Hello! My name is Fortuna (Fortunée) Szpiro.

I was born in Beirut, Lebanon, as the third of five children. My parents are Meir Dagmy, originally from Baghdad, Iraq, and Souraya Na’anous whose family had immigrated to Lebanon from Damascus, Syria. (My mother, of blessed memory, passed away in September 2003.) I grew up in the Wadi Abu Jamil neighborhood of Beirut and spent a very happy childhood there. Relations between Jews, Moslems and Christians were very good. In fact, my father, who owned a carpentry shop, had a Moslem business associate for many, many years with whom he enjoyed a very good partnership.

I went to the Alliance Israélite school. My mother was one of the senior teachers there and I used that fact very much to my advantage. No classmate dared insult me, and not even teachers were immune to her wrath, if they dared treat me less well than I thought I deserved. When I was 16 years old, my family moved to Israel and we settled in the town of Bat Yam, outside Tel Aviv.

Since I was not yet fluent in the Hebrew language, I entered a French boarding school in Natanya. Some of the people I met there are still my friends today. After the baccalauréat (matriculation exams) at the French Embassy in Tel Aviv, I studied French literature und Middle Eastern history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I had very little money and supported myself doing odd jobs as waitress in Restaurants and telephone operator in various hotels. After receiving my B.A. degree, I went on to do graduate studies in communication and translation (Arabic, French, Hebrew). I received an M.A. degree from the Hebrew University in 1985.  

I met my future husband, George, while at the university. He has his own website (GeorgeSzpiro.com) so I won’t say any more about him. We have three children: Sarit was born in Zurich and is now a student of mathematics and cognitive science at the Hebrew University. Noam was born in Philadelphia and has just graduated from high school. He designed and operates this website. Noga was born in Jerusalem. She goes to Junior high school, is already an accomplished dressmaker, and designs clothes. With grandparents hailing, respectively, from Syria, Iraq, Poland and Hungary our children are a unique Sephardi-Ashkenazi ethnic combination.

After George and I finished graduate school, we moved to Philadelphia for two years. Upon our return to Jerusalem, I started working as Press Attaché at the Consulat Général de France in Jerusalem. I am responsible for the Palestinian press and make assessments about the political situation.

I took up sculpting when we lived in the United States. My first classes were at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. I first showed a sculpture to the public as part of a group exhibition at the Wharton faculty club, in Philadelphia. Back in Jerusalem I took sculpting courses at the Israel Museum, and then continued on my own. For the last few years I have worked at the studio of Paul Tailor.

I enjoy traveling, swimming, working out at the fitness club, having coffee with my friends and inviting people over for dinners. Just about the only thing I really do not enjoy is skiing, which is a shame because George and the children love it. 

I hope you like my sculptures. If you do, drop me a line, if not, drop … me also a line at: