Michelle Herzog

Michelle Herzog was born in 1961 in Tel Aviv

Michal Herzog, née Afek, was born on 15 May 1961. Her mother Zvia was a teacher from Afula, and her father Shaul Afek was a Palmach fighter and an IDF colonel. She grew up in Tel Aviv and in the Neve Rom neighborhood of Ramat Hasharon.

She served in the IDF Intelligence Corps, where she met Isaac Herzog. They married in August 1985 and have 3 sons. She finished law studies at Tel Aviv University in 1986 and received her license from the Israel Bar Association in 1988.

She worked at the law firm of Uri Slonim. There she took part in representing bank robber Ronnie Leibowitz, the head of the Shin Bet security branch before the Shamgar Commission, and Bank Leumi in 1993 after the bank stock crisis.

She later turned to philanthropy and chaired the Wahl Foundation in Israel. She sat on the board of Ma'aleh, a group promoting corporate responsibility, and was a director at Polar Investments and Friedenson Logistics Services. In 2010 she founded the alumni group of the Tel Aviv University law faculty and led it until 2014.

As First Lady since 2021, she has worked to raise awareness of mental health after the Covid pandemic. After the October 7 attacks, she spoke about sexual violence by Hamas and about rising antisemitism.