Gov’t to Award President Trump First ‘Defender of Yerushalayim’ Award

YERUSHALAYIM
President Donald Trump speaks on a video screen during the official opening ceremony of the U.S. Embassy in Yerushalayim, Monday. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

President Donald Trump will receive the first “Defender of Yerushalayim” award, a new prize that will be presented annually by the Ministry for Yerushalayim and Jewish Heritage. The current head of that ministry, Ze’ev Elkin, will present that award to Trump in the next few months.

The prize was established last year, and has yet to be awarded. According to the Ministry, the purpose of the award is to recognize international figures who have helped promote the unification of Yerushalayim. Trump was one of dozens of candidates that a committee that has been meeting over the past year considered for the prize, among them politicians, activists, and even a Nobel Prize winner.

But with the establishment of the American Embassy in Yerushalayim, it’s clear that no one deserves the prize more than Trump, said Elkin. “At the end of the day, it was the timing and diplomatic breakthrough of this move that prompted the committee to choose President Trump as the recipient of the first Defender of Yerushalayim award. It is, after all, because of him that we marked Yom Yerushalayim, which was celebrated Sunday, and the next day, the opening of the embassy.

“President Trump has contributed greatly to the recognition of Yerushalayim as a united city and the capital of Israel,” said Elkin. “He not only fulfilled his promise, but did so at incredible speed. There is no doubt that the establishment of the embassy will have an important effect on the international status of Yerushalayim.”

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