Gila Katsav

Gila Katsav (Hebrew: גילה קצב‎, born 1948) is an Israeli public figure who served as the First Lady of Israel from 2000 until 2007 as the wife of former President Moshe Katsav.

Gila Katsav
גילה קצב
Katsav in 2001
First Lady of Israel
In role 1 August 2000 – 1 July 2007
President	Moshe Katsav
Preceded by	Reuma Weizman
Succeeded by	Sonia Peres
Personal details
Born	1948 Tel Aviv, Israel
Spouse(s)	Moshe Katsav ​ (m. 1969)​
Children	5

Biography

Gila Katsav was born in Tel Aviv. She is of Polish-Jewish and Ukrainian-Jewish ancestry. One of her grandfathers was among the founders of Bnei Brak. In 1969, she married Moshe Katsav. The couple has five children, four sons and a daughter, and two grandchildren.

Katsav is involved in personal volunteer activities for children who come from disadvantaged families as part of the efforts of “The Council for the Sheltered Child. She also volunteered for the Rehabilitation Department of Yad Sarah, a voluntary organization which specializes in providing home care and lending medical equipment without charge.

Katsav served as the First Lady of Israel from 2000 until 2007 during the tenure of her husband. In May 2005, Katsav led U.S. First Lady Laura Bush on a tour of the Yad Vashem and a controversial visit to the Western Wall.[1][2]

Gila Katsav publicly defended her husband, then-President Moshe Katsav, against allegations of rape and sexual harassment.[3] In September 2006, she told journalists attending an exhibition at the Jerusalem Theater, "I have no doubt that my husband is innocent. I'm certain that the truth will come to light...We are undergoing difficult times, but we're alright and will get through them."[3] President Katsav resigned from office in 2007 as part of a plea deal, but was convicted of rape and obstruction of justice in 2010.[4] She accompanied her husband upon his release from Ma'asiyahu Prison in December 2015.[5]

References

1. Sheffer, Doron (2005-05-22). "First Lady visits Western Wall". Ynetnews. Archived from the original on 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
2. "US First Lady Laura Bush Visits The Western Wall in Jerusalem". United Press International. 2005-05-22. Archived from the original on 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
3. "Gila Katsav: No Doubt My Husband Is Innocent". Haaretz. 2006-09-05. Archived from the original on 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
4. Friedman, Ron (2010-12-31). "Moshe Katsav convicted of rape, faces long jail term". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2017-11-15. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
5. "Ex-president Moshe Katsav goes free after 5 years in jail for rape". Times of Israel. 2016-12-21. Archived from the original on 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2019-06-30.

External links

• Biography at the official site of the wives of the presidents