Rifka (Rebekah) Ben-Yitzhak was born on May 2, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York to Yisrael and Margaret Soifer. She made aliyah in 1968 and married Michael. They raised their two children, Boaz and Hillel in Jerusalem.
On Friday, July 4, 1975, Michael and his wife were out shopping when explosives concealed under an abandoned refrigerator detonated in Jerusalem’s crowded Zion Square, killing them instantly.
The Israel Museum Ben-Yitzhak Award for the illustration of a children's book is presented annually in memory of Rifka and Michael Ben-Yitzhak,
