Ruth Dayan

Ruth Dayan (; 6 March 1917 – 5 February 2021) was an Israeli social activist who was the founder of the Maskit fashion house. She was also the first wife of Israeli Foreign Minister and General, Moshe Dayan (1915–1981). Active in many social causes, Dayan was a recipient of the Israeli President's Medal of Distinction, the Solomon Bublick Award, and the Yigal Allon Prize, in recognition of her social empowerment efforts.

Biography Ruth Schwartz (later Dayan) was born in Haifa in 1917 during the end of the Ottoman Empire rule of the region, as the elder of the two daughters of Rachel (née Klimkar) and Tzvi Schwartz. Her parents were Russian Jewish immigrants who were part of the Second Aliyah. When Schwartz was two, the family relocated to England, where her parents completed their education. The couple's early years were difficult, with conditions at the moshav being primitive and her husband being active with the Haganah. His association with that organization led to his arrest and detention in a British prison for more than a year.

Dayan collaborated on her life story with biographer Anthony David on a book which was published as The Remarkable Lives of Israeli Ruth Dayan and Palestinian Raymonda Tawil and their Forty Year Peace Mission (2015).

Dayan died on 5 February 2021 at her home in Tel Aviv. She was 103, one month and one day short of her 104th birthday.

Career

In 1954, Dayan founded Maskit, a fashion and decorative arts house that provided her with a way of creating jobs for new immigrants and preserving Jewish ethnic crafts and culture of the various communities living in Israel. In 1955, Dayan met fashion designer Finy Leitersdorf, who designed clothes and accessories for Maskit for 15 years. The two collaborated on a joint exhibit of Maskit designs at the Dizengoff Museum (today the Tel Aviv Museum). In 1978, Dayan and Tawil planted a peace forest in Neve Shalom, Israel. Dayan was also a member of charity initiatives including founding Variety Israel, which supported abandoned children and children with disabilities.

Awards and recognition

Dayan received many awards including the 2007 Partner of Peace Award from the Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam community, a cooperative village of Jews and Arabs midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. She was also a recipient of the Yigal Allon Prize, President's Medal of Distinction, the Solomon Bublick Award from the Hebrew University, and an honorary doctorate from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. In 2010, Dayan was awarded honorary citizenship by the Israeli town of Herzliya.

Published works