Kushnir, Yitzhak (Itzik)
Son of Cherna and Meir, was born on 25.4.1929 in the city of Novoselitsa, in the region of Bessarabia, Romania. An only child near eight sisters. He studied in a “cheder” and later in an elementary school. During World War II and in the Holocaust, the whole family was sent to Transnistria. Where his parents and five of his sisters perished. On the day of his release he was sick and exhausted and also dying. He returned to his place of residence and worked as a locksmith on the train. He usually worked two consecutive shifts to support his surviving sisters. He worked hard for the sake of his third sister, who remained stuck in Russia, and when he returned, he joined her in training Hanoar Hazioni, traveled with her and his friends to Yugoslavia, and in 1946 they boarded the Haganah. He spent three months in the Atlit detention camp. After his release, he moved to Tel Yitzhak. In the meantime his sister settled in Herzliya and he came to live with her in the moshava and worked as a laborer. In Herzliya he joined the Haganah. Immediately after the UN General Assembly resolution on November 29, 1947, the division of the country into two states was conscripted in December 1947 with his friends from the “Hachash” unit. He served in one of the companies of the Sharon Battalion in the Alexandroni Brigade and participated in all its activities. With the entry of the Arab Legion into the fighting, Jerusalem’s situation worsened and the road to it was cut off by the Legion system in Latrun. The breakthrough was planned for Operation son of-Nun A, and its battalion would reinforce the Seventh Brigade in this operation, and it was ordered to conquer Latrun. The forces left for their missions on the night of May 24-25, 1948. Soon after they left, they encountered Legionnaires who turned out to be better and were assisted by cannons, armored cars, and local Arabs. In the midst of the harsh retreat, in light of the enemy’s superiority and harsh weather conditions, many of the fighters fell. In this battle, too, Yitzhak fell on the 17th of Iyar 5708 (May 26, 1948). On the 17th of Cheshvan 5710 (17.11.1949) he was transferred to the eternal military cemetery at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
