Bitan, Yehoshua

Yehoshua, son of Batsheva and Meir-Dov Feldman (Bitan), the fourth son of the family, was born on November 29, 1897 in Nova-Ushice, Podolia, Russia, to a Zionist family. He studied Torah, Gemara and Poskim, and was sent to Be’er to study in his “yeshiva.” In 1912, his parents sent him to Eretz Israel to study at the Herzliya Gymnasium in Jaffa. During World War II, he participated in a first aid course on behalf of Magen David Adom. Because he was a fanatical fighter for the Hebrew language, he was one of the first to change their name to a Hebrew name. He was a member of the Histadrut. Fearless and undeterred by danger, on the 28th of Iyar 5708 (June 6, 1948), in first aid to a wounded soldier, he was hit by a sniper bullet in a position in Yemin Moshe, Jerusalem and was buried in Sheik Bader Aleph. He left a wife and two children. His legal library, which included 300 books, was handed over to the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem. On the 28th of Elul 5710 (10.9.1950) he was put to rest at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.