Miriam Peretz

Miriam Peretz (born 1954) is an Israeli educator who lost two sons during their army service. Miriam lectures around the world on Zionism and living with loss and was the recipient of the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement in 2018.

Early life

Peretz was born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco. In 1963, her family immigrated to Israel. Miriam later earned a BA in Literature and History from Ben-Gurion University. She married Eliezer Peretz and they moved to Ophira. Their oldest two children, Uriel and Eliraz, were born in Egypt. The Peretz family moved to Givat Zev, where Miriam had another four children and worked as the principal of the first school in the neighbourhood.

Loss

On November 25, 1998 Peretz’s oldest son, Lieutenant Uriel Peretz, 22, was killed in an ambush in south Lebanon. His father, Eliezer Peretz, died a short time later at the age of 56. On March 26, 2010, her second son, army major Eliraz Peretz, was killed in battle at the Gaza strip.

Activism

Peretz has devoted her time to imparting Jewish and Zionist messages to youth and IDF soldiers. Miriam wrote a book, “Shirat Miriam,” about the story of her life.

Awards

• In 2014, she was chosen to light a torch at Israel’s 66th Independence Day.
• In 2016, she received an honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan University.
• In 2018, at Israel’s 70th Independence Day, she received the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement.

מרים פרץ (נולדה בשנת 1954) היא אשת חינוך ישראלית, ששניים מבניה נהרגו בקרבות בעת שירותם בצה"ל, ומאז מרצה בקרב בני נוער וחיילי צה"ל. כלת פרס ישראל למפעל חיים לשנת 2018, על פעילותה לחיזוק הרוח היהודית-ישראלית.