Aliza Olmert ( he, עליזה אולמרט; née Richter; born 1946) is an Israeli artist, photographer, author and social worker. She is married to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Biography

Aliza Olmert was born in a

displaced persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peop ...

Eschwege Eschwege (), the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany. In 1971, the town hosted the eleventh '' Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Location The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river W ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Her parents were

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

from

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. She immigrated to Israel with her family in 1949, grew up in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and man ...

, and served as an instructor in the Israel Defense Forces. She met her husband, Ehud Olmert, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she was studying social work. The Olmerts live in Jerusalem's

Katamon , settlement_type = Neighborhood of Jerusalem , image_skyline = בית רה"מ לוי אשכול ברחוב בוסתנאי 3 בשכנות קטמון בירושלים.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = House ...

neighborhood. They have five children (including Dana and Shaul Olmert), one of them adopted.

Art career

In 1985–1988, at the age of 40, Olmert studied environmental design at the

Bezalel Academy of Art and Design Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design ( he, בצלאל, אקדמיה לאמנות ועיצוב) is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldes ...

. In Israel, Olmert has exhibited at the Museum on the Seam in Jerusalem, the Museum of Israeli Art in Ramat Gan, the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv and the Tel Aviv Artists' House. Her work has also been exhibited in Japan, Uruguay, Italy, Britain, Poland, Argentina and New York. In March 2008, she was awarded the Steiger Prize in Germany.

Politics

Olmert espouses left-wing politics, and has been accused of influencing her husband's political views. Olmert dislikes the political limelight, and says that their most difficult period as a couple was 1993–2003, when Ehud was mayor of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. She is said to support Meretz.

Social welfare

Olmert is active in social programs promoting child welfare. She is the chairman of Or Shalom and Tlalim, which aid children at risk and families with homebound sick children. Olmert is also a member of the Action Committee for Children of Foreign Workers and President of the Board of Unitaf, a community-based organization that creates early-childhood programs for refugee and stateless children living in Israel.

Published works

* ''Wall Language'' (co-authored with Gayil Hareven) * ''Fantasy for Piano'' (a play performed by the Cameri Theater)

References

External links

*
Aliza Olmert Bio on pmo.gov.il

Aliza Olmert – Dead End – Exhibition

Aliza Olmert – Israel – Exhibition
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olmert, Aliza 1946 births Living people 20th-century Israeli women artists 21st-century Israeli women artists Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design alumni Polish emigrants to Israel Israeli Jews Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli social workers Israeli women writers Jewish artists Jewish women writers People from Eschwege Jews in Mandatory Palestine Spouses of prime ministers of Israel Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare alumni Aliza Jewish women artists