All Articles Fromמיכל אריאלי

When Benzi Wollman started illustrating the faces of fallen soldiers, he never imagined his project would expand to 90 portraits, with dozens more requests to fulfill. In a special commemoration project, he showcases paintings of soldiers who did not return from battle, affirming: "This is the least I can give."

Around 100 students from the AMIT religious school in Sderot, managed by Assistant Principal Ilan Abecassis, are currently in Eilat, struggling to maintain a learning routine. "We provide them with relaxation and diversion programs, but actual studying is tough to accomplish," he shares. "The students want just one thing: to return home."

Meir Gabay, Sderot’s "neighbor" to the police station, experienced October 7 in the most painful and traumatic way. Yet, when he sought recovery at a hotel in Jerusalem, he found himself at the scene of a bloody attack.

David Barzilai, a resident of Sderot, donated a kidney during the height of the war, after ten days of reserve duty. "I didn't want to give up on the reserves, nor the donation," he explains, emphasizing, "the horrific massacre only increased my desire to donate."

Bat Be'eri is a high school teacher in Akko but due to the war, she temporarily became a kindergarten teacher for 'Tamar' kindergarten of Kibbutz Be'eri. She shares her unique mission.

Sigalit Pesherel, sister of the abducted Eitan Levi, tearfully recounts their last conversation on the morning he was kidnapped, and pleads: "Pray for everyone's safe return, we are waiting."

Gadi Weissman was wounded in the Second Lebanon War, witnessed deaths and injuries around him, heard the loud explosions, and struggled to return to his normal life. Now, witnessing the war up close, he pleads with soldiers: "Get help immediately after leaving Gaza so the trauma won't haunt you for life."

Glasses and clothing items, shoes, cell phones, ID cards, keys, and thousands of other items are piling up at the offices of Lahav 433 these days, where they are sorted and returned to the families who lost their loved ones. "The pain is enormous," says the responsible officer. "But we will do everything we can to return these items to the families and bring closure."

18 years ago, Eitan Alpert was evacuated from Gush Katif to the Plaza Hotel in Nof HaGalil. Last week, Rabbi Asaf Azriel, rabbi of Shatula village, was evacuated with his entire community to the same hotel. They meet now for an emotional reunion, confident: "They won't break us."

Rabbi Uri Cohen, a Chabad emissary in Ashkelon, insists on staying in the city to continue his regular activities. "There are elderly and families with children who cannot evacuate; we are here for them," he explains. How do they handle the bombardments?

The brit milah held on the base, together with the soldier's family, the baby's father, and friends, was particularly moving. Shai Iluz, who organized the event, shares: "This was a closing of a circle, four months after my son was killed defending our country's borders."

When Rabbi Avraham Kadosh founded the 'WorldBrit' organization, performing brit milah for adults and infants worldwide, he never anticipated the situations he would encounter. Now, after having circumcised hundreds of adults and heard their moving stories, he shares these experiences and promises: "I will continue to go wherever I am needed in the world."

The mother who found her soldier son because of the tzitzit, the soldier identified by friends after falling by the wayside, and worried parents seeking tzitzit for their sons going into battle. Rabbi Kuti Miyodovnik, the man behind the donation of thousands of tzitzit, shares in this touching phenomenon.

After the soldier Uri Shani fell in battle, his family discovered an inspiring list he had written in his Rosh Hashanah Machzor. His father, Yehoshua Shani, shares the stories of his son's meaningful but short life.

Dr. Nahumi Yaffe and Odelia Perush are confident this is the ultra-Orthodox sector's opportunity to create an unprecedented transformation in its contribution to the state. This led them to establish the largest command center in the country with thousands of volunteers.

While residents of Ofakim hid in fear from the terrorist cell, Tali Hadad knew she had a duty. She drove out to evacuate the wounded, with the first injured person she encountered being her son, Itamar. Now she recounts the events and insists: "I'm not a hero".

Since Sharon Lipkin-Ben Zichri can remember, she has carried the title "dwarf," but she always speaks "much more than her height." Now, happily married and a mother, she explains how she hasn't broken down along the way.

Two weeks after committing to keep Shabbat, Hila left the party—just in time.

Children found in the arms of their parents, elderly murdered with their caregivers, and the work carried out under fire with self-sacrifice. Ephraim Greidinger, a ZAKA volunteer, describes their work in the South in recent days. "We won't leave until the last deceased has been attended to and given the respect they deserve."

For years, Ran Naor has been highlighting the crucial need for safe rooms throughout the country. Now, amidst frequent alarms and living in Kibbutz Carmia near the Gaza Strip, he is convinced: "People must wake up. It's inconceivable that any home in Israel lacks a protected room."