\nElla began by describing the dusty streets of Qalansuwa, a town in central Israel, which she remembers as a village. \u201cMuddy streets, low houses, everyone knows everyone. A small home, seven people in one family. My parents were simple people. My father, was a farmer who grew strawberries with tires hands and a big heart. My mother, first a social worker, later helped him in the fields. Eventually, she cleaned other people\u2019s homes\u2014but always kept ours spotless, with dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey prayed five times a day. The house was wrapped in carpets, scented with mint tea, and surrounded by a quiet that asked no questions. Only I didn\u2019t try to fit in. I always looked around and asked: Why does everyone think the same? Why are there rules I don\u2019t understand? Why do I feel different?\u201d<\/p>\n “None of the labels felt like home”<\/strong> She didn’t dare ask out loud, so she wrote. \u201cWords in a green notebook, short lines of thought. I didn\u2019t know if I feared the answers or the questions more, but they unlocked something in me. Society called me many things\u2014Arab, Muslim, Palestinian, Arab Israeli, 1948 Arab. But none of those felt like home.\u201d<\/p>\n At 16, Ella received her Israeli ID card. \u201cIt said: \u2018Israeli.\u2019 I trembled\u2014not from fear, but from relief. For the first time, someone gave me a label that felt close to something real. Not political, not ideological\u2014just a physical sense of belonging. To this land I walk on, to this street I cross every day.\u201d<\/p>\n “I saw the light”<\/strong> When she enlisted in the IDF, she did so quietly. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just service\u2014it was a declaration. That I belong. That I choose. That I don\u2019t apologize. I joined the Spokesperson\u2019s Unit. Not a soldier with a rifle\u2014but a warrior with words. In front of cameras, journalists, and myself. Slowly, I became an officer. I made it to the screen. My face spoke to the world. And every time I stood before the camera, I felt the 12-year-old girl behind me, smiling. Telling me: \u2018You knew.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n “It\u2019s not both. It\u2019s me.”<\/strong> \u201cThere were memories that stayed. The strawberry field, where my father planted the seeds that raised me. A room with five kids, where I taught myself to dream of a space that belonged only to me. The smile in that photo\u2014short colorful jeans, a concrete wall behind, a small garden. And each of those memories wasn\u2019t nostalgia\u2014they were building blocks. When asked how it feels to be \u2018both,\u2019 I answered: It\u2019s not both. It\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs I went deeper, I realized my cave wasn\u2019t just a place\u2014it was a mindset. And the light? It doesn\u2019t always blind. Sometimes it just says: You\u2019re allowed. You\u2019re allowed to choose your name, your faith, your path, your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n “Step out. Dare. There is light outside\u2014and it\u2019s waiting for you.”<\/strong> \u201cBecause one girl, once, stepped out of a cave. And from the moment she saw the light\u2014she refused to turn it off.\u201d<\/p>\n In a new video, Ella shares a powerful message with young Palestinians \u0646\u0635\u064a\u062d\u0629 \u0644\u0643\u0644 \u0634\u0627\u0628 \u0641\u0644\u0633\u0637\u064a\u0646\u064a \u0628\u064a\u0641\u0643\u0651\u0631 \u064a\u062d\u0645\u0644 \u0633\u0644\u0627\u062d: \u2014 \u0643\u0627\u0628\u062a\u0646 \u0625\u064a\u0644\u0627 Captain Ella (@CaptainElla1) May 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wella1.webp\")
\nAt age 12, the Second Intifada broke out. \u201cIn the evenings, we watched Al Jazeera. I was glued to the screen, following the reports by Shireen Abu Akleh. That\u2019s when I noticed the shadows on the wall all came from one direction\u2014the army killed, the occupation destroyed. No other side was shown. And I, a girl from Qalansuwa, began asking: “Why? Who started it? What if the other side also feels pain?\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wella2-1024x680.webp\")
\nAt 19, Ella decided to study communications. She wanted to show the world the side that wasn\u2019t broadcast. That same year, she changed her name. \u201cI became Ella. No longer a name chosen for me, but one I chose. Short hair, no hijab, a small apartment\u2014a new beginning. As if I stepped out of the cave, saw the light, and refused to go back inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nElla noted that along the way she encountered hardship, anger, slander, and hate. \u201cAnd yet, I saw my mother\u2019s eyes shine when I spoke a clear, proud, courageous Arabic sentence on TV.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nNow, years later, Ella reflects: \u201cThis wasn\u2019t a journey to convince anyone. It was a journey not to lose myself. To reinvent myself without fear. To lift a small torch that might light the way for those still afraid to take a step. Because there are many. And I want to tell them: Step out. Dare. There is light outside. And it\u2019s waiting for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n“A word of advice to any young Palestinian thinking about taking up arms: You won\u2019t be a hero\u2026 You\u2019ll be a victim. Before you risk your life, listen to me.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n\u0645\u0634 \u0631\u062d \u062a\u0643\u0648\u0646 \u0628\u0637\u0644\u2026 \u0631\u062d \u062a\u0643\u0648\u0646 \u0636\u062d\u064a\u0629.
\n\u0642\u0628\u0644 \u0645\u0627 \u062a\u063a\u0627\u0645\u0631 \u0628\u062d\u064a\u0627\u062a\u0643\u060c \u0627\u0633\u0645\u0639\u0646\u064a \u0644\u0644\u0623\u062e\u064a\u0631. pic.twitter.com\/t8tEy3Dmb1<\/a><\/p>\n