Kirsch, Zvi-David-Raphael

Son of Rivka and Jacob, was born on August 31, 1927, in the city of Sassergen, in the Transylvania region, to a religious Orthodox family, where he studied at a yeshiva in Toshand and was educated on my knees In 1936, his parents decided to immigrate to Eretz Israel, where his mother went to purchase land for the settlement of the extended family in Eretz Israel, but before the outbreak of World War II, most of the family members perished in the Holocaust. All his time and energy; He was later appointed commander and with his power of influence he joined other young people in the movement, including some of his cousins. The members of the group, headed by them, went to Italy to immigrate to Palestine; He found contact with the Irgun organizers. He and his friends settled in the Betar youth village, engaged in sports, and Raphael excelled in swimming and soccer. Everyone expected a day when the ship Altalena would be ready to immigrate to Israel. In the middle of June, 900 immigrants and many weapons were loaded onto the ship, and on June 20, 1948, it reached the shores of the country. The battle that took place between Irgun members and IDF soldiers had a severe effect on Rafael, who expressed his feelings in the song: “And how you received us / God! Rafael joined the IDF and was appointed deputy commander of the 91st Battalion of the Oded Brigade on October 19, 1948. He fell in battle in the framework of Operation Yoav to break through the Negev on the 12th of Tevet 5721 (21.12.1950) was buried at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, commemorated in memory of the fallen soldiers of the National Military Organization and commemorated in memory of the fighters who fell, along with the names of his fallen comrades in Operation Yoav “On the monument there is an inscription that says:” The traveler – when you descend to the Negev we are remembered. “The same fighters are commemorated even at the monument erected in the city of Ashdod and the” Ad Halom “bridge, Add to progress.