Font, Yekutiel (Kuti)

Son of Hinka and Zalman was born on 20 January 1930 in Petach Tikvah and studied at the school for the children of workers, and during his studies at the Herzliya Gymnasium in Tel Aviv, Physics and chemistry, and completed his high school cum laude in mathematics, and was an active member of “Noar Haoved” and Gadna in Petah Tikva. Although all phenomena in nature seemed to him physical phenomena or mathematical formula, the people closest to him turned out to be sensitive to beauty, landscape, loves the flowering narcissus in the Lev of the egg, the sunset and mountain scenery. Yekutiel loved to socialize with people and was very attached to his parents. After graduating, he pondered his choice. The Palyam drew his attention: “Palyam is a sea, aliya, the main struggle with the British.” When he left with his friends to the Kinneret, he continued to dream of a common future in the conquest of the sea, but the War of Independence that had broken out in the meantime thwarted these plans and Yekutiel became a ground warrior. He served in the Yiftah Brigade, was sent to a course for commanders and later participated in the battles of Tiberias, Ramat Yochanan, Mishmar HaEmek, Safed, the bombing of the Banias and Litani bridges, and the conquest of Nebi Yusha, when the Syrian army invaded the Jordan Valley, His unit was sent as reinforcements and was forced to recapture Tzemach’s police, the battle on Zemach, on May 19, 1948, was the height of his military activity and the last day of his life. The platoon advanced toward Zemach Police. Yekutiel commanded his class and believed in her ability to carry out the task. The school in Tzemach was caught, and in its neighborhood – the target: the police. Yekutiel ordered the sapper to go over with explosive material to break through and widen it, but he could not. The enemy, who noticed the fighters’ aim, began to fire at the place. Then Yekutiel stood up and burst forward at the head of his class, with the “Tommy” in one hand and the grenade in the other. When he reached 3 meters before the breach, he was shot by a machine gun that blew him up and fell. He was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Degania Aleph. Pages in his memory were recorded in the “Cedar Cuts” booklet of the “Erez HaShofshim” nucleus.