Netanyahu Nominates Trump to Become the First Non-Israeli to Win the Nation's Highest Award

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formally nominated President Donald J. Trump for the Israel Prize, the nation’s most prestigious cultural honor, citing his unparalleled leadership in securing peace and defending the Jewish state.

The announcement came early Monday during a special Knesset session, just hours after Hamas released the final remaining living hostages from Gaza — a development widely seen as the culmination of President Trump’s renewed Middle East peace initiative.

“I’ve submitted your nomination to be the first non-Israeli recipient of the Israel Prize, Israel’s highest award,” Netanyahu declared, turning toward the U.S. president, who attended the event.

“As to that other prize, it’s just a question of time: You’ll get it,” Netanyahu added, alluding to the Nobel Peace Prize. “I want you to get the Israel Prize, our highest award.”

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana echoed that praise, hailing Trump as “a colossus who will be enshrined in the pantheon of history” and “one for whom we must look back, two and a half millennia into the mists of time to find a parallel, in Cyrus the Great.”

“Mr. President, you stand before the people of Israel not as another American president, but as a giant of Jewish history,” Ohana said, according to The Times of Israel. He also vowed to rally global leaders to support Trump’s nomination for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize, saying the president deserves it “more than any other individual.”

Netanyahu described Trump as the “greatest friend that the state of Israel has ever had in the White House,” adding pointedly, “No American president has ever done more for Israel, and as I said in Washington, it ain’t even close. It’s really not a match.”

President Trump arrived in Israel earlier in the day aboard Air Force One, before traveling on to Egypt to continue celebrating the U.S.-brokered Israel–Hamas ceasefire and peace accord — a deal that secured the release of all surviving hostages.

According to CNN, “The bodies of 28 deceased hostages remain in Gaza but are meant to be returned by Hamas under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire deal.” In turn, Israel began releasing 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 detainees as part of the agreement.

In his remarks before the Knesset, President Trump called the moment a historic turning point for the Middle East:
“Israel, with our help, has won all that they can by force of arms,” he said. “You’ve won. I mean, you’ve won.”

He continued, “Now it’s time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East. It’s about time you were able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.”

For many Israelis, the nomination underscores how profoundly Trump reshaped the region — from the Abraham Accords in his first term to the sweeping peace deal now credited with ending the long, bloody Gaza conflict.