Halva, Daniel

Daniel, son of Rachel and Yitzhak Halva, was born in 1911 in Jerusalem. He graduated from “Alliance Israelite Universelle” (“Alliance”), continued to study in a vocational school and became a carpenter. He joined the Haganah in December 1947 in Jerusalem. He would go out to guard once every two nights (nights he stayed at home would work to fill in the gaps). Daniel played guard duties at Motza, Lipata and Rumma. On May 17, 1948, he arrived with reinforcements to the Old City – via Zion Gate – and stayed there. On May 19, 1948, Daniel volunteered to move to a dangerous position and was hit by an Arab sniper. He was buried in the Old City of Jerusalem. He left behind a pregnant wife and a daughter. His son Isaac, who was named after his grandfather, was born two months after his death. His name was engraved on the monument erected in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in memory of those who perished in the Jewish Quarter and the memory of soldiers who fell in the battle for Jerusalem and were buried on the Mount of Olives.