{"id":9593,"date":"2023-05-10T07:50:42","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T06:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.president.gov.il\/first-lady\/"},"modified":"2023-09-27T05:41:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T04:41:56","slug":"first-lady","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/presidentdev.ofekpoint.com\/en\/first-lady\/","title":{"rendered":"Adv. Michal Herzog, First Lady of the State of Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mrs. Herzog, born in 1961, has been married to Isaac Herzog since 1985, is the mother of three sons, and speaks Hebrew, English, French, and Portuguese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Herzog holds a degree from the Tel Aviv University Law Faculty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is a member of the Israel Bar Association and managed her own law firm, which specialized in criminal law, white-collar crime, and commercial law.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cMy job — to be a unifying force.\u201d<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

Michal Herzog, First Lady of the State of Israel<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For many years, Mrs. Herzog managed philanthropic foundations operating in a range of social fields in Israel, including health, scientific research, education, and welfare. In this capacity, she was involved in promoting projects to empower various sections of the Israeli population and integrate them into the workforce, creating pathways toward economic independence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, Mrs. Herzog has served as a board member for numerous public organizations supporting people with disabilities, caring for at-risk youth, and promoting social mobility. She was also appointed to public commissions on issues relating to social entrepreneurship and exemplary volunteering activity in Israel. Mrs. Herzog founded the Tel Aviv University Law Faculty\u2019s alumni association, headed the Haredi Employment Coalition, was a member of the state commission for the regulation of surrogacy, and worked to promote corporate social responsibility in Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her capacity as the first lady, Mrs. Herzog is actively involved in the field of mental health. She is fighting against mental health stereotypes and fostering open discourse about the subject, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on children and teenagers. She has also assumed the task of dealing with employment and sports as means of promoting social mobility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Herzog is working to apply her professional experience and skills as a respected mediator to reach all groups in Israeli society and promote the development of open dialogue as the basis for a shared future.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

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Visit to the Israeli Neighborhood League — HaPo’el Jerusalem<\/h6>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Credit: Berni Ardov<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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First Lady with “I’m also a runner”<\/h6>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Credit: Alon Melamed<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Sderot-Tel Aviv-Jaffa Conference on SEL<\/h6>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Credit: Dean Aharoni<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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President and First Lady on a State Visit to Germany<\/h6>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Credit: AMos Ben-Gershom, GPO<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Visiting an IDF military base in the Golan Heights<\/h6>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Credit: Amost Ben-Gershom, GPO<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Iftar Party with the Eshqol-Galil-Amakim Women’s Forum<\/h6>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Credit: Emek Jezreel Regional Council Spokesperson’s Office<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n<\/div>\n\n

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Anchors of Activity<\/h2>\n\t\n\n\n

Since Mrs. Michal Herzog began serving as the First Lady of the State of Israel, she has been working out of a conviction that the future of Israeli society is a shared future in which members of all groups in society will work together for the sake of a better life for all those who live in our land.
Grounded in the belief that only if we remove the walls of indifference between Israeli citizens from all parts of society and extend a hand to each other will we be able to march our society toward a future of success and prosperity, Mrs. Herzog has been working to advance several core issues.<\/h5>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
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Mental health<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Herzog has been focusing her domestic Israeli activities in the field of mental health on the struggle against mental health stigmas and on raising awareness about the widespread challenges involved. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing the difficulties that people with mental health problems suffer from and eliminating the shame that they often feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believing in the importance of community and its ability to provide a supportive embrace around the subject of mental health, especially in the shadow of COVID-19, the First Lady emphasizes the need to extend a hand and open our hearts to the many people around and among us who need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Lady believes that despite the progress, with greater understanding that mental illness is a real illness for all intents and purposes, there is still a lack of awareness about the extent to which people with mental health issues are confronting a genuinely limiting phenomenon. Mental illness is still a subject, the First Lady believes, that many people are afraid to approach, hence the profound importance of open dialogue and education about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her public remarks on the subject, Mrs. Herzog has said: \u201cWe must liberate the psyche, bring it out into the light, give it an airing, and recognize its difficulties. Once and for all, we must eliminate the stigma surrounding this issue\u2014mental health\u2014and all the more so, raising and establishing the fact there is not an iota of shame in such illnesses, and that they exist in almost every family, certainly in every part of society, especially after the COVID years that we have lived through, is something that I set my sights on when I entered this residence as the First Lady.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the context of her work beyond Israel\u2019s borders, the First Lady has worked together with the First Lady of Ukraine, Mrs. Olena Zelenska, to lead a broad partnership to provide ongoing humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees and other victims of the war. At her initiative, and with her close involvement, a program was developed to provide psychological and professional assistance to therapists in Ukraine working with civilian victims on the home front.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Second Kyiv Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, Mrs. Herzog said: \u201cWe, in Israel, are, unfortunately, deeply familiar with trauma, both direct and indirect. Therefore in my country we have developed mechanisms through which to live and survive despite constant threat. A few months ago, we began sharing the knowledge and expertise acquired in Israel in the fields of psychological distress with Ukraine\u2019s emergency services. We utilized our expert organizations focused on advancing resilience through treatment, prevention, public awareness and research. We developed programs aimed at training the trainers and helping the helpers, in order to provide Ukrainian first responders and mental health professionals with the tools for safely aiding the painful process of healing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t

Further information for the public: NGOs offering support and organizations that are recruiting volunteers<\/h6>\n\t\t\n\t