 Ralya Yaniv, December 2009 |
 Ralya, her friend Lior Singer, and her cat Nuni, December 2009 |
| Ralya Yaniv, my mother, was born Ralya Pagirsky on 29 January 1920 in Kaunas (Kovno), then the provisional capital of Lithuania. Both her parents were natives of Jonava (Yanova), a small stetl located 32 km northeast of Kaunas (see map). She spent her formative years in France and in 1934 immigrated to Palestine with her parents. She has lived in Tel Aviv ever since. |  With her mother, Ella Pagisrky, in Juan-les-Pins, 1931 |  France, summer 1932 |
| Below are some of my favorite photos of my mother during various stages of her life. |
 With her mother in France, mid-1920s |  In Palanga, Lithuania, with her parents, 1920s |
Tel Aviv, 1939. Ralya is first on the right.
Marriage to Benjamin Linewski, 1941
The young family in a Tel Aviv cafe, 1946. Note the hand-knitted baby clothes.
The Linewski family, 1947
Three generations, 1950s
The two of us
In Nahariya
On vacation in Shavei Zion
 Italy, 1955 |
 At home in Tel Aviv |
| Ralya was handy with the knitting needles from an early age. She knitted and crocheted many of our clothes for decades while holding down full-time office jobs. But knitting is only one of her assorted accomplishments. She was a competition-level bridge player and a world-class stamp collector. The photo below shows a small part of her sports stamp collection, which was exhibited in 1961. |
Stamp exhibition, 1961
| Ralya began making dolls in 2003, at the tender age of 83. At first she used published patterns but soon abandoned them to allow free scope for her imagination and creativity. Although she has made many hundreds of dolls, no two are ever exactly alike. Even the most popular characters undergo variations in color, materials, and accessories. As a result, Ralya’s dolls are prized by collectors. |
Ralya’s dolls are available for sale only in Israel. They may be purchased at the gift shop of the Tefen Open Museum in the Western Galilee or directly from Ralya. ContactRalya Yaniv Tel: 972-3-517-5018 E-mail: Galey Haopera |
Copyright © 2009–2010 Daniella Thompson. All rights reserved.