Bereaved mother and educator Miriam Peretz touched the hearts of every Israeli on Thursday while accepting the lifetime achievement Israel Prize for strengthening the Jewish-Israeli spirit.
In a moving speech at the event marking the end of Independence Day, Peretz asked Israelis to celebrate their shared values rather than focus on what divides them
"Among the prize recipients, there are those who have experienced a tragic loss but have continued to hold their heads up high, and they continue to work toward the betterment of society," she said. "If we go out and seek those who are not like us, we will feel and see the happiness that fills their eyes of sorrow; and even if we have a gulf between us, we will know how to bridge it. We all want to live and we all pursue peace; this home belongs to all of us, and no political camp has exclusive ownership over patriotism," she said. " We all want to see our grandchildren build a home here, travel the country and enjoy its scenery. We all hope that we can build an exemplary society based on the values of the biblical prophets and that is why we have a shared responsibility. In this puzzle called Israel, there is a place for everyone and even if only one piece is missing, it will be incomplete. That is why I am unwilling to give up on any part of my nation."
Peretz was born in Casablanca, Morocco, and came to Israel in 1964 at the age of 10 and later became a teacher and school principal. A mother of six, her two oldest sons were killed in the line of duty while serving in the IDF Golani Brigade – Uriel was killed in Lebanon in 1998 at the age of 22 and Eliraz was killed in the Gaza Strip in 2010 at age 31.
After her sons' deaths, Peretz became an inspirational speaker and has devoted her life to educational activity with teenagers and soldiers, and continues to work as an educator.
In her speech Thursday, she spoke about how her life as a young immigrant from Morocco and her Zionist journey shaped who she was.
"One night, in the summer of 1963, my father said that the Messiah will soon arrive. I asked how I would be able to recognize him and he answered: 'he will have shorts and sandals'," she said. "The Messiah indeed arrived and it turned out he was the Jewish Agency's representative who brought us out of Casablanca. I was just 10 years old when we arrived in Beersheba, the city I would inhabit until 1969. When we arrived, we lived without a gas stove, without a refrigerator, we slept in metal beds and we had trouble coping with the new language but we were overjoyed by the privilege of coming to Israel."
She recalled how she felt the need to dedicate her life to the state, but she never imagined that it would be so painful." I didn't know that one day I would have to lose what is most dear to me for the sake of my country, my sons Uriel and Eliraz. But one does not build a homeland only through tears and pain, but through hard work and sacrifice."
This year's Israel Prize, the country's most prestigious civilian award, was awarded to a total 16 people in a variety of categories, including innovation, manufacturing, social activism and aliyah.
