George W. Bush honored with award for his support of Israel and the Jewish people

Former US President George W. Bush was honored last week with the "Isaiah Award" (Pras Yeshayahu) by the World Board of Trustees of Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal. The award was presented to the 43rd US President for his commitment to Israel and the Jewish people during a ceremony held at the exclusive ILR Summit in Toronto. Past recipients of this prestigious award include former US President Bill Clinton and the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

To date, the Isaiah Award, the highest honor bestowed by Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal, has been awarded only five times, solely to leaders whose actions have demonstrated true devotion to Israel and fundamental Jewish values—healing the world (tikkun olam) and pursuing justice through charity (tzedakah).

The award was presented to George W. Bush by past Isaiah Award laureates: Michael Mirilashvili, Vice President of the World Jewish Congress and President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, and Alexander Mashkevitch, Honorary President of Keren Hayesod in the CIS countries. Both laureates are among the most prominent philanthropists supporting Keren Hayesod.  Upon presenting the award, Mirilashvili gave the former President a Tanakh in English and blessed him in Hebrew with the Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim): "May the Lord bless you and keep you; May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace."

George W. Bush thanked the organizers for the honor and shared his insights with the audience regarding the situation in the Middle East and the challenges facing the United States and Israel. The session with the former President was moderated by Canadian Senator Linda Frum, whose brother, David Frum, a former speechwriter for Bush, originally coined the term "Axis of Evil." Alongside Bush, the ILR Summit was attended by former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Danny Danon, and current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Following the event, President Bush also participated in a ceremony presenting the "Defender of Jerusalem" (Magen Yerushalayim) award to Michael Mirilashvili and Alexander Mashkevitch. This award, presented for the first time, was bestowed upon Michael Mirilashvili and Alexander Mashkevitch in recognition of their contributions to strengthening the status of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish people on the international stage.