Miriam Eshkol ( he, מרים אשכול; ''née'' Zelikowitz; 12 June 1929 – 26 November 2016) was the wife of

Israeli Prime Minister The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...

Levi Eshkol Levi Eshkol ( he, לֵוִי אֶשְׁכּוֹל ;‎ 25 October 1895 – 26 February 1969), born Levi Yitzhak Shkolnik ( he, לוי יצחק שקולניק, links=no), was an Israeli statesman who served as the third Prime Minister of Israe ...

. In her years as the Prime Minister's wife (1964–1969) she was closely followed by the public and press, leading numerous public organization in promotion of public causes. Following Levi Eshkol's passing she founded and chaired

Yad Levi Eshkol Yad Levi Eshkol () is the official non-governmental organization commemorating Israeli prime minister Levi Eshkol. The organization was founded in accordance with a government resolution made in 1970. Yad Levi Eshkol is carrying public activities ...

and served as its chairwoman from 1970 to 2008.

Biography

Miriam Zelikowitz was born in

Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. She

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

with her parents to the

British mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

in 1930. She 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 many ...

and later

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. In 1947 she joined the

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmach ...

and accompanied brigades en route to besieged

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

. She continued her service in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

and was discharged at the rank of Sergeant. She attended the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, graduating with a BA in English literature and general history and MA in history with a focus on

Medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. She worked as a research assistant. In 1956 she began working at the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

library. While studying in Jerusalem, she rented a room in the yard of the official residence of Israeli Finance Minister Levi Eshkol and his wife Elisheva Kaplan. In March 1964, she married Prime Minister Levi Eshkol at a ceremony conducted by the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. The news of their marriage was publicly disclosed in the following days.

Spouse of the prime minister of Israel

British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Mary Wilson arriving at a dinner

After the marriage, Eshkol continued to work as a Knesset librarian, but accompanied her husband on his international travels. She headed the public committee for the establishment of

Beit HaLohem A Beit (also spelled bait, ar, بيت , literally "a house") is a metrical unit of Arabic, Iranian, Urdu and Sindhi poetry. It corresponds to a line, though sometimes improperly renderered as "couplet" since each ''beit'' is divided into tw ...

, a center for disabled military veterans and was founding president of the Jewish-Arab Friendship League. After Levi Eshkol's passing in February 1969, she headed efforts to establish an archive and collection of his personal papers. In 1970 she oversaw the establishment of

, serving as its chairwoman until 2008 and afterwards its Honorary President. Eshkol served as president of the Israeli Union of Women Academicians and president of the Association for Scientific Development and Promotion of Medical Research. She was also a member of the board of directors of the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

. She died on November 26, 2016, in Jerusalem at the age of 87.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eshkol, Miriam 1929 births 2016 deaths

Miriam Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Tor ...

Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Israeli Jews Israeli librarians Palmach members People from Bacău People from Jerusalem Jews in Mandatory Palestine Romanian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Romanian Jews Spouses of prime ministers of Israel Women librarians