Hero of Israel

Hero of Israel (Hebrew: גיבור ישראל) is an Israeli military decoration that was awarded during the War of Independence.

The army command installed a committee to decide on a system of decorations, and a contest was written out for the public to design medals.

However, after more than a year, no decisions had been taken and in the summer of 1949 it was decided that, as a “temporary solution", 12 decorations would be awarded to a selection of soldiers who were representative for the different IDF units and who had distinguished themselves by the highest level of heroism.

After this ceremony, the committee continued to work on a system of decorations, but it was never brought to a solution and so the Hero of Israel ribbon was never awarded again.

The decoration is designed in the form of a red ribbon bar, charged with a clasp of the Israeli coat of arms made of gold.