Yael Dayan
Yael DayanYossi Aloni/Flash 90

Former MK Yael Dayan passed away on Saturday at the age of 85. Dayan had been dealing with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in recent years. She is survived by her two children.

Dayan, who was born in Nahalal during the British Mandate, was the daughter of former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan, who later served as Israel’s Defense Minister and Foreign Minister, and of Ruth Schwartz. She was the granddaughter of Shmuel Dayan, who served in the first three Knessets.

Dayan served in the Knesset as a member of the Labor Party from 1992 to 2003. She later also served as Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv.

Her family said, "We are very sorry over the passing of Yael Dayan, who was a wonderful and much-loved mother and grandmother. Yael fought her entire life for peace and human rights and loved Israel very much. Until the last moment, she never lost hope that we would still have a good, peaceful life here."

Musician Aviv Geffen, whose father Yehonatan Geffen was Dayan's cousin, wrote on X, "Yael Dayan, whom I loved so much, has passed away, I will remember you always fighting for the weak and the other, rest in peace Yael."

Labor Party chairwoman MK Merav Michaeli said, "Yael Dayan will forever be remembered for legislating the law to prevent sexual harassment, and for the establishment of the Committee to Advance the Status of Women in the Knesset. She also has enormous achievements in the fight for LGBTQ rights and an important place in the fight for peace. Yael Dayan did not loathe the political fight. As difficult as it is for women in general and for feminist women in particular - she did not flinch."

The former chairman of the Labor Party, Amir Peretz, paid tribute to Dayan and said, "We were part of a group in the Labor Party of the 1980s, which led many fights in the areas of social justice, equality, changes in the system of government and striving for peace. We have found a common denominator in the main areas and in a worldview according to which a diplomatic solution and social justice cannot come at the expense of one another - but must go hand in hand. Until her last day she was a beacon of social justice, and from her first day in the Israeli public was a beacon of gender justice and equality. I will miss her. The State of Israel will miss her."