Ben-Shalom, Margalit
Daughter of Sarah and David, was born on the 23rd of Tammuz 5626 (June 23, 1926) in Jerusalem. She was brought up in the tradition of Jewish tradition, and with this she received advanced education. Margalit attended the Hebrew Gymnasium Rehavia in Jerusalem from the first grade through the seventh grade. After the seventh grade she moved to the Hadassah nursing school and completed her studies. In her youth she belonged to the Scouts and was a member of the Haganah. She loved the art of ballet and playing the violin. In September 1947 she received a registered nurse’s certificate and began working at the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. Only six months had she been able to prove her devotion to the patients, who admired her for her devoted care and her Lev smile that always hung on her lips as she entered the hospital rooms. When the War of Independence began, she worked in the hospital tirelessly. Gave up vacation days and took care of the wounded with a loyal hand. On the 14th of Nissan 5708 (April 13, 1948), she was killed in the “Hadassah” convoy that ascended to Mount Scopus, and the road to Mount Scopus passed through the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah and upon the outbreak of the war the movement was allowed to mount convoys secured by the British army. On April 13, 1948, a caravan left Mount Scopus after the British promised the road was open and safe, and the convoy encountered an Arab ambush in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and hundreds of Arabs hurled fierce gunfire at it. In the ambush, for many hours the convoy members fought and tried to prevent the Arabs from approaching the vehicles, fire from our positions in the city and Mount Scopus, They were unable to help the convoy, but British army forces intervened and did nothing to help, despite the appeals to them, and in the afternoon the Arabs managed to set fire to the buses on their passengers. Only late in the evening the British intervened and rescued the survivors from the trapped vehicles. She was laid to rest in the cemetery in Sanhedria in Jerusalem.
