Israel - CHAIM HERZOG - STATE MEDAL, 1998 Third Medal in the "Four Israel Presidents" Series, issued in Israel's ...

Israel - CHAIM HERZOG - STATE MEDAL, 1998 Third Medal in the "Four Israel Presidents" Series, issued in Israel's 50th Anniversary Year - Silver 935, 26g, 37mm Chaim Herzog, born in 1918 in Ireland, was the son of Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, who was to become Chief Rabbi of Israel, and his wife Sarah. He immigrated to the Land of Israel in 1935, studied in a Yeshiva in Jerusalem and volunteered to serve in the Jewish paramilitary group “Haganah”. During World War II he served in the British army and after the war filled a number of executive positions in the Jewish Agency. He fought in Israel’s War of Independence and was fundamental in the establishment of the Israeli Intelligence Corps. Herzog subsequently became head of the IDF Military Intelligence Branch and left the army with the rank of Major General. After the Six Day War in 1967 he was appointed to serve as Military Governor of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. In 1975 Herzog was appointed Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations and is particularly remembered for his speech, during which he tore up the UN resolution “Zionism is Racism”. He was elected Israel’s sixth president in 1983 and was actively involved in a variety of issues during his two five-year terms. Herzog’s active life was filled with unwavering faith in Zionism and Jewish Heritage. Interesting to know: With the beginning of the distribution of the medal and its awarding to the president's family, there was a reluctance on the part of the family regarding the design of Herzog's character. Herzog's figure did not match the family's expectations and without choice the distribution of the medal was stopped, the stock was destroyed and the figure was redesigned. The new figure was designed as a mature figure with rounded contours and a rounded chin. With the family's approval for the new design, the medal was issued again with the specifications and amount as planned and distributed to the public. The design change was not announced to the general public and after a long time it was discovered. Eventually, the quantity of the issue from the first version, which was actually sold to the public, was published, and indeed it is a small quantity - only 80 units, a quantity which made the item valuable and difficult to obtain. Obverse: The image of Chaim Herzog and the State Emblem to the right; the inscription “CHAIM HERZOG” in Hebrew and English along the upper border and the words ‘ISRAEL’S SIXTH PRESIDENT 1983-1993” in Hebrew and English along the lower border. Reverse: The scroll of the Declaration of Independence and the Presidential Flag; the inscription “Israel” 50” and the words “Israel’s 50th Anniversary” in Hebrew along the lower border. Edge: State emblem with t