April 20, 1953
The Israel Prize, which has become the most prestigious and important award conferred in the State of Israel, is first awarded to nine outstanding Israelis, two posthumously, on Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day. The initial winners are poet Yaakov Cohen, author Haim Hazaz, historians Gedalya Alon and Mark Dvorjetzki, mathematicians Yaakov Levitzky and Shimshon Amitzur, physician Lipman Halperin, educator Dina Feitelson-Shore, and artist Ze’ev Ben Zvi. Minister of Education Ben-Zion Dinor initiates the prizes.
The first winners each receive 1,000 Israeli lira. Today the prize money is 75,000 shekels.
The education minister each year appoints committees based on areas of specialty to submit recommendations for the prize. The categories are Jewish studies, humanities, social studies, life sciences, medicine, pure sciences, culture, fine arts and lifetime achievement.
The winners show outstanding abilities or achieve breakthroughs in their fields.
Each year the awards ceremony takes place at the end of Yom HaAtzmaut festivities in Jerusalem. The president, prime minister, speaker of the Knesset, president of the Supreme Court, mayor of Jerusalem and minister of education all attend.
Since 1953, approximately 700 prizes have been awarded to diverse groups of citizens, young and old, religious and secular, women and men, and Israeli-born and immigrants. Notable recipients include author S.Y. Agnon, scholar Nechama Leibowitz, and Arab actors and authors Makram Khoury, Amin Tarif and Emile Habibi.
In addition to individual winners, approximately 25 organizations have been awarded the Israel Prize. They include Youth Aliyah, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Habima Theatre, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Yad Sarah, Yad Vashem, Israel Television in Arabic and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
