Appel, Shmuel-Eliezer

Son of Sarah-Rivka and Tuvia was born in 1922 in Vishu, a small town in northern Transylvania. He was the ninth son of a large and wide Hassidic family. His father was a clerk in the Romanian government-a rare sight in Romania of those days. Shmuel was educated in the “cheder” and “yeshiva,” and at the age of 14 suddenly decided to stop his studies and learn the tailoring. During the Second World War he was taken to the forced labor camps of the Hungarians, but when news of the Russians’ progress began, he was the first to escape from the camp. When the war was over and the scale of the disaster that struck his family was discovered, he decided to immigrate to Israel. He joined the “Bnei Akiva” movement and began to work devotedly in the organization of illegal immigration and border smuggling. In his actions for the sake of his friends’ immigration, he often waived his turn. In April 1947, he returned to Israel and immediately joined the “Mechora” group near Kfar Hasidim, along with several other members who served as their guide. (23.4.1948), was killed in the battle for the liberation of Haifa, during the occupation of the Nijada house in Wadi Rushmiya, While his unit was isolated for 20 hours, and the ammunition dropped to them fell outside their position and he volunteered to bring it, was wounded and killed, and Shmuel-Eliezer was brought to eternal rest in the Kfar Hassidim cemetery.