Becker, Menahem (“Memi”)

Son of Shmuel and Sarah. His father – the son of one of the veteran settlers, one of the founders of Hartuv; His mother is the daughter of one of the first farmers in Rishon Letzion. He was born in Rishon Letzion on March 28, 1938. He completed his studies at the elementary school in Safed and received two years at the Herzlia Gymnasium in Tel Aviv, but at the outbreak of the War of Independence he moved to the real gymnasium in his moshav. He was a counselor in the “Young Maccabi” and its commander, and was active in the Gadna. He excelled in various sports and especially in swimming, and even represented his seat in national competitions and won prizes. Because of the virtues of his noble soul, he was fond of his friends and grooms. He did not retreat from the danger of the trek (on Lag Ba’omer 5706) on the mountain paths from Rishon Letzion to Atarot and on his parents’ warning that he replied that it was precisely because of the danger to us His commander, Joel Drobin, fell on the same patrol and some of his comrades were injured, but despite his shock and mourning, Menahem wrote in those days: “We, the people of the land, will face difficult days and a difficult struggle. We will not accept our country as a gift; We will have to fight for it. “In the winter of 1948, he continued his studies at the Gymnasium in the moshavah, but together with his peers, the 1931 children, he left the seventh department with enthusiastic response to a draft for training. In his letters from the camp to his parents and friends he shows willingness to sacrifice, good humor about military life, and even thoughts about life in general and about our lives in Israel in particular. When he was issued a full-time conscript for his peers, he was offered a discharge as commander of the Young Maccabee in his moshav, but he saw the acceptance of the liberation for the purpose of serving the Homeland as “evasion.” He offered to hand this role to his friend, the only son of his parents, You have more children, you will not be left alone if I fall. ” Entered the Navy and did not prevent himself from doing any hard work. He was sent to a course for boat commanders and excelled in his studies and in rowing and sailing activities. He passed a naval course and excelled in it. After signing the Armistice Agreement he was released for six months to finish his studies at the Gymnasium, and later returned to his service in the Navy and was sent to Eilat. Together with two of his friends, he was chosen to return to an officers’ course, but because they were tied to the landscape and the difficult tasks of reviving the wilderness, their commanders accepted their requests and were returned to Eilat. He fell on the 27th of Shvat 5710 (February 14, 1950) while fulfilling his duties and was brought to rest in the cemetery in Rishon LeZion.