On December 11th, 2022, Dr. Chaim Peri will be awarded the highest presidential decoration given in Israel, the Presidential Medal of Honor.
The decoration is being offered to Chaim in recognition of his life's work as an educator, based on the decision of a committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Prof. Yoram Danziger.
In his letter, President Isaac Herzog stated: "You taught us that there is nothing like education to extract and unlock the human potential inherent in every young man or woman. As an original, courageous and convention-breaking teacher, you chose to confront the most difficult educational challenges, proving time and time again that belief in man and ‘his spirit, fierce and strong' yields life-changing results."
The 80-year-old Dr. Peri is an educator, thinker and social activist, who headed Yemin Orde Youth Village for almost three decades. Peri established the groundbreaking Yemin Orde Mechina, or young leadership program, the first of its kind in Israel for periphery youth; seeded a community settlement in the Galilee with immigrant youth; developed the Village Way educational methodology, which is being disseminated across Israel as part of the Village Way Educational Initiatives; and played an important role in establishing the educational groundwork of Agahozo Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda.
Over the years, from the beginning of his career as an educator in the southern periphery town of Sderot in the 1960’s and to this day, Chaim Peri has mobilized himself entirely to promote immigrant children in general, and generations of young people from the Jewish-Ethiopian community in particular.
The decoration, awarded to individuals who have made an extraordinary contribution to the State of Israel or to humanity through their talents, their service, or in any other way, will also be offered this year to the President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, to the poet Rachel Shapira, to Brigadier General Pinhas Buchris, to Arab educational entrepreneur Dr. Dalia Fadila, and to the American Jewish leader Mr. Michael Siegal.
Please join us in congratulating Chaim on this significant and well-deserved honor.