Reuma Weizman, widow of former Israeli president Ezer Weizman, dies aged 99
Champion of child Holocaust survivors and social causes, she quietly shaped the role of First Lady through decades of service
Reuma Weizman, the widow of former Israeli president Ezer Weizman and a prominent public figure in her own right, has died at the age of 99. Her death was announced on Tuesday.
Weizman, a former First Lady of Israel, was known for her extensive humanitarian work, particularly with children and young people. In the years following the Second World War, she worked in Germany with orphaned Holocaust survivors and later used her position to advocate for underprivileged and marginalised communities across Israel.
Born Reuma Schwartz in London in 1925, she was the daughter of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who returned to Jerusalem shortly after her birth. In 1946, she travelled to London to study education and briefly worked as a journalist covering the Nuremberg Trials.
In 1947, she was sent by the Jewish Agency to run an orphanage for child Holocaust survivors in the British-occupied zone of Germany. In a 1995 testimony to Yad Vashem, she described helping children circumvent British immigration quotas to reach pre-state Israel: “We had to hide from the British that the children were not from the British zone… so we lied.”
Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, paid tribute to Weizman’s early efforts with survivors:
“Reuma Weizman was a remarkable woman whose compassion and dedication shone brightly for all to see. At just 22, she travelled to an orphanage for child Holocaust survivors in the British-occupied zone of Germany, becoming a surrogate mother to children who had lost everything.
“Through her kindness and determination, she helped them begin to rebuild their lives – offering not only emotional support, but going to great lengths to ensure they could begin anew in what would become the State of Israel.Her legacy is one of humanity, strength and enduring care – may her memory be a blessing.”
She returned to Israel in 1948, joined the IDF, and began working in the Government Press Office. She married Ezer Weizman in 1950, and the couple had two children.
As First Lady from 1993 to 2000, Weizman accompanied her husband on official visits abroad, hosted dignitaries at the President’s Residence, and opened it to organisations working with sick and disabled children. She also worked closely with Beit Micha and the S.O.S. Children’s Villages Association, among others.
Her son, Shaul, was seriously injured in 1970 during military service and died in a car crash in 1991.
Weizman devoted much of her life to his recovery and later to supporting young people facing hardship.
She is survived by her daughter, Michal, and several grandchildren. In accordance with her husband’s wishes, she will be buried in Or Akiva alongside him, their son and daughter-in-law, rather than on the Mount of Olives, where Israeli leaders are traditionally laid to rest.
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