American-Israeli businessman and philanthropist Haim Saban has formally recommended that President Isaac Herzog award the Presidential Medal of Honor to Dr. Mathias Döpfner, chairman and CEO of German media group Axel Springer SE, for his “exceptional dedication to combating antisemitism and unwavering support for Israel,” according to a letter obtained by The Jerusalem Post.
In a letter sent Sunday to Herzog and the advisory committee headed by former Supreme Court justice Yoram Danziger, Saban called Döpfner “the most influential non-Jewish ally of the Jewish people today.” He said Döpfner’s “fervent commitment to truth, democracy, and the security of the Jewish people” should be publicly recognized by the State of Israel.
Since the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, Axel Springer has projected the faces of more than 200 Israeli hostages onto its Berlin headquarters. The display, part of a 200-square-meter video installation supported by Israeli artists, was repeated several times—most recently in February 2025.
The company has also flown the Israeli flag alongside the German, European Union, and Berlin flags at its headquarters since May 2021, in what it calls a public stand against antisemitism.
Holocaust remembrance and journalistic exchange
Axel Springer has embedded Holocaust remembrance into its institutional identity. Ninety-five Stolpersteine (memorial stones) were installed outside its headquarters to honor Jewish residents who lived on the site before the Holocaust. In 2009, it transferred original blueprints of the Auschwitz concentration camp to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem after publishing them in BILD, its flagship tabloid.
Since 2010, all Axel Springer journalist trainees have traveled to Israel as part of their training. The company also maintains a permanent correspondent bureau in Tel Aviv, ensuring in-depth coverage of Israel, and operates the Ernst Cramer Fellowship, which facilitates journalist exchanges between Germany and Israel.
Döpfner has also hosted numerous Israeli delegations, including diplomats, military officers, and policy professionals, at the company's headquarters in Berlin.
Direct support to Israelis after October 7
In the months following the Hamas attacks, the Axel Springer Foundation, under Döpfner’s leadership, funded housing for evacuated families in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem. It also provided full-time childcare for hospital workers and military families, emergency scholarships for students called into reserve service, and psychosocial support for students affected by the war.
Axel Springer SE is one of Europe’s largest media companies, owning BILD, WELT, Politico, and Business Insider. Founded in postwar Germany by Axel Springer, the company has long held an explicit commitment to support Israel and the Jewish people. Springer himself visited Israel twice in 1966 and stated, “Israel is not just any state,” asserting that the Jewish state is central to German moral responsibility after the Holocaust.
That mission continues under Döpfner, who has led the group since 2002. Axel Springer’s core values include upholding freedom, democracy, and Israel’s right to exist.
Döpfner has received several honors for his efforts, including the B’nai B’rith Award of Merit in 2014 and the Leo Baeck Medal in 2019, presented by the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
The Presidential Medal of Honor is the State of Israel’s highest civilian award. It was established in 2012 and revived by Herzog in 2021. The medal is awarded to individuals—Israeli citizens or foreigners—who have made outstanding contributions to the State of Israel or to humanity at large.
Past recipients include US President Joe Biden, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
If accepted, Döpfner would be among a small group of non-Jewish figures to receive the honor for actively supporting Israel and opposing antisemitism in public discourse and international media.