Kaufman, Yaakov (Yankele)

Ben Etka and Yitzhak, born in Grodno, Poland in 1926, immigrated to Israel in 1926. After the declaration of the state, he was appointed commander of the newly established Brigade 7. With the entry of the Arab Legion into the fighting, the situation in Jerusalem deteriorated and the road to it was cut off by the Legion Brigade in Latrun. His battalion fought on the ridge south of Latrun, encountered enemy forces and was forced to withdraw, and on that day he fell on the 24th of Iyar 5708 (24.5.1948), the day before his 23rd birthday, and was brought to rest in the military cemetery in Haifa. After he fell, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant.