Batia Ofer

Batia Ofer was born in 1974 in Kfar Saba

Batia Ofer was born in 1974 in Kfar Saba. Her father's family were Holocaust survivors from Ukraine. At 12 she moved with her family to South Africa because of her father's work.

After high school she returned to Israel for national service. She then moved to Toronto and earned a degree in business administration. She later took a one-year course at Christie's.

Back in Israel she worked as an assistant to the CEO at SAP. She then joined Shay Agassi's electric car venture Better Place as an international relations manager. There she met investor Idan Ofer, whom she married in 2009.

She became honorary president of Friends of Make-A-Wish Israel and joined Make-A-Wish UK after moving to Britain in 2013. In 2017 she founded Art of Wishes, which raises money through art auctions. With her husband she runs a family foundation that funds health, education, welfare and arts projects.

In October 2023 the couple resigned from the Dean's executive board of Harvard Kennedy School in protest. She received the Peres Center Medal of Distinction in 2024 and the Yakir Bezalel award in 2025. She lives in the UK with her family.