“Every encounter with Marcel was an inspirational experience, and whether it was in the classroom, in a science project, or during a personal conversation, she touched hearts and left an indelible mark,” Dr. Yael Schwartz of the Weizmann Institute of Science says about her colleague and dear friend Marcel Freilich-Kaplon, who was tragically murdered on October 7. From conversations with those whose hearts she touched, we discovered that Marcel was not only a scientist and writer but also a dedicated and professional educator who had a noble goal of making chemistry accessible to Israeli schoolchildren.
Marcel Freilich-Kaplon immigrated to Israel from Morocco with her parents, Hanna and Nissim Medina, when she was three years old. She was the 13th of 14 siblings. The family settled in a transit camp (ma’abarah) in Be’er Sheva and later moved to Neighborhood Dalet (D) in the city. Her favorite subject in high school was chemistry. After serving in the IDF as a teacher-soldier, she completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry at Ben-Gurion University before embarking on a career teaching chemistry to high school students. In the late 1990s, she met Dr. Miri Kesner of the Weizmann Institute, who invited her to take part in some of the Institute’s projects. Miri told us that she was immediately impressed by Marcel’s unique personality and abilities: “I suggested she become invoved in our projects advancing chemistry education across schools in southern Israel. She was intelligent, dedicated, organized, with creative ideas and positive energy that she gave to everyone who worked with her. She was a wonderful teacher for students as well as for teachers. We were always looking for people like her and I was sure she’d go far.”
Later on, Marcel enrolled in a doctorate program at the Weizmann Institute, focusing on groundbreaking research in chemistry education using interactive online tools, under the guidance of Prof. Avi Hofstein and Dr. Miri Kesner. “Marcel dealt with every element of the teaching of science – as a high school teacher, as a developer of educational materials, as a researcher, and as a trainer of teachers – a variety of skills that are rarely embodied in a single person”, says Prof. Hofstein. After completing her studies in 2007, she continued working at the Weizmann Institute and later at the Davidson Institute of Science Education. Miri adds: “We stayed in touch after we parted ways and later on we were academic writing partners. Working with her was always focused, efficient and enjoyable. That last thing we wrote was published in September 2023, a few weeks before the terrible massacre.”
Marcel married Nuriel, and together they raised three children: Mor, Ziv, and Amit. The family moved to Kibbutz Be’eri, where she became a full-fledged kibbutznik—so much so that she was offered the management role of kibbutz secretary-general on several occasions. But Marcel preferred to expand her knowledge and dedicate herself to her life’s work—teaching chemistry, developing educational materials, and training teachers. Not only did she deepen her understanding of science, but she also worked with care and sensitivity to make it accessible to her students, colleagues, and anyone else who happened to be around her. After Marcel and Nuriel decided to separate, she was set up with her partner, Dror Kaplon, and the two embarked on what was a second chapter for both of them. They were deeply in love, curious, and passionate about nature and travel. In their later years, they delved into the dietary principles of Maimonides and were dedicated to maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle.
Marcel developed educational materials, was actively engaged in establishing the “We Have Chemistry” (Yesh Lanu Chimia) competition for high school students and was deeply involved in teacher training. She led numerous projects, including the development of professional learning communities for science and technology teachers. Over the last 15 years, she was a partner in developing science and technology textbooks, digital tools, and various projects, including chapters on materials science. Along with her colleagues, she published scientific articles and books, the most recent of which was published in September 2023.
Many Hebrew books co-authored by Marcel can be found at the National Library of Israel, including Exploring Living Materials, Journey to the Elements for Eighth Grade, and Exploring Matter and Energy. Her fascinating doctoral dissertation, Semiempirical Calculations to Examine the Effect of Geometric Changes on the Properties of Charge Transfer Complexes, written in Hebrew, is also kept at the Library. All of these are evidence of Marcel’s significant contribution to making the field of chemistry accessible to students.
Dr. Yael Schwartz of the Weizmann Institute describes Marcel as a “ball of energy,” a woman who committed herself to her role with the utmost professionalism and dedication, outspoken with a can-do attitude. “These books were the first project she was involved in with middle schools. The idea was to turn the material into something interactive, and that’s what she did until she was murdered. There was a brief period when she worked at the Davidson Institute of Science Education, where she was involved in a project creating short, engaging videos,” Schwartz says. “Working with her was a complete pleasure. She was the kind of woman who pushes you to new heights. When we worked together on teacher training, during summer workshops, the teachers were thrilled by her. She also played a significant role in the communities. She ran a science project that focused on teacher discourse on practices.”
Schwartz and Marcel were not only colleagues but also close friends. Schwartz recounts that even in her final hours, Marcel expressed concern for Schwartz’s son, who had been called up to Gaza. On the Saturday when the disaster occurred, Schwartz was exposed to what happened to Marcel and Dror, step by step, in real-time. “We have a WhatsApp group, and we asked Marcel what was happening and if she was okay,” Schwartz says. “She said they were in the safe room, and that’s how it started. We were in constant contact with her every few minutes. She described the gunfire aimed at her window and her house, and the shouting around them. She said she was scared, and then contact was severed. We knew that something terrible was happening. I so hoped that her phone had died. I hoped she had managed to escape. Every few minutes, I tried to call and text her to send us a sign. The next morning, I searched for her children online. I found her son Ziv, and he said they were assuming that Marcel and Dror had been kidnapped to Gaza. After a few days of waiting, we received the heartbreaking news.”
The couple spent about four hours in the safe room before terrorists broke into their home. Marcel’s son, Ziv Freilich, told us that on the same day, he and his siblings saw a video showing Marcel and Dror being led away, bound, outside their home. The following day, the siblings received another video showing them lying lifeless. “With our assistance, the process of identifying my mother’s body was expedited, and within a few days, representatives from the army came to inform us officially. By then, we were pretty sure we knew what had happened to her.”
Schwartz also saw those distressing videos of her beloved friend. “I can’t get that video out of my mind. For months, as I tried to fall asleep, I couldn’t rid myself of that image of her being led out to her death. It still haunts me to this day,” Schwartz recounts.
Marcel had other dreams she never got to fulfill. She was fascinated by Maimonides’ dietary principles, and she had planned on writing a book about his ideas on nutrition and medicine from a modern scientific perspective, and to give lectures on the subject. Her colleagues at the Weizmann Institute, still devastated by the tragedy, are using the programs and content she created and are continuing to help develop her legacy. “I learned a lot from her about total commitment. About what it means to be a totally dedicated person,” Schwartz says with sadness. “Total dedication in work, in friendships, in family. An indescribable loyalty. But it’s so much more than that—Marcel was impossible to miss. She was my friend, and I miss her. Her absence hurts me every day.”
Lives Lost: The Works of the October 7 Fallen – A Special Project