Proposal of the IDF committee of symbols - 1950

 
Starting in 1948 this committee formulated several proposals for a system of decorations for the Israeli army.

From the documents found in the archive of the Ministry of Defense, it may be concluded that the following proposal of 1950 probably made it to the stage of proposal of law submitted to the Knesset (and afterwards withdrawn).

The system has the following decorations:

• 3 levels of decorations for heroism or gallantry in battle, called in Hebrew: Ot, Magen and Cohav, which I translated by Medal, Shield and Star. The medals are respectively made of gold, silver and bronze.

• 2 levels of decorations for exemplary service: Magen and Cohav, translated by Shield and Star, made of silver and bronze.

• A commendation for exemplary service

• Symbol for the Independence of Israel (the future campaign ribbon of the War of Independence)

The order of priority of the decorations was to be as follows:

1. Medal of Heroism

2. Shield of Heroism

3. Shield of Exemplary Service

4. Star of Heroism

5. Star of Exemplary Service

6. Commendation for Exemplary Service

7. Symbol for the Independence of Israel

The document gives some directions on the layout of the decorations:

1. The medals all have the same form and size and have the Star of David as theme.

2. The medals for acts of heroism have on the front, at the right side written: From the people to her heroes. The medals for acts of exemplary service bear the text: From the people to her fighters.

3. The medals should hang on a small metal device, made of the same metal as the medal. For the decorations for heroism, there are different devices for the ground forces (olive branch), navy (rope) and air force (wing). The other decorations all have an olive branch type device.

4. Likewise the ribbons for the Shield of Heroism and Star of Heroism differ for acts of heroism done on the ground, sea or air.

5. If someone is awarded twice the same decoration, a rosette will be mounted on the decoration.

6. The Commendation for Exemplary Service is made of a bronze olive branch. If rewarded for an act during the War of Independence, the commendation should be mounted on this campaign ribbon, otherwise on a neutral army green background.

Back