Hershkowitz, Eliyahu

Son of Leah and Israel. He was born on 23rd November 1913 in Akron (Mazkeret Batya), the third generation of the founders of the moshava. He first studied at the local elementary school and then moved to the agricultural school in Mikvah Israel. During his studies, he also conducted many trips, experiments and observations of vegetation. During the 1929 riots, in his final exams at Mikvah Israel, he participated as a member of the Haganah in the defense of Neveh Shalom, a suburb of Jaffa, and returned to his settlement. He worked in street orchards and at the same time worked on military literature. , Training battles and training methods and also learning Arabic and English He trained the members of the “Gordonia Group” who immigrated to Hulda and also the first settlers in the Na’an group, and in 1938 he took part in the defense of his moshav, Defense “sent to the place, from where he was sent to train in various places in the country, in the courses of Kfar Vitkin, Yavne’el and Ju’ara, “His first wife, Zvia, said in 1940:” This is how I saw him for the first time. He says, “Inner freedom and courage, carrying the protective weapon, the love for the plant, and the legacy – the Bible.” When the Second World War broke out, he was among the first conscripts to join the infantry units of the British Army and reached the rank of sergeant. In his military service he served as a personal example to his subordinates. In the ranks of the Jewish Brigade, which was formed in 1944 from these units, he contributed to the surviving remnant of the Jewish population in Europe, and wrote to his home at the time: “For this alone, it was worthwhile to enlist.” On the 24th of Iyar 5704 (April 24, 1945), when he was in Italy he went out to examine the types of mines, a road on a mine and was killed on the spot. He was thirty-three when he died. He was buried in the military cemetery near Ravenna, Italy. He put down a wife. A special chapter in his memory was devoted to the book “The Jewish Brigade”; Ma’asehot published a special booklet called “Eliyahu Hershkovitz”. His character and works were also commemorated in the books “Mazkeret Batya, 80 years old” and “Pioneers of the Hebrew Yishuv”. Location of Kibbutz IV.D.7 Unit Palestine Regiment Rank Officer Officer Class II.