Tamal Kundu
Netflix’s ‘Never Stop Dreaming: The Life and Legacy of Shimon Peres’ documents the life of Shimon Peres, one of the most influential heads of state of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Originally from in Vishnyeva, Belarus (then Wiszniew, Poland), Peres was born Szymon Perski in 1923. After moving to Tel Aviv in 1934 with his family, Peres became involved with the Zionist movement when he was very young.
In the following years, he was at the forefront of the process that transformed Israel into the most prominent military power in the region. Despite this, Peres spent the last years of his life as a politician seeking peace with Israel’s neighbors. Peres and his wife, Sonya (also spelled Sonia), had three children together. Mika is one of their grandchildren. Here is everything you need to know about her.
Who Is Mika Almog?
Born in 1975, Mika Almog is the daughter of Peres’ oldest child, Dr. Tsvia (also spelled Zvia, nicknamed Tsiki or Zviki) Walden, and her husband, Professor Raphael Walden. She is a screenwriter, columnist, and satirist. Mika studied Film and Theater at New York University, earning her BFA in 1998. A year later, she enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, to study for BFA in Film and TV. Mika attended TALA Master Class in 2009.
Between 2001 and 2002, Mika was a Creative Associate at Suissa Miller Advertising. She then moved to Reshet TV, where she served as Executive Producer and Writer for the satirical comedy series ‘Mishak Machur’ between 2004 and 2005. She was the Co-Executive Producer of the comedy series ‘Eretz Nehederet’ between 2003 and 2006 and the sketch comedy series ‘Ktsarim’ between 2006 and 2007.
Mika worked as the Director of Development, Scripted Entertainment at Reshet and Development Consultant at Kuperman Productions and Dcohen Productions. Between 2011 and 2012, Mika was the Head of Development at Armoza Formats. Since 2012, she has been a columnist at the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Mika Almog Continues to Contribute as a Writer
Mika is one of the two members of the family, along with her uncle Chemi, who was interviewed for Never Stop Dreaming: The Life and Legacy of Shimon Peres.’ She is still associated with Haaretz, for whom she pens a weekly personal column. She also contributes a weekly satirical column in Haaretz Weekend Magazine or Musaf Haaretz.
In March 2019, Mika’s brother, Assaf, passed away. “With indescribable pain, I [say] farewell to my little brother. Twenty years of an incomparable, stubborn, and courageous struggle have come to an end. He was 35, and he was fabulous. I loved him so much,” Mika wrote on her Facebook page.
Mika was in the news around that time after she heavily criticized the government of then-PM Benjamin Netanyahu in a viral Facebook video. “I am not afraid of you. We are not afraid of you. We are sick and tired of you. We refuse to continue to live under a regime that tries to get us to hate each other for no reason,” she stated in the video.
She added, “We know you. You will stop at nothing and stoop to anything in order to stay in power. So bring it on, Bibi. Hit us with everything you’ve got. We’re ready.” Mika went on to post several other videos criticizing the policies of the government. The 47-year-old resides in Tel Aviv, Israel, with her loved ones.
Read More: Where Are Shimon Peres’ Kids Now?
