President Honors Outstanding National Service Volunteers at Ceremony

A moving ceremony at the President’s Residence honored outstanding volunteers in Israel’s national civil service. President Isaac Herzog, who hosted the event, called the service a “revolution” and said it has brought many young people into central roles in public life, where they now help drive social and national missions.

Herzog said the program has changed the lives of many youth, including those who were once outside the main circles of activity, and that they are now contributing across many fields while breaking through “glass ceilings.” Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strok said she was deeply impressed by the honorees’ stories, calling each one “an amazing story” and stressing their sense of purpose, commitment, and giving.

National Service director general Reuven Pinsky said the past two years had been especially difficult, but volunteers still chose every morning to keep serving the country. “The State of Israel stops to salute them and say thank you,” he said, adding that the entire week is dedicated to recognizing 20,000 volunteers from all parts of Israeli society. Eran Valk, CEO of Beit Ami, highlighted the range of assignments, from communities near the Gaza border to assisting Jewish communities in the Diaspora and immigrant absorption, and called the female volunteers “an inspiration” to everyone in the field.

The ceremony also highlighted individual honorees, including Shira Steinberg, recognized for volunteering with bereaved families through her personal connection to loss, and Haim Meir Hartman, who serves elderly people, a need that grew during the war. Strok closed by presenting a new National Civil Service pin that will now be given to every volunteer, symbolizing the service of tens of thousands who give “their heart, their soul, their time, all their abilities” for Israel.