Ackerman, Israel

Son of Malka and David, was born in 1927 in Palanka, near Munkács, in Carpathian Russia (then Czechoslovakia). He studied at the Heder and a government elementary school, then studied carpentry and continued to study at a vocational school. When the area was returned to Hungary, many of the Hungarian soldiers, who beat Jewish boys, decided to seek his future in Palestine. Despite the decrees on the Zionist movement, he would go to Munkács nearby to attend Zionist gatherings on Saturdays. In 1944 he was sent with his entire family to Auschwitz, was transferred with his brother to Buchenwald, separated from them and taken to slave labor in a quarry in Germany. When he was released by the American army, he decided to leave immediately for Palestine, but when he heard that his three brothers had already returned home, and despite the danger of not being allowed to leave, he responded to the shouts of acquaintances and went home to take his brother with him. Two of them refused and remained under Soviet rule. One brother joined him and on a road full of obstacles and adventures passed through Hungary and Austria and came to train “Nevertheless and despite everything” near Modena in Italy and Israel worked there in carpentry. In January 1946 he immigrated to Israel with his brother on the ship “Enzo Sereni”, and they were caught by a British destroyer and brought to the Atlit camp. After his discharge from there, he spent some time in an immigrant youth group in Givat Hashlosha and later in Ramat Hakovesh. He studied and worked in sports. He moved to Tel Aviv and joined the Haganah. On the night of rejoicing after the United Nations General Assembly resolution, he climbed to the top of the lighting post at Magen David Square in Tel Aviv and hung a national flag there, to the applause of the celebrant crowd, and the next day he went to guard duty and protection in the suburbs of Tel Aviv. Salma, Abu Kabir, Yazur, the Yotzek factory, the Citadel and Jaffa. On the 24th of Adar 2, 5708 (24.3.1948) (Ta’anit Esther) was on vacation and when he heard that his unit was about to blow up the cooling house in Jaffa at night, he returned to his base and asked to participate in the operation. As a class sergeant, Haifa fired on the sappers and they reached the target, did their work and returned safely, but he was hit by a bullet in the head and chest and fell. Israel was laid to rest in the military cemetery at Nahalat Yitzhak.