Michal Har'el (; née Herison; 1931 – 2 March 2012), was the second

Miss Israel Miss Israel (also referred to as , , ) was a national beauty pageant in Israel. The pageant was founded in 1950, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe. History In the late 1920s, a "Esther, Queen Esther Beauty Pageant" was held in Tel Avi ...

, a women's rights activist, and one of three lifetime honorary presidents of

Women's International Zionist Organization The Women's International Zionist Organization (WIZO; ') is a volunteer organization dedicated to social welfare in all sectors of Israeli society, the advancement of the status of women, and Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora. Histor ...

Biography

Michal Herison (later Har'el) was a seventh generation Jerusalemite born to Zipporah Salomon and Osher Samuel Zelman Herison. She was a relative of Yoel Moshe Salomon. Har'el attended Evelina de Rothschild School in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and David Yellin College of Education. She was described by

The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

as a "stalwart defender of the City of David during the 1948 siege of Jerusalem." Har'el married

Yitzhak Moda'i Yitzhak Moda'i (; 17 January 1926 – 14 May 1998) was an Israeli politician who served five terms in the Knesset for Likud and then the New Liberal Party over the course of a 20-year career. Biography Yitzhak Madzovitch (later Moda'i) w ...

in 1953. Together they had three children. Their oldest daughter, Harela, died in an automobile accident when she was 22 years old. Her parents established an annual memorial prize at Army Radio, where she worked. A son, Boaz Moda'i, served as Israel's ambassador to Ireland from 2010 to 2015.

Fashion career

After working as a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

teacher, she became a beauty queen, winning the title of Miss Jerusalem and then

. Prime Minister

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...

wanted representatives of Israel to have Hebrew names, and so she changed her last name from Herison to Har'el. She travelled the world representing Israel. She toured the United States for two months, raising money for the

United Jewish Appeal The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), formerly the United Jewish Communities (UJC), is an American Jewish umbrella organization for the Jewish Federations system, representing over 350 independent Jewish communities across North Ameri ...

, and met such dignitaries as the mayor of New York City. One of the places she visited was London and there she met her future husband,

, a military attache who later entered Israeli politics and became the country's Finance Minister.

Social activism

In 1968 she joined WIZO Herzliya Pituah and soon became its chairwoman. She focused the organization's efforts to assist recent immigrants who were often impoverished and lacking in knowledge of Hebrew or Israel's bureaucracy. After taking on progressively more responsible positions, Moda'i was elected chair of Israel's WIZO. In addition to visiting and supporting WIZO teams in neighboring areas, she decided in 1983 to begin opening up shelters for battered women in response to problems of domestic violence. In order to secure better funding for WIZO's youth programs and facilities, she lobbied the Ministries of Finance and Education. She was elected World WIZO's fourth president in 1996 and held that position until she became chair of the Council of Women's Organizations in 2004. Moda'i was a member of the

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...

and served on the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors. She received the Prime Minister's Shield of Volunteerism Award 1999 in recognition of her non-profit leadership and contributions. In 2004 she was named an honorary citizen of Tel Aviv."Israeli women's rights activist and former WIZO head Michal Modai dies at 81"http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-women-s-rights-activist-and-former-wizo-head-michal-modai-dies-at-81-1.416496

Published works

*"Beauty Queen's Diary" (1983) 8

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Har'el, Michal 1931 births 2012 deaths Israeli educators Israeli feminists Miss Israel winners Activists from Jerusalem Spouses of Israeli politicians Burials at Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery

Biography

Fashion career

Social activism

Published works

See also

References