She was born in Haifa in 1922. A lifelong naturalist, Avishag Kadman met Amotz Zahavi at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem during their studies in the field of biology and married him in 1954. Since then, besides following her own field of research, she has collaborated with Amotz in the study of the babblers and in the development of his ideas, often serving as the "devil's advocate". Her research interests are basic and applied aspects of the effects of light on plant development (photoperiodism, phytochrome, photomorphogenesis).
After her retirement, Kadman-Zahavi continued her research at the Yair center for agricultural research at Hatzeva. She died on 31 October 2021.[1][2]
Avishag and Amotz Zahavi had two daughters and two grandchildren.