Manuela Dviri

Manuela Dviri Vitali Norsa (born 1949 in Padua, Italy), is an Italian and Israeli Journalist, Peace activist and Author, who lives in Tel Aviv, Israel and in Virgoletta, a small town in Tuscany, Italy.

She moved to Israel in 1968 after her marriage with a young Israeli.

She graduated in English and French literature and began her professional career as a high school teacher and later in an institute for mentally disabled children.

She later worked at the Weizmann Institute of Science in the area of international relations.

On February 26, 1998, her 21-year-old son, Jonathan, who was serving in the Israeli Army, was killed during a confrontation with Hezbollah.

She has promoted innumerable protest activities and published in some prestigious Israeli journals on the topic.

After the Israeli Army withdrew from Lebanon on May 25, 2000, to the UN-agreed Israeli border, she continued her political work as an opinion maker.

Manuela Dviri is active in different pacifist groups that seek a dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.

She is the author of a book of stories, some poetry collections and a translation of children's books.

In 2002, she won The High Quality Award. In 2004, she was awarded the prestigious Viareggio Prize in Italy together with the Palestinian writer Suad Amiry.

Her theatre piece Land of milk and honey (Terra di latte e miele), was written in collaboration with Silvano Piccardi, was premiered internationally in 2003 at Paris, France.

She was also awarded the Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Stella d'Italia by then Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

In 2005, she received the Peres Award for Peace and Reconciliation for her involvement with Saving Children, an Israeli-Palestinian project which refers Palestinian children to Israeli hospitals for free treatment.