Yossi Harel (Hebrew: יוסי הראל; January 4, 1918 – April 26, 2008) was the commander of the Exodus 1947 operation and a leading member of the Israeli intelligence community.

He attended Tachkemoni School and as a teenager, worked in a quarry and laid telegraph cables for the post office.

Between 1945 and 1948, he played a leading role in the clandestine immigration enterprise in Palestine, commanding four Aliyah Bet ships: Knesset Israel, the Exodus 1947, Atzma'ut and Kibbutz Galuyot.

[1] Harel is the subject of a biography in Hebrew by Yoram Kaniuk, Exodus: The Odyssey of a Commander (1999), which has been translated into many languages.

The prize is given annually to individuals who promote peace and humanitarianism at La Spezia in Italy, where the ship Exodus 1947 was renovated.