Kibowitz, Yitzchak (Itche)
Yitzchok, son of Yitzhak and Rivka, Kibowitz was born (a few months after his father’s death) on the 20th of Adar, March 23, 1927 in Rehovot, where his family were one of the founders of Wachikia. He studied in the elementary school in the village and afterwards studied at the Montefiore School in Tel Aviv. At the age of eleven he fell ill, and after various operations, the doctors had to amputate his right leg. Nevertheless, when he recovered and grew up, he was active in the Irgun until 1945, when he joined the ranks of the Haganah. He was on Kibbutz Ein Gev and Kibbutz Dan, where he worked as a guard. Because of his knowledge of the Arabic language and his knowledge of Arab customs, he had a good relationship with his neighbors. After his brother Shlomo was killed in the Negev during the War of Independence (on the 29th of Teves, (29.1.1948), his mother asked him to return to Rechovot. He did so, but the memory of his brother aroused in him a spirit of fanaticism and stubbornness in fulfilling various and responsible functions. He immediately joined the IDF and served as a sabotage officer. He was then transferred to the Lower Galilee Division with the rank of captain in the army, and was given responsibility for infiltration in the south. When he found it difficult to do so, he began to use a plane, and that was how he would discover the enemy in every place. On the 9th of Tevet 5711 (18.12.1950), in the course of his service, Yitzchak fell and was brought to eternal rest in the military section of the cemetery in Rehovot – next to his brother’s grave. He left behind a wife and daughter born four days after he was killed.
