Aliza Olmert

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

Aliza Olmert

Biography
Laura Bush welcomes Aliza Olmert

Aliza Olmert was born in a displaced persons camp in Eschwege, Germany. Her parents were Holocaust survivors from Łódź, Poland. She immigrated to Israel with her family in 1949, grew up in Ramat Gan, and served as an instructor in the Israel Defense Forces.[1] She met her husband, Ehud Olmert, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she was studying social work.[2] The Olmerts live in Jerusalem's Katamon neighborhood. They have five children (including Shaul Olmert), one of them adopted.[2]

Art career

In 1985–1988, at the age of 40, Olmert studied environmental design at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. 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.[1] Her work has also been exhibited in Japan, Uruguay, Italy, Britain, Poland, Argentina and New York.[1] In March 2008, she was awarded the Steiger Prize in Germany.[1]

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.[2]

She is said to support Meretz.[3]

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.[4] Olmert is also a member of the Action Committee for Children of Foreign Workers [1] and President of the Board of Unitaf, a community-based organization that creates early-childhood programs for refugee and stateless children living in Israel.[5]

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

References
  1. "That Midas touch". Haaretz.
  2. Rachel Shabi (5 May 2006). "The unlikely first lady". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  3. Joseph Berger, How a Zionist Hawk Grew His New Dovish Feathers, New York Times (13 August 2014)
  4. Nir Magal (14 May 2006). עליזה אולמרט: לא אוותר על הבריחות לתל אביב [Aliza Olmert: I will not give up on escapes to Tel Aviv] (in Hebrew). Ynet. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  5. "President of the Board at unitaf - www.unitaf.org". 8 April 2020.
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