Gelbard, Avraham (Abramek)

Son of Margalit and Nachum was born on February 24, 1924 in Lodz, Poland, and in 1935 the family immigrated to Israel and settled in Tel Aviv. He grew up in an apartment close to the “Maccabi” soccer field in Tel Aviv. From childhood, he was active in sports, football and basketball. He was one of the best players in Maccabi Tel Aviv and one of the most active players in the Arazim team. When he was 13 years old, he was taken from his father and after graduating from elementary school he stopped his studies and went to work in polishing diamonds to help his mother. He completed his studies at evening classes. When he was 15, he joined the Haganah. Participated with his platoon in a demonstration against the Land Law and was seriously wounded in the head. When he recovered, he resumed his activities. After completing his first course in machine guns, he continued to serve in this unit, where he completed a course in the military unit and in July 1946 he was arrested together with his classmates and imprisoned in the Latrun camp. Where he organized soccer games, volleyball, gymnastics, etc. to raise the spirit of the inmates. In memory of his services to the Jewish Agency and National Committee members who were imprisoned at Latrun, in creating a “contact” with the outside, they presented him with a book with their signatures: “Good Membership in Our Joint Custody” – signed by Y. Greenboim, David Remez, (Dov Yosef), Mordechai Shatner, David Hacohen, D. Shinkarsky. After three months he was released and returned to his work and service. With the outbreak of the War of Independence after the United Nations General Assembly resolution on the partition of the land, he volunteered for the service of the homeland, served in the Givati ​​Brigade and participated in the defense of Tel Aviv, accompanied by caravans and battles in the south and the Negev, as part of the Givati ​​Brigade. In March 1948, he was sent to a course for squadrons, and at the end he took part in the “Nachshon” activities in the breakthrough to Jerusalem (Hulda, Castel, etc.) and the conquest of Tel Arish and Yazur. Afterward, Avraham returned to his battalion and took part in the operations of the villages in the south and in the Negev, and later in the battles against the Egyptians, and he was very fond of his men as a commander-in-chief. (9.7.1948), in an attempt to place an anti-aircraft machine gun while bombing Egyptian planes, was hit by an enemy shell and fell. Abraham was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Negba. Four members of the Gelbard family served in the IDF, and two of them fell – Moshe-Yosef and then Avraham.