Ruth Dayan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ruth Dayan
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| רות דיין | |
Ruth Dayan in 1955
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Ruth Schwartz (רות שוורץ)
6 March 1917 |
| Died | 5 February 2021 (aged 103) Tel Aviv, Israel
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| Children | 3 |
Ruth Dayan (Hebrew: רות דיין; March 6, 1917 – February 5, 2021) was an important Israeli social activist. She founded the Maskit fashion house. She was also the first wife of Israeli General and Foreign Minister, Moshe Dayan. Ruth Dayan worked for many social causes. She received several awards for her efforts. These include the Israeli President's Medal of Distinction.
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Ruth Dayan's Early Life and Family
Ruth Schwartz was born in Haifa on March 6, 1917. At that time, the Ottoman Empire ruled the area. Her parents, Rachel and Tzvi Schwartz, were Russian Jewish immigrants. They were part of a movement called the Second Aliyah. When Ruth was two, her family moved to England. Her parents finished their education there.
The family returned to Mandatory Palestine when Ruth was eight. Her mother, Rachel Schwartz, was the first woman in Palestine to get a driver's license. This was a big achievement for women at that time.
Ruth moved to Nahalal when she was 18. There, she met Moshe Dayan, who would become a famous military leader. They married in 1935. Their marriage lasted for 36 years until they divorced in 1971. They lived in Nahalal and later in Tzahala. Life was hard in their early years. Their home in the moshav (a type of cooperative farming village) was very simple.
Moshe Dayan was active with the Haganah, a Jewish defense organization. This led to his arrest. He was held in a British prison for over a year.
Ruth and Moshe Dayan had three children. Their daughter, Yael Dayan, became a member of the Knesset (Israel's parliament). She also served as Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv. Their son, Ehud (Udi) Dayan, was a writer. Their youngest son, Asaf "Assi" Dayan, was an actor and filmmaker. Ruth Dayan's sister, Reuma, married Ezer Weizman. He was an Israeli air force general and later the seventh President of Israel.
Ruth Dayan also wrote books. She worked with Anthony David on a book published in 2015. It was called The Remarkable Lives of Israeli Ruth Dayan and Palestinian Raymonda Tawil and their Forty Year Peace Mission. She also wrote Or Did I Dream the Dream? The Story of Ruth Dayan in 1973. This book became very popular.
Ruth Dayan passed away on February 5, 2021, at her home in Tel Aviv. She was 103 years old.
Ruth Dayan's Career: Maskit Fashion House
In 1954, Ruth Dayan started Maskit. This was a special fashion and decorative arts house. Her goal was to create jobs for new immigrants to Israel. She also wanted to keep alive the Jewish traditions and crafts from different communities.
In 1955, Dayan met fashion designer Finy Leitersdorf. Finy designed clothes and accessories for Maskit for 15 years. They even had a joint exhibit of Maskit designs. It was shown at the Dizengoff Museum, which is now the Tel Aviv Museum.
Maskit grew very successful. It had ten stores in Israel and one in New York. It helped support over 2000 families. Maskit's products were sold in big department stores in the United States. Its fashions were also used in special events to raise money for Israel Bonds. Maskit stopped its operations in 1994. However, some of its designs were later used by designer Sharon Tal. Ruth Dayan worked with Sharon Tal when she returned from London. Sharon had worked for the British designer Alexander McQueen.
Ruth Dayan's Social Activism
Ruth Dayan strongly believed in peaceful relations. She wanted peace between Israel and Palestine. She started a group called Brit Bnei Shem (Ibnaa Sam). This group brought Jewish and Arab people together. She worked to help new immigrants. She also supported the rights of Bedouins and fought for women's causes.
She was a lifelong friend of Palestinian poet Raymonda Tawil. Raymonda Tawil is the mother of Suha Arafat, who married PLO leader Yasser Arafat. In 1978, Dayan and Tawil planted a peace forest. It was in Neve Shalom, Israel, as a symbol of their hope for peace. Ruth Dayan was also involved in charity work. She helped found Variety Israel, which supports abandoned children and children with disabilities.
Awards and Recognition for Ruth Dayan
Ruth Dayan received many awards for her important work. In 2007, she got the Partner of Peace Award. This award came from the Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam community. This is a special village where Jews and Arabs live and work together. It is located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
She also received the Yigal Allon Prize. Another award was the President's Medal of Distinction. She was given the Solomon Bublick Award from the Hebrew University. She also received an honorary doctorate from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. In 2010, the Israeli town of Herzliya made Ruth Dayan an honorary citizen.
Published Works
- National Crafts Among Israelis & Arabs: One Path to Peace (1969)
- ... Or did I dream a dream? The story of Ruth Dayan (1973)
- Crafts of Israel (1974)
- An improbable friendship: the remarkable lives of Israeli Ruth Dayan and Palestinian Raymonda Tawil and their forty-year peace mission (2015)
See also
In Spanish: Ruth Dayán para niños
- Women of Israel
- Israeli fashion
- Culture of Israel
