Aura Herzog, mother of President Isaac Herzog and Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog, died on Monday. She was 97.
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The Office of the President said in a statement that she will be buried next to her husband, the late President Chaim Herzog, in the Leaders of the Nation's Plot in the National Cemetery on Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem.
The date of her funeral has not been released at this time.
Herzog was an active public figure throughout her husband's diplomatic and political career. She was a prominent social and environmental activist and founded the Council for a Beautiful Israel – the Jewish state's first environmental NGO – in 1969. In 1988, she led the first "Keeping Israel Clean" campaign.
Herzog was born in Ismailia, Egypt, to an Ashkenazi Jewish family of Russian-Jewish and Polish-Jewish descent.
She was educated in French schools in Ismailia and Cairo and completed her BA in mathematics and physics from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.
She immigrated to Israel – then under the British Mandate – in 1946, after completing her studies. The following year, she was accepted into the first class of the Diplomatic School established by the Jewish Agency.
In 1947 she married Chaim Herzog and accompanied him in his roles in the IDF and in public life.
Herzog served in a number of leading roles during her husband's stint as Israel's sixth president between 1983 and 1993. Following his death in 1997, she founded and led the Chaim Herzog memorial NGO.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued a statement saying, "I was saddened to learn of the death of Aura Herzog, President Isaac Herzog's mother. Aura was a social activist and public figure who loved her country and her people. She lived a humble life and raised a family to be proud of, all while constantly serving the public interest. I offer my heartfelt condolences to the president and the entire Herzog family."
PM-Designate Foreign Minister Yair Lapid also offered his condolences to the president and his family, describing the late first lady as "a woman whose work on behalf of the country and Israeli society will stay with us for years to come. May her memory be blessed."
Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar said, "Aura Herzog was an exemplary public and social activist."
Chairman of the World Zionist Organization Yaakov Hagoel, who also serves as acting chairman of the Jewish Agency, issued a statement saying, "I received the news of the death of Aura Herzog with great sadness. She was a Zionist activist who loved her people and her country and did much for society in Israel."
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