The Jewish world is saying goodbye to global icon “Dr. Ruth” — Dr. Ruth Westheimer — who passed away Friday at age 96.
A best-selling author, radio and television host and acclaimed psychotherapist, Dr. Ruth was also a fighter for Israel’s independence in the Haganah. She passed away at her home in Manhattan, according to a statement by her publicist quoted by the Washington Post.
The tiny powerhouse (4 feet 7 inches) was born Karola Ruth Siegal in Frankfurt on June 4, 1928.
As a young 10-year-old, Westheimer saw the German Nazis take away her father one day at her home before being sent away to safety at a Swiss orphanage by her mother just six weeks later. Both parents were eventually murdered by the Nazis.
Westheimer left Switzerland and moved to then-Palestine at age 16, joining the Haganah and learning to become a sniper — a skill she never had to use against an enemy. But that experience fueled her op-ed piece years later in The New York Times calling on the US military to allow women to serve in combat.
Her first husband was an IDF soldier with whom she moved to Paris and attended university. A divorce, a move to New York, a second marriage and a daughter were accompanied by her continued education, eventually earning a doctorate in education. A second divorce was followed by a third marriage — to Manfred Westheimer — and a son. This time, the marriage lasted — more than 30 years — until her husband’s death in 1997.
She retained her distinctive German accent to the end of her days as she eventually grew to become a worldwide authority on sexuality, cheerily promoting safe and responsible behavior along with the importance of intimacy in human relations on every program on which she was hosted or hosted herself.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer was followed and loved by millions around the world. She will be missed.
Yehi Zichra Baruch.
