Ish-Tov Livnat, Jehudith (née Hertha Löwenthal)

Jehudith (Hertha) Loewenthal Ish-Tov Livnat was born on 24.11.1904 in Heidelberg bei Schildberg and died in Israel (year unknown). She was trained for social work at the Soziale Frauenschule, Berlin; full course October 1927/29, then women's academy. She worked in Germany in Jewish child welfare and Jewish health care, and specialized in treating families at the municipal social services. She also worked in a variety of areas: families, children and youth, health, employment and immigrants, mostly at the Berlin Jewish community. She immigrated in 1935 to Palestine (her address from 1968 was Zichron-Yaacov-Str. 8, Tel Aviv). After her emigration to Palestine she was trained at the social bureau in Jerusalem, and was sent by Henrietta Szold to Tiberius, where she headed the social work office between the 1936-1942. Many difficulties accrued at the beginning of her work, as she opposed the spirit of traditional charity, had trouble understanding the local people, and lacked the patience for slow and gradual processes. Thanks to the supervision and support of Zipporah Bloch and Henrietta Szold, she was able to interact with the local population and to raise funds for the Bureau. In addition, she established a child nutrition center and promoted preventive work in schools, by raising awareness to the needs of students with cognitive difficulties. She supported the establishment of special education institutions and, if necessary, directed children with acute difficulties to out of home institutions. Later on, she was appointed as a probation officer by the mandate government and operated to treat soldiers' families, and worked under the guidance of Regina Schechter in monitoring home placement for children. In 1946, she took part at the delegations to DP camps in Germany and stayed there for two years. After the establishment of Israel she worked for 21 years as a nationwide supervisor in the child care department, this time again under the guidance of Zipporah Bloch, and established an orderly inspection on day care and fosters families. Moreover, she struggled to promote the needs of mothers, supported day care centers, and promoted work search for women in an orderly and respectful manner, including various training courses. She also took part in an international internship program within the framework of the UN, a seminar of UNICEF and conferences in various countries in the field of child and youth care. After her retirement, she continued to work in the center of the demography in the prime minister's office and volunteered as chair of the pensioners association of the workers' union. In 1979 she won the Labor (Avoda) prize, and in1986 she won the Ora Namir prize for social contribution.