Meir (Mara) Antin

Son of Boudia and Moshe, was born on July 10, 1919 in Poland to a family with a Zionist tradition. When he was nine, he joined the youth movement Ha – No’ar ha – Tsiyyoni in his city. Was active in the nest and reached the rank of battalion commander and was also active in leading the movement in the entire district. He ran summer colonies and was rich in faith in the Zionist idea. Meir studied at Tarbut School and graduated from the Gymnasium. In 1939, he immigrated to Israel on the illegal immigrant ship “Assimi” and joined the group in Hadar and carried out a number of tasks until it came to settle in the hothouse in the south, Nitzanim. Meir was also active in the educational framework in Israel and in the defense forces. He was one of the first volunteers of the Jewish Brigade, and in its ranks he worked in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and worked extensively among She’erith Hapleitah. He was also a member of a delegation of soldiers who left Germany for Poland in order to find and encourage Holocaust survivors. Upon his release, he returned to his agriculture and duties. He was one of the security activists, organized and prepared the agriculture for the approaching campaign and was among the survivors of the children’s convoy from Nitzanim. After the progress of the Egyptian column near Ashdod was halted, Kibbutz Nitzanim remained behind. The Egyptians understood that this point could serve as a basis for the activity of our forces in the rear and therefore concentrated considerable force in order to conquer it. The Egyptian attack was launched on June 7, 1948. In the early hours of the night, the agriculture was severely shelled, and in the morning the infantry assault began, but this was stopped by the defenders. The Egyptians increased the shelling and even activated planes that bombed the agriculture and caused heavy damage. Under this cover, Egyptian infantry and armored forces advanced and managed to penetrate the agriculture and take control of it. In this battle Meir fell on the 29th of Iyar 5708 (7.6.1948). His last words were: “No one will remain in battle!” Meir was brought to rest at the cemetery in Nitzanim.