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Kleinstein, Aryeh (Leibele, Leibush)

Kleinstein, Aryeh (Leibele, Leibush)


Son of Gitel and Michael. In the summer of 1925, when Aryeh was 4 years old, the family immigrated to Israel and settled in Haifa. Because of difficulties in earning a living and absorption, the family moved to Mahanayim and at the beginning of 1927 came to Rosh Pina and lived there in a rented apartment In 1928. Aryeh studied at the elementary school in Rosh Pina but refused to continue his high school studies. He was a tall and handsome young man who was not deterred by risks, he was very fond of manual labor, specialized in repairing light weapons and various machines and was very happy when he succeeded in his work. Gitl, who bore the burden of supporting the household after her husband’s death, built a permanent home outside the colony, bordering the British police building. The officers that served the border control and its employees were Arab, and the mother opened a restaurant in her house that later became an observation point and meeting place for members of the Haganah. Aryeh who was a member of the Haganah and his mother helped in transporting arms and security information. In the events of 1936, the danger of the location of a single Jewish house among the Arabs increased, and there were even reports of the Arabs’ intentions to liquidate the house and to assassinate Aryeh, who was stubborn and consistent in his thoughts and actions. He once said, “You cannot extinguish a single Jewish light in the area.” On the night of 22 Sivan, 21 June 1938, Arab rioters entered the restaurant, and when Aryeh, at their request, served a cold drink, they shot him and also hit a Jewish sergeant who was there at the Hagana Yeshiva. Aryeh was killed and brought to rest in the cemetery in Rosh Pina. He left a mother and a sister. After his death, his mother closed the house for a few months, but later opened the restaurant and the house again and continued with greater vigor in her previous activity. Indeed, she was a woman who knew how to overcome her aching and grieving for the fall of her only son to act for the sake of others and for the boys who went on defensive duty. She adopted them all and called them “Mayne Kinder” (my children).

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