Abu-Rukhn, Sa’id-Suleiman

Son of Reihana and Suleiman, was born in 1927 in the Druze village of Isfiya. He attended the elementary school in his village and made a living as a laborer. Said was among the first members of his community to join the Israel Defense Forces. Served in the special minority unit for the Druze. During Operation “Hiram” for the liberation of the Western Galilee, the unit fought under the command of the Oded Brigade, which operated in the western sector of the operation. On the night of 28-29 October our forces attacked Tarshiha and the Druze unit was assigned to conquer the village of Yanuh. The attack on Tarshiha did not succeed, and the forces were ordered to retreat. The Druze unit took control of Yanu, but due to faults in the connection, it did not accept the withdrawal order. In the morning Kaukji’s forces recovered and with the help of some villagers attacked the unit and was forced to retreat. He fell in battle on October 29, 1948, and the next day he was buried on the battlefield. On November 30, 1954, he was transferred to the Druze military cemetery in the village of Isfiya.