The King Solomon award was presented to former President Nicos Anastasiades by the European Jewish Association on Monday evening, as a gesture of recognition for “his exceptional leadership and contribution” to the Jewish community in Cyprus and efforts to strengthen relations with Israel.

The award was presented at a dinner in the framework of EJA’s extraordinary session in Larnaca, also attended by former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

“I humbly accept this honour as a sincere recognition and appreciation of the tireless efforts I made during my ten-year tenure at the presidency of the Republic of Cyprus to further promote the relationship between our two countries, which we can now proudly call a strategy,” Anastasiades said.

He added that Cyprus and Israel have launched joint projects bilaterally, trilaterally with the inclusion of Greece and “three-plus-one with the United States”.

“We determined the potential to include other neighbouring countries in our cooperation, countries that share our common vision that peace, stability and security are the most valuable strategic asset,” he added.

Anastasiades said he was pleased to see that current President Nikos Christodoulides was not deviating from the principles that “marked and guided our policy to promote our partnership”.

He expressed concern over “the continuing terrorist attacks and the instability in the Middle East” and said he hoped prudence would prevail, allowing Israel and the Palestinian Authority to enter talks that would lead to a two-state solution, “fully respecting the territorial integrity and security of Israel”.
Addressing Rivlin, he said he considered him a true friend.

In his speech, Rivlin said Anastasiades was “a great man” and pointed out that Cyprus was the only country that offered shelter to refugees fleeing the Holocaust at the end of World War II.

Rivlin said today the battle was against antisemitism, antizionism, racism and hatred.

“Those we are facing today are not freedom fighters but terrorists,” he added.

EJA chairman rabbi Menachem Margolin said the Jews in Cyprus were certain that Cyprus would continue to be their beacon of light and serve as an example of the relationship European countries should have with Israel.

Chairman of the Jewish Community of Cyprus Yaron Zellof said the community was small but strong and had evolved into a dynamic group that contributed to life of the island.