Yitzhak Navon

YITZHAK NAVON
Fifth President of the State of Israel
STATE MEDAL

Yitzhak Navon was born on April 9, 1921, in Jerusalem, to Miriam and Yosef Navon. His mother, a descendant of one of the outstanding scholars of Sephardic Jewry, Rabbi Haim Ben Attar, author of the book "Or HaHaim" ("Light of Life"), immigrated with her family to the Land of Israel from Morocco. His father was from one of the long-established families in Jerusalem with roots in the Jewish Community of Spain, who had immigrated to the Land of Israel from Turkey already in the 17th century.

In the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, Navon as head of the Arab division of the Haganah - forerunner of the Israel Defense Forces - was among the defenders of Jerusalem. After the war, he served as a diplomat in the Israeli delegation to Uruguay and Argentina and as State Secretary to Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett. In 1952, he was called upon to direct Prime Minister Ben Gurion's bureau and was his confidant for 11 years. Following Ben Gurion's resignation as Prime Minister, Navon joined the Ministry of Education and led the "Eradication of Ignorance" Campaign aimed at eradicating illiteracy within the adult Jewish population in Israel.

Navon was elected to the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) in 1965 and fulfilled a variety of roles, among them Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. In addition, he headed the World Zionist Movement, strengthening the connection with the Diaspora Jewry by calling upon the Jewish communities to make Aliya - to immigrate - to Israel.

On April 19, 1978, Yitzhak Navon was elected fifth President of Israel. True to his principles, he worked towards strengthening national unity and narrowing the social gaps within the people. He strove to enhance cooperative spirit and encouraged friendly relations between the different ethnic and religious groups in the country. He was president of the people and in his term of presidency, a love for the people, whatever their origin, was felt. He added prestige and moral strength to the presidency. Without hesitation, he demanded a state commission of inquiry into the massacre at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon. His visit to Egypt symbolized the golden age of relations with the great Arab nation.

After five years of presidency, Navon decided not to stand for a further term of office. In 1984, he was elected to the Knesset and served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Culture until 1990. As Minister of Education, he emphasized the importance of science and technology in education, as well as education towards democracy and coexistence between all citizens in Israel. He strove towards creating equality in status for all sectors of the population and augmented Arabic language studies. He initiated the "Culture Basket", which was to enrich the culture and art experiences of all pupils, as well as youth expeditions to Poland. He was among the founders of the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem.

Navon did his utmost to reinstate the Hebrew language as a language of culture. It was his opinion that alongside theoretical studies, the educational system should instill basic values in its pupils: truth, honesty, precision, brotherly respect for all people, volunteering, honoring of heritage and tradition and identifying with our Jewish history today.

In addition to his state roles, Navon was a writer and playwright. His literary works included short stories, "Sephardic Romancero", a musical play, and his "Sephardic Garden", featuring Ladino and its culture, which has been performed with unprecedented success by the national "Habimah" Theater, since 1998.

In 1991, Navon resigned from politics but not from public life. He continued to move around the country, addressing the different communities. He also invested time and energy in volunteering to advance different projects which in themselves were a reflection of his own interests: Ne'ot Kedumim, the national reserve of biblical nature, the Music and Dance Academy in Jerusalem and the National Authority for Ladino and its Culture. In addition, he served as chairman of the panel of Judges for the World Youth Bible Contest and presided over the Abraham Fund for the advancement of coexistence between Jews and Arabs. He founded the Friends in Israel Organization of Beit Shalom in Japan and served as president of the World Center for the Heritage of North African Jewry. He was honorary president of the Israeli Association of Friends of the Haganah and president of the Yad Ben-Gurion Association for advancing the development of the Negev.

Yitzhak Navon was a family lover and considered family a supreme value. In 1963, he married Ofira Erez, mother of Na'amah and Erez, a rehabilitation psychologist who helped children with special needs. Sensitive to people and with her courage to speak out about her illness, she was very popular with the public. Ofira died of cancer in 1993, aged only 57. In 1995, Navon met his second wife, Miri Shafir, who was to accompany him until his last day.

Yitzhak Navon was a Jerusalemite with all his soul, a man of unconditional respect for all mankind, a teacher and an educator, an intellectual and a prolific writer. He was a man of deed, who fully believed in our ability to establish peace with our neighbors. He died on November 6, 2015, in his home in Jerusalem, and was buried in the section of Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem, reserved for the great personalities of the State of Israel.

Erez Navon

Denise Haran Ben-Dor, Director of President Navon's Bureau, 1996-2015

Medal Design

Face: Ruben Nutels, photography Yaakov Saar, Israel Government Press Office

Reverse: Erez Navon, Yitzhak Navon Heritage Center, and Boaz Gabai. Adapted for the medal by Ruben Nutels.

Medal Description

Face: Portrait of President Yitzhak Navon, inscriptions in Hebrew and English – "Yitzhak Navon, Israel's Fifth President" and "Unconditional Respect for All Mankind"

Reverse: Inscriptions in Hebrew and English – "For decades we were engaged in building our state. Now we must concentrate on building our nation" (excerpt from Yitzhak Navon's presidential swearing-in speech on May 29, 1978), a jigsaw puzzle forming a Star of David held by six different hands, representing the varying sectors of the public – elderly and young, men and women, new immigrants and long-standing citizens of Israel - a symbolic expression of the realization of Yitzhak Navon's call to the people of Israel both in the Land and the Diaspora, to build the nation.

The dove of peace on the hand of the woman symbolizes the President's yearning for true peace between our neighbors and us. The design on the child's sleeve resembles Spanish Jewry culture style, the cradle of his youth to which he was attached with all his soul, so much so that it became a main feature in his literary works. A cufflink engraved with a lion symbolizes Jerusalem, where the President was born and remained until his last day.

Engraving: Tidhar Dagan

Minting: The Holy Land Mint