Zehava Shamay was born in Israel on June 29, 1943 to Zionist parents who emigrated from Iraq.
On 1967 Zehava settled in Rosh-Pina after marrying Yoram shamay.
In early years she used to teach elementary school.
Fascinated by the special charm of Rosh-Pina, Zahava had been studying painting under the late painter and sculptor Ruth Arad.
At 1989, with the great wave of immigration from the USSR, Zahava began teaching at an Ulpan (an institute for the intensive study of Hebrew) she enjoyed assimilating the Hebrew language to the new immigrants, and formed a personal connection with her students.
After her retirement - in 2003, Zehava resume painting and extended her knowledge by attending workshops under the painters Talma Lapid, Olga Akondina and Lawrence Marcuson “Marky”.
The sceneries of old Rosh-Pina and the Upper Galilee never stopped to amaze and excite her,
and became the main subjects of her paintings.
