Berman, Benjamin

He was born in Latvia and as a young man he left his father’s house. In 1928 he came to Eretz Yisrael after a long journey, wandering and suffering. In Israel, he worked as an agricultural laborer in the Kinneret, and in the Nahalat Yehuda reserve, and later moved to Kouskos-Tivon to take part in the first aliya on the land. In the course of time he also guarded Haifa Bay, Afula, Tirat Zvi, and Wadi Falik (Nahal Poleg). He was one of the first members of the Society of Guards and its operators. An expert in Arabic, and as someone who knew the ways of Arab life, he participated in many aliyahs on the ground and contributed to them from his experience. During the bloody riots of 1936-1939 he was a guard at Shavei Zion, whose land was then desolate and intended for Jewish settlement. Benjamin insisted that they would not be caught by Arabs for plowing and grazing and would go out at night to guard, with a rifle on his shoulder confident and fearless. The new moshav in the Western Galilee was built, a water line was laid, a road was paved and 50 dunams of vegetables were cultivated, but at the same time the security situation in the area worsened as gangs increased their activities. On 9 Cheshvan (3.11.1938), at midnight, an armed Arab gang attacked Binyamin while guarding workers who installed an electricity cable on the Acre-Rosh Hanikra road. He defended himself and killed one of the gang members, but he was killws and he was laid to rest in Shikh-Abrik.