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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Israel
Index
Awards and decorations carried considerable prestige in the IDF
simply because so few were given. Scarcely 1,000 had been awarded
from the War of Independence through the Lebanon invasion of 1982.
Under a revised system of military decorations instituted in 1973,
all soldiers decorated since 1948 received one of three medals that
would be used subsequently to honor those who acquitted themselves
in an outstanding manner while serving in the IDF. Each medal was
accompanied by a ribbon worn above the left breast pocket. The
least prestigious, Etour HaMofet, awarded for exemplary conduct,
was accompanied by a blue ribbon. Etour HaOz, awarded for bravery,
was accompanied by a red ribbon. The highest medal, Etour HaGevora,
awarded for heroism, had been presented to fewer than thirty IDF
soldiers as of 1988. Its color was yellow in commemoration of those
Jews who had committed acts of heroism while forced to wear the
yellow Star of David during the Nazi era and during the Middle
Ages.
Campaign ribbons were awarded for service in the War of
Independence (1948-49), the 1956 Sinai Campaign, the wars of 1967
and 1973, and the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Badges could be worn by
those who served in the Palmach and in the Jewish Brigade before
the formation of the IDF. In addition, soldiers were awarded a
special emblem representing six months of service in a front-line
combat unit. Each independence day, the president of Israel awarded
certificates to 100 outstanding soldiers, both conscripts and
careerists, for exceptional soldierly attributes.
Data as of December 1988
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