Michelle Orrelle

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Nov 15, 2023, 10:25 AM

Tuesday Afternoon

Photo: Ahuza St Ra'anana taken by Michelle Orrelle

It began with my husband Alex sharing a message in our family group that a 21-year-old a soldier from our town named Roi Maron ז"ל had fallen in combat yesterday. It encouraged everyone to line the route from the...

Oct 15, 2023, 4:28 PM

How do we manage? How do we sleep?

Dear friend, You asked How do we manage? How do we sleep? In the back of my mind all the time lurks the scream, the tears, the desire to curl up in a ball and sob, the wish to crawl under...

Oct 11, 2023, 5:27 PM

How am I? Shaken to my core. Horrified. Heartbroken. But I am one of the lucky ones. I have my family near me. I am relatively safe in the center of the country. We have a mamad (safe room) that I can...

Apr 30, 2021, 10:39 AM

First century crackers

I’m standing in my kitchen on a warm spring day, cooking. Tomorrow’s my turn to host book club so, as is our custom, I‘m preparing a light meal that’s in keeping with the book we read. Figuring out this menu...

Jan 9, 2020, 3:05 PM

In Praise of the Bridges

Photo credit: Michelle Orrelle

In praise of the bridges we cross to meet one another, to talk, to argue, to embrace. In praise of the people who built the bridges, with their money, their time and their hope. In praise of the people who cross the bridges, to...

Oct 9, 2019, 7:41 PM

What’s with the hole in the road?

For the past week, they've been digging up the road outside my house. The council note in the letterbox said this’ll go on for the next three months. It's inconvenient and it's fascinating. Every morning a team of workmen arrive...

Apr 18, 2019, 3:01 PM

Invisible threads

My grandmother sewed costumes for Habima after she came to Palestine from Odessa in 1919; in 2019, I think I spotted them in the theater's window

Mar 7, 2019, 11:05 PM

Traffic Light unto the Nations

For decades, international delegations have been coming to Israel to learn the secret of the Start-Up Nation. They visit shining examples of medical, scientific, environmental and humanitarian advancements at companies like Waze, Checkpoint, SodaStream, and Netafim. To add to the...

Feb 8, 2019, 2:28 PM

Photo credit: Michelle Orrelle

How does one prepare to give her child to those who cannot guarantee his safe return?

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About Me

Michelle is an Australian Jew who moved to Israel in 2004 with her three US born sons, and British-born, Israeli-raised husband. She is the co-founder of Crew 972 animation production company, Director, Arizona-Israel Trade and investment Office, Residence Event Manager for Australian Ambassador to Israel, and guides at ANU Museum of the Jewish People.

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