President awards soldiers with Medal of Excellence
The traditional awarding of the Medal of Excellence to soldiers and officers of the IDF takes place at President Reuven Rivlin's residence in Jerusalem.
Among the 120 Medal of Excellence recipients were 77 men and 43 women, 17 lone soldiers, 9 volunteers, 12 kibbutz residents, 19 officers and 66 combat soldiers.
Attending the ceremony were Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot , and of course the hosts, President Reuven Rivlin and his wife Nechama.
Rivlin opened the ceremony and said he was optimistic about the future of the country. He also praised former President Shimon Peres in attendance calling him "one of the world's youngest people." He was followed by singer Amir Dadon singer who performed with the military band.
Netanyahu said that he missed the days when military parades were held on Independence Day. "It is time to restore the military parade to the streets and we will do so," said Netanyahu.
For the musical event this year, the president decided to invite older artists whose songs are played less than in the past. Miri Aloni and Dafna Armoni, performed alongside younger artists like Amir Dadon and the band Hatikva 6.
