Aura Herzog (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: אורה הרצוג) ( Ambache, 24 December 1924 – 10 January 2022) was an Israeli social and environmental activist, who served as the First Lady of Israel from 1983 to 1993; she was the wife of

Chaim Herzog Major-General Chaim Herzog ( he, חיים הרצוג; 17 September 1918 – 17 April 1997) was an Irish-born Israeli politician, general, lawyer and author who served as the sixth President of Israel between 1983 and 1993. Born in Belfast and ...

, the sixth President of the State of Israel and mother of the current president,

Isaac Herzog Isaac "Bougie" Herzog ( he, יצחק "בוז׳י" הרצוג, Yitskhak "Buzhi" Hertsog; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving as the 11th president of Israel since 2021. He is the first president to be born in ...

. In 1968, she founded the Council for a Beautiful Israel.

Biography

Early life and work

Aura Ambache was born in

Ismailia Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, on 24 December 1924, to an Ashkenazi Jewish family of Russian Jewish and

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

descent. Her parents were Leah Steinberg (daughter of Yechiel Michal Steinberg, the founding family of

Motza Motza, also Mozah or Motsa, ( he, מוֹצָא, ar, موتسا) is a neighbourhood on the western edge of West Jerusalem. It is located in the Judean Hills, 600 metres above sea level, connected to Jerusalem by the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway ...

, a village on the outskirts of Jerusalem), and Simcha Ambache (Hebrew acronym for ''ani ma'amin b'emunah shleima'' - I believe in complete faith), an engineer by profession. Aura's sister Suzy married Israeli diplomat

Abba Eban Abba Solomon Meir Eban (; he, אבא אבן ; born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban; 2 February 1915 – 17 November 2002) was an Israeli diplomat and politician, and a scholar of the Arabic and Hebrew languages. During his career, he served as For ...

. The family was originally from Jaffa, but relocated to Egypt after they were expelled by the Turks during World War I. Herzog attended French schools in

and Cairo and completed her BA in mathematics and physics at the

University of Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. In October 1946, Herzog

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 ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

. The following year, she was chosen to participate in the first class of the Diplomatic School established by the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

. She was a member of the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary organization in 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 ...

(1921–48). In 1947 she married

. The couple had four children: Yoel, an attorney and former Brigadier General, Michael, the

Israeli Ambassador to the United States The office of the Israeli Ambassador to the United States of America is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the State of Israel to the United States of America. It is generally regarded as the most prestigious position in the Isr ...

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...

, the current

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The posi ...

, and Ronit, a clinical psychologist. On 11 March 1948, she was seriously injured in a bombing attack on the

building in the National Institutions House in Jerusalem. During the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

she served as an intelligence officer in the newly founded Science Corps and intelligence department Number 2 (Unit 8200).

Diplomatic career and public service

From 1950 to 1954, she accompanied her husband to the United States, where he was sent as a

military attache A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, and again from 1975 to 1978, when he served as ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. In 1958, Herzog headed the committee that organized Israel's 10th anniversary celebrations and initiated the first

International Bible Contest The International Bible Contest ( he, חידון התנ"ך; ''Hidon HaTanakh'' also spelled ''Chidon HaTanach'' or ''Jidon Hatanaj'' mong Spanish and Portuguese speaking Jews is a worldwide competition on the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) for middle scho ...

, which takes place annually on

Israel Independence Day Independence Day ( he, יום העצמאות ''Yom Ha'atzmaut'', lit. "Day of Independence") is the national day of Israel, commemorating the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. The day is marked by official and unofficial ceremonies ...

. From 1959 to 1968, she headed the Department of Culture in the Ministry of Education and Culture and was a member of the Council for Arts and Culture. In 1969, she founded the Council for a Beautiful Israel, a leading environmental protection NGO and chaired it for 38 years, after which she became its international president. After the end of her husband's presidency and her own tenure as first lady, she held various positions: Chairperson of the Public Committee for the celebration of Israel's

Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

celebration (1998), Member of the Public Advisory Board of

Mifal Hapayis Mifal HaPais ( he, מפעל הפיס) is the national lottery of Israel. Most gambling is illegal in Israel. The only bodies licensed to provide betting services are Mifal HaPais and The Israeli Sports Betting Council. In 2012, Mifal HaPais's annua ...

(Israel's national lottery), Member of the Board of Governors of the Tel Aviv Museum, and Chairperson of Friends of Schneider association at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel.

Later life

Aura Herzog died on 10 January 2022, at the age of 97. She is buried alongside her husband and a number of other Israeli leaders in Jerusalem’s

Mount Herzl Mount Herzl ( he, הַר הֶרְצְל ''Har Hertsl''), also ''Har ha-Zikaron'' ( lit. "Mount of Remembrance"), is the site of Israel's national cemetery and other memorial and educational facilities, found on the west side of Jerusalem beside ...

national cemetery. In his eulogy, her son President

paid tribute to her as “an extremely loving mother for all of us, a source of strength, an engine with incredible energies.”

Published works

In 1971, she published "Secrets of Hospitality," a manual on hospitality, manners and customs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herzog, Aura 1924 births 2022 deaths People from Ismailia Egyptian Ashkenazi Jews Egyptian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli non-fiction writers Israeli people of Egyptian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent Spouses of presidents of Israel Aura Herzog University of the Witwatersrand alumni Egyptian expatriates in South Africa Israeli expatriates in the United States Burials at Mount Herzl Israeli environmentalists Israeli women activists Israeli women non-fiction writers Jewish women writers