Miriam Eshkol

Miriam Eshkol was born in 1929 in Bacău

Miriam Zelikowitz was born in Bacău, Romania, in 1929. She moved with her parents to the British Mandate of Palestine and grew up in Ramat Gan and Tel Aviv.

In 1947 she joined the Palmach and escorted convoys to besieged Jerusalem. She went on to serve in the IDF and left with the rank of sergeant.

She earned a BA in English literature and history and an MA in medieval history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and worked as a research assistant. In 1956 she began work at the Knesset library. As a student she rented a room at the Jerusalem home of Levi Eshkol and his wife Elisheva Kaplan.

In March 1964 she married Prime Minister Levi Eshkol. She kept working at the Knesset, joined him on trips abroad, and led the committee to set up Beit HaLohem for disabled veterans. She was also active in the Jewish-Arab Friendship League.

After her husband died in 1969, she led the founding of Yad Levi Eshkol in 1970 and chaired it until 2008, then became its honorary president. She headed several public bodies and sat on the board of the Israel Museum. She died in 2016 and is buried on Mount Herzl.