Frenkel, Shabtai

Was born in Bucharest, Romania, on June 10, 1921. He completed elementary school in his hometown and immigrated to Israel in June 1933. After completing his studies at the Reali School in Haifa, he was admitted to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem And studied in the faculty of the humanities, mainly for literature, and some of his translations (from English, American and German poetry) were published in the monthly magazine Gazit, and he worked diligently in the translation of Heine songs. In Givat Ada and for a certain time served as a Solel Boneh official in the oil industry in Iran Hamat-Ha’atzmaut was active in the Hagana in Jerusalem and was accompanied by a convoy 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. A convoy left for Mount Scopus after the British promised the road was open and safe The caravan encountered an Arab ambush in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and hundreds of Arabs hurled fierce fire at it, some of which managed to get out and return, but two buses, an ambulance and a escort vehicle were ambushed . 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, as well as armored vehicles sent to the area, failed to help the convoy. British military forces in the area did not intervene and did nothing to help, despite appeals to them. In the afternoon the Arabs managed to set fire to two buses on their passengers. Only late in the evening the British intervened and rescued the survivors from the trapped vehicles. Shabtai was among the fallen on 4 April 1948. He was brought to eternal rest in a mass grave in the Sanhedria cemetery in Jerusalem.