Background
Har'el was born a seventh generation Jerusalemite to Zipporah Salomon and Osher Samuel Zelman Herison and she was relative of Yoel Moshe Salomon.
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.
Early She was described by The Jewish Daily Forward as a "stalwart defender of the City of David during the 1948 siege of Jerusalem."
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. 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 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. A son, Boaz Moda'i, served as Israel's ambassador to Ireland from 2010 to 2015.
She was a member of the World Jewish Congress and served on the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors.