Michal Moda'i

Michal Har'el (Hebrew: מיכל מודעי‎; née Herison; 1931 – 2 March 2012), was the second Miss Israel, a women's rights activist, and one of three lifetime honorary presidents of Women's International Zionist Organization.

Har'el was born a seventh generation Jerusalemite to Zipporah Salomon and Osher Samuel Zelman Herison and she was relative of Yoel Moshe Salomon. She attended the Evelina de Rothschild School in Jerusalem, and the David Yellin College of Education. She was described by The Jewish Daily Forward as a "stalwart defender of the City of David during the 1948 siege of Jerusalem."

After working as a kindergarten teacher, she became a beauty queen, first as Miss Jerusalem and then Miss Israel. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion 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 her nation. She toured the United States for two months, raising money for the United Jewish Appeal, and was met by such dignitaries as the mayor of New York City. One of the places she visited was London and there she met her future husband, Yitzhak Moda'i, a military attache who was later to become an Israeli politician and Finance Minister.

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 held a variety of other roles as well. She was a member of the World Jewish Congress 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.

Michal Har'el married Yitzhak Moda'i in 1953 and together they had three children. Their oldest, a daughter Harela, died in an automobile accident when she was 22 years old, and her parents created a memorial prize, given annually at Army Radio, where she worked. A son, Boaz Moda'i, served as Israel's ambassador to Ireland from 2010 to 2015.

• "beauty queen's Diary" (1983)