Gordon, Mordechai

Mordechai, son of Rivka and Elchanan Gordon, was born in June 1924 in Germany. In 1934 he immigrated to Israel with his parents, and the family lived in the Hatikva neighborhood in Tel Aviv. He acquired a high school education, then graduated from a Mizrachi vocational school and worked as a locksmith. He was a member of the Bnei Akiva movement. Mordechai was among the first to fight in the War of Independence and did his military training in Na’an. Despite the non-religious environment, he remained loyal to the ways of his fathers and to the observance of the commandments. He was sent to Jerusalem to defend the southern part of the city and was responsible for the section in the Makor Chaim neighborhood, and he fulfilled his mission with great faith and dedication. Mordechai believed that the days of salvation would soon come. On the eve of Passover, the 14th of Nissan, April 23, 1948, he was wounded in the leg during an Arab attack on Mekor Chaim, and he ran to the doctor. On the way he was hit again, this time mortally. On 31.7.1950, he was transferred to eternal rest in the military cemetery at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.