Kedoshim, Jacob

Son of Mordechai and Alice. He was born on March 2, 1948 in Marrakesh, Morocco, and immigrated with his family to Israel in 1956. He studied at Masua School in Kiryat Gat and excelled as a quiet, listening student, following the events in the classroom. He was active in the class, in its various committees and in the school in general – and in the teachers’ room he was praised for his inner discipline, his faith in man, his love of life, love for others, honesty and sincerity and thirst for knowledge. It was hard for him to adjust to kibbutz life and to his new society, but after a few months he became one of the guys. He loved sports and especially the basketball game, but he did not play the game at the expense of preparing his lessons – so he excelled in his studies, he was sociable and kind, and yet serious and profound. And despite his devotion to work, he devoted many hours to reading literature and poetry, to listening to music and even to writing poems in secret, and his thirst for knowledge gave him no rest. After a day of work he would run to the lab to visit the creatures he used for his thesis . Jacob was drafted into the IDF in November 1967 and assigned to the Armored Corps. Long before he was drafted, he dreamed of being accepted to a pilot course. When he was prevented from doing so, he was very hurt, but he did not fall down. In the artillery training he was an outstanding trainee, and from there he moved to the commando unit. During his short vacations he divided his time precisely between the kibbutz (which he considered his first home) and the family home. He was a caring and devoted son to his mother and would visit his home, but did not abandon his kibbutz. He was stubborn, in the good sense of the word, and persevering. These traits were also noted in the field of sport, both in studies and in the army. He was an outstanding soldier and his friends remember him fighting a stubborn war with himself for achievements and progress every day. He had many plans and dreams for the future, after he was released – to continue working in the orchard and develop it, or to buy books and read or to take walks and car trips to various places. On October 9, 1969, he fell in the line of duty in the Suez Canal area, and all his plans and dreams failed. He was laid to rest in the cemetery in Kiryat Gat. I knew him as he was: a dedicated soldier, quiet and disciplined, he was one of the pillars of the company, and it would be hard for us to adapt to the idea that he was no longer with us. ” After that, a book called “Ya’akov” was published in his memory.