Early Life and Religion
Ariane de Rothschild was born in El Salvador to a father who was a senior executive at an international pharmaceutical firm. By the time she was 18 she had lived in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), Colombia and Bangladesh. Spending her formative years outside of Europe left a deep imprint: "Life in very poor countries, in which most of the people are waging a daily struggle to survive and in which there is often nothing to eat, creates a different set of values, even if you yourself are white and live relatively well. You learn to appreciate what you have."
Although her husband is of Jewish background (the son of a Jewish father and a French mother who converted to Judaism), Ariane de Rothschild is not Jewish. She declares that she does not believe in God and has never considered conversion: "I have no problem with any religion but I do not belong to any of them." Her daughters are being raised to choose what religion that they see fit: "We are a home in which there are many possibilities, from celebrating Christmas to observing Shabbat. I constantly tell Benjamin that the girls will be able to choose their religion as they wish, because they are familiar with the possibilities."
However, she remains deeply committed to Israel: "Israel is very precious to me. It is totally ingrained in the family, part of the legacy, part of the DNA. We are all particularly committed to Israel."
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