Marcelle Freilich

Marcelle was born in Morocco to Hannah and Nissim Medina, in the spring of 1959. Marcelle was the thirteenth of fourteen brothers and sisters. In 1962, when Marcelle was three years old, the Medina family moved to Israel and lived in a ‘ma’abara’, or transit camp, near Beer Sheva. From there they moved to their permanent residence in the city’s Daled neighborhood. Her mother was a homemaker and her father worked in a factory.

From a young age, Marcelle was a curious, studious girl, and an excellent student. Her teachers at the religious-public school she attended always gave her additional assignments so that she would not get bored. As a girl she would gather the younger children from the neighborhood and teach them. She was a teacher in her very essence, a teacher above all else. Marcelle was also an amazing sister and aunt. In her youth she was a sought-after babysitter for her nieces and nephews, and would run between the houses of her brothers and sisters. She loved her family very much and they loved her.

As a high school student, Marcelle fell in love with chemistry. Even then she knew that she would go on to learn chemistry at university. She was accepted to studies with a scholarship for excellence, and completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Ben Gurion University. The hardworking Marcelle decided early on in her academic path that she would be “something”. Her children say how important it was to her to put in the work toward significant achievements, with chemistry and education her passions.

Marcelle completed her PhD in the department for scientific teaching at the Weizmann Institute of Science. In her doctoral work and ongoing research she aspired to make scientific knowledge accessible to middle school and high school students in Israel, to raise the profile of scientific subjects and make the sciences in general and chemistry in particular an attractive subject that students would want to choose and study. And indeed, in her many years as a teacher, Marcelle was beloved, respected, and adored. Anyone who was her student — loved her and loved chemistry. In recent years, Marcelle worked at the Davidson Institute of Weizmann, training future teachers in the field of science.

Mor, Marcelle’s eldest daughter, says that Marcelle was a real “performer”. She was multi-talented and loved the stage: folk dancing, reading texts, standing before a class and teaching, lecturing at international conferences. She never did anything off-hand, she always took preparation for every task very seriously. And many at Be'eri would certainly remember Marcelle onstage singing, dancing and playing the main role in “My Fair Lady” which was produced in honor of Be'eri’s 40th anniversary.

Marcelle, who grew up in a very religious household, was always different and independent-minded, preferred slacks over skirts. Her father never imposed his opinions on his children, nor did she on hers. Marcelle, who was traditional in her own way, left it up to her children to choose how to live and what they thought was best for themselves.

Marcelle married Nuriel and they lived in the village Tzohar. In 1981, their eldest daughter, Mor, was born. Two years later, Mancher — then the school principal — was looking for a chemistry teacher. He came by van to Tzohar, drove the young family to see Be'eri, and assured Marcelle that she had nothing to worry about, she would not need to be separated from Mor as they were soon transitioning to family housing. And so the family arrived in Be'eri and fell in love with the kibbutz life in general, and Be'eri in particular. The family grew. Amit was born in Be'eri in 1985, and Ziv in 1988.

Marcelle became the ultimate kibbutznik. She showed up for all duties and was active on many committees out of a desire to contribute to her community. Still, she turned down the position of kibbutz secretary, which was offered to her multiple times, because she preferred to study and to develop in her professional field.

The next chapter of her life, Marcelle built with Dror — “Drori” Ben Ruhama, with whom she was set up by Ayelet Godard. Marcelle and Drori met and knew at once that this was forever. They had an amazing partnership and deep bond. Both curious and studious, they loved to travel together, learned and adhered to the Rambam diet and felt healthy and vital both physically and mentally.

On Saturday, October 7th, the two locked themselves in their safe room. Marcelle was messaging with her children, her relatives and her many friends. She was worried about Ziv, who was in his own safe room with Shahar, reported the shootings, the shouting, the fear of the terrorists in her home. She felt that they had been abandoned and was angry. At 10:30am, all contact with her ceased. Her beloved Drori, so significant and dear to the whole family, was also killed.

Marcelle meant the world to her children. A diminutive woman, she possessed a huge personality. Beautiful, well put together and well-dressed, she always looked young, to the point that anyone who saw her and Amit together could not believe she was his mother. She was a woman with a zest for life, energetic and optimistic. There was no challenge that came her way that she could not handle.

Her children say that she always knew how to guide them through life, taught them to separate the wheat from the chaff and to aim for something that was truly good for them. “She gave us the confidence that we could do anything. Mom was an anchor for us, a voice of wisdom who was always there for us, the pillar of the family,” said Mor, Amit and Ziv. “Mom showered us with love and we were blessed to have a wonderful and beloved mother, which we told her a lot in her life.” “My WhatsApp is full of hearts that I sent her,” says Ziv. Marcelle was a loving and dedicated grandmother to her four grandchildren: Ben, Lee, Niv and Anne. It is terribly sad that she will not get to see them grow up.

Marcelle is no longer with us but her spirit remains — her powerful spirit and drive to live and to develop, to get out of hell and strive to live a good and happy life and thus fill the hole in the heart. And then… Marcelle will dance and smile in heaven.

May her memory be a blessing.