Since 1967, Yakirei Yerushalayim awards have been granting special recognition to residents – teachers, builders, artists and more – for their contributions to benefit Jerusalemites of all ages. The ceremony takes place at the peak of the Yom Yerushalayim events that commemorate the reunification of Jerusalem following the Six Day War in June 1967.
Candidates must be city residents and at least 70 years old, and when the time comes, have the right to be buried in the designated plot in Har Hamenuhot, the city’s principal graveyard.
This year’s 14 distinguished and honored new Yakirim, chosen by a special commission headed by Justice David Chechin, are:
• Meir Ben-Hamou: An industrialist who made aliya with his family in 1962 from Morocco, he is active in several welfare programs – particularly for at-risk youth and special-needs children.
• Eliyahu Mizrahi: Born in 1936 in the Mahaneh Yehuda neighborhood, he served in the paratroopers and established a construction company that built thousands of housing units in several of the city’s new neighborhoods. In 1955 he was elected president of the Jerusalem construction association. His projects included the restoration of the Montefiore Windmill.
• Ezra Yachin: Born in Jaffa in 1928, he distributed leaflets for the Lehi underground and took part in one of the attempts to break into the Old City during the War of Independence. He still lectures for the IDF on this period.
• Rabbanit Malka Bina: Born in Baltimore, Bina earned her M.A. in Bible and History from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University. She was part of the initial group of foreign students at the Michlala College for Women in Jerusalem. After making aliyah in 1971 she began teaching at the Evelina de Rothschild High School and stood out as one of the first educators in Israel to teach women Talmud and Halacha and imbue them with a love of learning Torah. In 1988, Bina established Matan: The Sadie Rennert Women’s Institute for Torah Studies in Jerusalem. Since then, Matan has expanded nationally with branches in Ra’anana, Beit Shemesh, Hashmonaim, Zichron Ya’acov, Netanya, Modi’in, Beersheba and Rehovot.
• Rabbanit Dvorah Shteinberg: Born in 1951, she made aliyah in 1970. As a rabbanit in Ramat Sharett and Ramat Dania, she has been very involved in neighborhood activities and residential needs, including teaching benevolent activities in religious, haredi and public schools, and extensive work with charity organizations.
• Nechama Prosor: Born in Kfar Hess in 1932, she served as a nurse in the IDF. The wife of an Israeli ambassador, she helped establish strong ties with the Jewish communities wherever her husband served. As a nurse involved in public health services at the municipality, she created a specialized program to monitor the health and needs of senior residents.
• Rabbi Nathan Greenberg: A seventh-generation Jerusalemite born in 1932, he fought in the Six Day and Yom Kippur Wars, and for years was director of an institute publishing religious books. He served as deputy CEO for Bituah Leumi (the National Insurance Institute) and head of the fund for disabled persons.
• Shamai Kenan: Born in Jerusalem in 1944, he graduated from the Hebrew University and worked for many years at the State Comptroller’s Office. In 1986 he moved to the public sector, promoted many projects aimed to improve the welfare and health of city residents, and the past few years has been the chairman of Herzog Hospital.
• Rabbi Simha Raz: An eighth-generation Jerusalemite born in 1931, he studied at Merkaz HaRav. After his release from the IDF where he served as an officer in the Golani unit, he became a prominent lecturer on Jewish thought and history in public schools and published several books on this.
• Gila Foss: Born in 1938 in Amsterdam, she earned first and second degrees in biology, made aliyah in 1970 and worked in several benevolent organizations, including city well-baby clinics. In 1996 she and her husband established a haredi training center, the first of its kind, currently serving more than 3,000 students.
• Galab Abu Nagmah: Born in 1948, he is currently the muktar (village chief) of Abu Tor. He has worked extensively for the benefit of his neighbors there, and serves today as chairman of the local council there and of Silwan and Ras el-Amud as well. His projects include a local Jewish-Arab coffee house, as well as sports activities and more to promote coexistence.
• Prof. Yonatan Halevy: Born in Jerusalem in 1948, he served as a doctor in the IDF. He has been CEO of Shaare Zedek Medical Center since 1988 and serves as a member of many commissions, including for Shoah survivors.
• Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef: Born in Jerusalem in 1951, he served as CEO of Hadassah Medical Center and later as CEO of Bituach Leumi. He has been CEO of the Interior Ministry’s Population and Immigration Authority since 2007.
• Avraham Levy: Born in 1942 in the Nahlaot neighborhood, the lifelong supporter of the city’s Beitar soccer club fought in the Golani unit. Graduating from the Hebrew University’s faculty of humanities, since the 1960s he has served as general secretary for the Beitar club.