Cohen, Jacob

Was born on the 17th of Iyar 1929 in the city of Aada, Yugoslavia, and when he was 10. He completed his studies in elementary schools in Tel Aviv and Herzliya, and when he arrived at the mitzva he went to study Torah in ” “After a short period of time, he became a student of prodigy and became acquainted with his older friends, and at the age of 17 returned to Herzliya, where he began to work in his father’s rubber factory. With the first call to the ranks of the fighters, and the first battle was carried out in Ein HaNaziv and Tirat Zvi, where the enemy had its head He destroyed his great defeats and a lot of ammunition fell into the hands of the fighters. After this battle, Yaakov joined the Palmach, trained in the ranks of the Yiftach Brigade, fought in all the battles in the Galilee, and participated in a raid on Lebanon as a Spandau machine gunner, carrying 35 kg of weapons and ammunition. A few months later he moved with his battalion to Tzrifin. One night he left on foot from the camp and came home to Herzliya to spend a few hours there. The family begged them to stay with them for a while, and replied: “By my freedom, I will take away my friend’s vacation.” In preparation for the first truce, the Yiftah Brigade was demoted to the central region and took part in the fighting in the Latrun area. At the end of the first truce, the brigade participated in the “Dani” operation and on July 17-18, 1948, towards the beginning of the second truce, the “Haemek” Battalion seized Shilat and controlled the eastern part of the Korikor ridge to threaten the wing of the legion in Latrun. In the morning it became clear that the Legion force was holding the western part of the ridge. The enemy attacked the force in the outpost from two directions with the aid of armored vehicles, and that was forced to withdraw. In the harsh retreat in an open area under crossfire, many of the fighters fell. This battle fell on the 11th of Tammuz 5708 (18.7.1948). After being wounded by shrapnel from a shell, but continued to fight for another three hours, until he lost consciousness. On the 11th of Adar 5702 (28.2.1950) he was laid to rest at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.