Ynet journalist Ron Ben-Yishai wins Israel Prize
A Six-Day War veteran, an illustrious military correspondent who covered many conflicts that shaped Israel’s history, renowned Ynet commentator Ron Ben-Yishai to be awarded state's most prestigious cultural honor.
Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth commentator and journalist Ron Ben-Yishai will be awarded the 2018 Israel Prize laureate in the field of culture, arts, communication and sports, it was announced by Education Minister Naftali Bennett Thursday.
Ben-Yishai will receive the award on Independence Day.
The award's selection committee, which is picked each year by the minister of education, said that Ben-Yishai was selected "for his thorough, reliable and courageous coverage of security, military and international affairs."
His reports, the committee stated, "faithfully reflected the events of battles, with an emphasis on their moral aspect. During the First Lebanon War he was one of the first to report to the top echelons of the state about the massacres carried out by the Christian Phalange (a Lebanese right-wing party—ed) in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps (in Beirut)."
The selection committee further noted that "after the Yom Kippur War, he was awarded the Chief of Staff's Citation for treating the wounded under enemy fire," and that this exemplified his worthiness of the esteemed award.
Bennet congratulated Ben-Yishai, noting his rich history in the service of Israel as a decorated IDF paratrooper, and later as a war correspondent.
"An excellent war correspondent who loves his people and his country," Bennett said, furnishing praise on the illustrious writer.
President Reuven Rivlin congratulated Ben-Yishai, tweeting, "Ron is no stranger to the line of fire, as he participated in all of Israel's wars—first as a combat soldier, and later as a glorified war correspondent who was injured more than once during his work."
IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot also praised the Ben-Yishai, saying he “manifests a unique combination between a fighter and a journalist—always on the battlefield, alongside the combat forces, reporting firsthand, professionally and in-depth.”
Ben-Yishai thanked the committee and his congratulators for the honor, noting that "to say I'm touched does not do justice to how I feel."
"I am very happy, not only because I won, but because the profession of a military reporter, or a war correspondent, gets recognition. There were quite a few military correspondents who gave their lives not for the sanctity of the profession, but for their work as journalists, and I was among the few who gained recognition. I'm awfully proud of that," he said, adding he accepts the award not merely as his own name, but "in the name of the good and devoted people who are engaged in this profession."
He concluded by expressing his appreciation for the symbolic attachment to receiving the presigious award on Israel's 70th anniversary, noting, "My father was killed exactly 70 years ago. My friends were killed. I was wounded four times. My life is intertwined in the 70 years of the state."
