Heilbronn, Mordechai

Son of Tzippora and Yehuda. He and his twin sister were born on Purim, March 14, 1914 in the city of Ordea, Romania, and were therefore called Mordechai and Esther. In 1932 the family immigrated to Palestine and settled in Haifa. Here Mordechai studied the profession of electricity and worked in the Nesher factory. Mordechai was an athlete and a swimmer in the Maccabi Haifa association. After a period of time, Mordechai decided to change his profession and joined the crew of the “Mount Carmel” ship owned by the Israeli shipping company “Lloyd of the Sea of ​​Palestine” and cruised the Haifa – Constanza line on the Black Sea. On one of the voyages Mordechai was wounded and hospitalized in Romania. His ship sailed without him and when he returned to Haifa he boarded the ship “Har Zion” belonging to the same company and served as a fourth mechanic. It was a passenger/cargo ship sailing on the Haifa-Constanza line, and once it even reached Antwerp. In this city he met the love of his life, a young Jewish woman named Martha, but all his attempts to obtain an entry visa for her were unsuccessful. With the outbreak of World War II, “Mount Zion” changed its purpose and became a cargo ship only. She joined Britain’s war effort and was involved in transporting cargo and equipment between Britain and the Middle East. In August 1940, “Mount Zion” joined a convoy of ships that left Britain when the United States turned its attention and aimed to bring supplies to Britain that fought against the Germans. On 27 Av, August 31, 1940, “Mount Zion” was hit by a torpedo fired from a German submarine and descending into the depths. Only one member of the crew survived. Mordechai and another 16 Jewish sailors were among those that drowned. Their burial place is unknown.