Aroas, Yehuda (German)

Son of Sultana and Saadia, was born on June 30, 1962, in the city of Telsman, Algeria. As a boy his father died, and his mother remained a widow with ten children. He studied in an elementary school in his hometown and after graduation went to work to help with the household agriculture. During the Second World War, he enlisted in the French Army and served in the Signal Corps, where he received special honors. When he served in occupied France, he managed to “rise” to the German enemy and listen to his conversations. Toward the end of the war he was among the “hunters” of the fleeing German prisoners. He was often praised for his actions and was even decorated with a special bravery. After the war, he worked for a year in a carpet weaving factory and in 1949, during the War of Independence, immigrated to Palestine with a group of 70 French-speaking young people, some of whom were veterans of the French Resistance, some of whom were adventurers gathered by a devout Catholic named Teddy Zionism and gathered the people to help the young state fighting for its life, they were attached to a Palmach unit and its people called them “the French Commando” because of their language and their unusual appearance. Among them they displayed extraordinary courage. They belonged to the 9th Battalion of the Negev Brigade and took part in the conquest of Beersheba as part of Operation Yoav. During Operation Horev to remove the Egyptian army from the country, the French Commando was forced to conquer the Tamila outposts on the Beersheba-Nitzana road. The company succeeded in conquering one of the outposts and preparing it, but the Egyptians launched a counterattack under cover from the outposts that had not yet been conquered. After several attacks, the force was forced to retreat in light of the Egyptian priority, and only after the arrival of reinforcements were the Egyptian outposts taken. In this battle, on December 26, 1948, Germain was mortally wounded and died of his wounds at the hospital in Be’er Sheva. He was buried in Beit Eshel. On the 6 th of Elul 5709 (August 31, 1949) he was transferred to the eternal rest of the military cemetery at Nahalat Yitzhak.