizrahi singer Yossi Levi, known as Daklon, received the Israel Prize for Hebrew Music. The committee responsible for choosing recipients said the musician “is admired by listeners from all walks of life in Israeli society,” and inspired other artists in the country. Popular singer Shlomo Artzi was originally chosen but turned down the prize, citing the intense societal divisions over the judicial overhaul.
Tel Aviv University Prof. Avital Gazit, who has pioneered efforts to preserve and restore Israel’s natural streams, won the prize for environmental and sustainability sciences.
Tel Aviv University Prof. Emanuel Peled received the prize for chemistry research and chemical engineering, for his groundbreaking research into battery degradation.
Prof. Zamira Mevarech, formerly the Education Ministry’s chief scientist, was awarded the prize for education research, for her research and subsequent mathematical teaching method she developed, “which is applied in many schools in Israel, and contributed to reducing the gaps between struggling students and those who don’t struggle in Israel’s educational field,” the committee said.
The prize for life sciences was granted to Prof. Michal Schwartz of the Weizmann Institute of Science, recognized for her discovery of the connection between the brain and the immune system, which has led to possibilities for harnessing the immune system to treat neurodegenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Related: For scientist Michal Schwartz, Israel Prize is rewarding milestone in ongoing journey
The prize for legal research went to Prof. Yoram Dinsteain, an international law researcher at Tel Aviv University, who was “one of the founding fathers of international law in Israel, in academia and beyond,” the committee said.
Prof. Dov Schwartz of Bar Ilan University won the prize for Jewish thought, philosophy, and Kabbalah, for his essays that describe “the philosophical circles that operated in Spain, Provence, and Byzantium in the late Middle Ages,” the committee said.
Prof. Yehoash Hirschberg, a lecturer and researcher at the Jerusalem Academy of Music, won the music and musicology prize, for his work to bring “the hearts of many listeners closer to artistic music from the Renaissance to the present day,” the committee wrote.
First awarded in 1953, the Israel Prize is presented annually in four categories — the humanities, science, culture and lifetime achievement — and is considered one of the highest honors in the country.
Israel this year marked 75 years since it was established in 1948.
Renee Ghert-Zand and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
