Ilil Arbel

Ilil Arbel writes biography, history, and fiction, often drawing on mythology, folklore, and lives shaped by migration. The Lemon Tree, written with Ida Rosenfeld and first published by iUniverse in 2005, recounts the Wissotzsky family’s journey from Siberia toward Israel in 1918. Its central object begins with Sasha, a ten-year-old boy who raises a lemon tree from a seed and asks his relatives to carry it to an orchard as his final wish. The family travels on the Trans-Siberian railway, becomes stranded in Shanghai, and continues despite illness and danger. Arbel and Rosenfeld present the episode as family history rather than invented adventure, using the tree to connect memory, grief, endurance, and a hoped-for home. Later editions have varied in pagination, including an independently published 2016 version, but preserve the same coauthored account. Arbel’s background in mythology and folklore complements Rosenfeld’s family perspective, giving the short book documentary purpose and the momentum of a journey narrative.