Gabriela Shalev

Gabriela Shalev was born in 1941 in Tel Aviv

Gabriela Shalev was born in Tel Aviv in 1941 as Gabriela Mannheim. Her mother's parents were murdered in Auschwitz, and her father's parents left Berlin for the Yishuv.

After army service, she studied law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, earning her doctorate in 1973 under Gad Tedeschi. She clerked at the Supreme Court and was admitted to the bar in 1968. Her husband Shaul was killed near the Suez Canal in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and she raised their 2 children alone.

She taught contract law at the Hebrew University and became a full professor in 1986. She was a visiting professor in North America and Europe and wrote books and articles mainly on contract law. She also sat on public committees and on several company boards.

In 2002 she moved to Ono Academic College, where she led its academic council. She served as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations from July 2008 to September 2010.