Her name, Orel, means the light of God. And it suits her big spirit, her subtlety and quiet confidence, the sense that regardless of her struggle, she is indefatigable.
Orel Galula, 20, told her story to the 600 gathered at the community Yom HaZikaron event last Wednesday, May 11, at Congregation Beth Israel.
Sitting in her wheelchair, she told us how she became ill at age two with muscular atrophy, which weakened her lower limbs. And she told us about the road that led her to become the first disabled officer in a wheelchair to serve in the Israel Defense Force.
At age 12, Orel fell in the bus on the way home from school and was afterward bound to a wheelchair. But, in spite of her disability, she’s obviously never been confined.
“I always challenged myself and attempted what seemed impossible, only to prove that it is possible. I went on trips, climbed mountains, crossed streams and canyons,” mostly riding her father’s back, she said.
Six years ago, Orel joined Etgarim, an organization with which many Milwaukeeans are familiar after the visit of its founder, Yoel Sharon, two years ago.
Etgarim (Challenges) is a non-profit organization that provides the disabled in Israel with outdoor sports and recreation activities, according to its Web site, http://www.etgarim.org.
Tenacious. That’s the word that describes Orel, with her steady eyes. In 11th grade, when her peers were gearing up for their mandatory military service, Orel was told that she was exempt from service. And she was crushed.
But Etgarim provided her with a path to overcome her physical challenges. She joined their training course, Etgarim B’Madim (Etgarim in Uniforms) and, after 18 months of physical preparation, she found herself just where she wanted to be.
“My recruiting day was a historical and moving event. For the first time, a group of handicapped teenagers with wheelchairs and crutches are trying on uniforms in the recruiting center before the shocked eyes of the regular people being drafted. We stood there, tall, proud, surrounded by friends, parents, our friends from Etgarim, everyone smiling, excited and wiping a small tear.”
After basic training, Orel was found eligible to enter officer training. “I went to the course, knowing that everyone was watching me. Half a year in a course with perfectly normal soldiers, doing everything that the other cadets were doing. Trying not to get kicked out of the course, not to crack, despite all the difficulties.
“At the ending ceremony for the course, I led the line of cadets onto the field. Then Chief of Staff, Major General Moshe Ya’alon, himself gave me my ranks. This was the most exciting event of my life. I, who was rejected by the enlistment office, received my officer’s rank from this general,” Orel said.
Paving the way
Orel’s English is halting but in Hebrew she is steady and confident, beyond her years.
I met her and her mother, Dorit, last week for lunch. And we talked about their fight to increase wheelchair accessibility in Israel, the land of steps. They told me about a disabled man who rappelled into a government office from the roof because there was no elevator.
And they shared the story that brought them some fame. Last February, Orel was denied access to a train in Netanya. But the train official who made that decision didn’t know who he was messing with. Dorit brought a film crew and her story was shown on hugely popular television talk shows.
In the end, the official was reprimanded and Orel again helped pave the way for other disabled Israelis.
But that’s been the theme of her life recently, it seems. Now an officer in the educational corps, she commands “a team of soldiers who prepare and encourage teenagers to meaningful army service,” she said at the Yom HaZikaron event.
“I know today that the fact that we enlisted has increased normal soldiers’ motivation to enlist and we have also established a path for other handicapped teenagers who want to contribute to the army and the state. Today everyone knows that that’s possible.”
At this beginning of Israel’s 57th year of independence, I hold up Orel not only as a model but also as an example. May the Jewish state continue to produce such brave and powerful children. May we learn from Orel to fight for right with steadiness and love.
And may we never doubt what is possible.
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