(Redacted translation of an article by Yifat Reuven in Kol Ha’ir)

Prof. Tamar Yablonski-Peretz, who heads the Hadassah Medical Organization’s Sharett Institute of Oncology, has received the Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem prize for 2020. 

"I was very proud to receive the letter. I consider it a great honor,” Peretz told Kol Ha’ir newspaper.

Prof. Peretz, who has headed the Oncology Institute since 1994, will receive the award on Jerusalem Day in May. Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion phoned Prof. Peretz last Tuesday to deliver the good news. “I was very emotional when he informed me,” she said during a conversation with the newspaper. “I left Tel Aviv and came to Hebrew University in Jerusalem after the Yom Kippur War and fell in love with the city. I made my home here, my daughters were born here, and here I turned disease treatment into my life’s work.

“Jerusalem is the world’s best and most beautiful city, with wonderful residents. The city inspires me and I’m so proud to receive this award. I am delighted to be a part of the diverse human chain that has been honored to date. My entire working life has been devoted to the health of Jerusalem residents and that of patients from further afield. I want to continue that work preventing and diagnosing serious diseases.”

Prof. Peretz manages a team of 150 doctors and other professionals. She and her team are at the forefront of the effort to prevent breast cancer and research its genetics, as well as the genetics of other cancers.