The Movement for Quality Government in Israel released its 2025 list of recipients of its “Knights of Quality Government” honors on Tuesday, selected by a public committee headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Dalia Dorner. The awards recognize people and organizations the movement says advanced the public good, integrity, democracy and proper governance over the past year.
Among the winners are retired Labor Court president Verda Wירט-Livneh in the judiciary category, Opposition Whip and Yesh Atid faction chair Merav Ben Ari in the legislature category, and former Prime Minister’s Office legal adviser Shlomit Barnea Farago in the executive category. Other honorees include Yossi Mizrahi of Channel 12 in media, Michal Chernovitzky in education and culture, Prof. Mohammed Wattad and Prof. Itay Ater in academia, Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon in security, Dr. Hussein Tarbiah in local government, and Matan Hodorov and the volunteer group “Standing Against Political Violence” for public activism.
The lifetime achievement prize went to Rivka Michaeli for decades of public and cultural work. The committee said she served not only as a leading broadcaster and cultural figure, but also as “an independent, critical and courageous voice” in Israeli public debate, consistently defending freedom of expression and democratic, pluralistic values.
Dorner and the committee said this year’s ceremony will come after a period of “stormy winds” that threatened Israeli democracy and the rule of law. They said the honorees represent the direction they believe Israeli society should take, toward transparency, clean government, proper administration, healing and unity. Dorner chaired the committee, which also included Prof. Yaniv Roznai, retired Maj. Gen. Orna Barbivai, retired Maj. Gen. Ami Ayalon, former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, Sarah Sela, Martin Weill, former state prosecutor Moshe Lador and attorney Eliad Shraga. Michael Pratham served as secretary.
