Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana awarded Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a newly created “Medal of the Knesset” on Wednesday, calling it the highest honor the parliament can bestow and citing Modi’s role in strengthening strategic ties between Israel and India.
The medal was presented at the conclusion of Modi’s historic address to the Knesset, the first by an Indian prime minister. Modi was also the first Indian premier to visit Israel, in 2017.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Knesset
(Video: Knesset Channel)
In a statement issued after the speech, the Knesset said the decoration is a new honorary award from the parliament and its speaker, intended to recognize individuals and organizations for significant contributions to the State of Israel and the Jewish people and for advancing the Knesset’s core values.
According to the statement, a committee selected Modi as the first recipient, citing his role in significantly strengthening ties between India and Israel and deepening strategic cooperation. The Knesset did not specify the composition of the committee or the selection process.
Opposition lawmakers criticized the move, arguing that the award has no basis in the Knesset’s formal rules and was not approved by the parliament’s presidium or any authorized committee.
“There is no such decoration in the regulations, and there is no committee or official approval,” opposition members said, accusing Ohana of inventing a new honor on his own initiative.
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Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana awards Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a newly created 'Medal of the Knesset'
(Photo: Knesset)
The ceremony was also overshadowed by Ohana’s decision not to invite Supreme Court Chief Justice Yitzhak Amit to the special session, a move that prompted an opposition boycott of Ohana’s speech. Lawmakers from opposition parties coordinated their absence, and opposition leader Yair Lapid informed the Indian Embassy of the decision, according to Israeli officials.
Some members of the opposition returned to the chamber for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address. Former Likud lawmakers were invited by Ohana to attend, filling seats left vacant by the boycott.
In his remarks, Ohana called the gesture a “historic moment for the Knesset and for the entire State of Israel.”
“Conferring the decoration on Prime Minister Modi expresses our deep appreciation for his work to create a strategic alliance between Israel and India,” Ohana said. He described the decoration as “the highest honor the Knesset can grant.”
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Knesset
(Photo: ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)
Ohana said Modi was recognized for advancing cooperation in defense, technology, economics, agriculture and innovation, and for strengthening Israel’s standing as a key partner for India in the Middle East.
The medal, made of gold-plated bronze, features Israel’s state emblem, the Knesset building and the flags in the Knesset plaza on one side, and the Knesset plenum on the other. It bears the biblical verse, “Hast crowned him with glory and honor” (Psalms 8:6), alongside olive branches. The medal's circumference features an embossing of the Western Wall stones, and the medal is suspended from blue and silver ribbons with a Star of David pendant, according to the Knesset.
Modi has voiced strong support for Israel following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, declaring that India “stands with Israel in full solidarity at this moment and beyond.” In his address, he referred to Israel as an “innovation powerhouse” and pledged to strengthen trade ties between the two countries, concluding his speech with the Hebrew phrase, “Am Yisrael Chai” — the people of Israel live.