Gnesin, Yaakov-Moshe (Yasha)

The only son of Devorah Leah and Yehoshua was born on March 17, 1924 in the city of Brichany, in Bessarabia, Romania, and at an early age he emigrated with his parents to Chile. In Chile, he was educated in the Hashomer Hatzair movement, was active in its branches and was a member of an aliyah group. On April 29, 1948, he joined the Latino-American group of Hashomer Hatzair in Negba. Yaakov-Moshe was punctual in his work, a quiet, moderate man. With the outbreak of the War of Independence, he volunteered as a sapper in the Givati ​​Brigade. He used to say: “The first error of a sapper can be the last one” – and indeed Yaakov-Moshe fell during an operation to dismantle mines while he was on a landmine in Carmei Negba on the 29th of Tamuz, May 8, 1948. He was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Negba. His mother died shortly after she learned of her son’s death.