Mendel, Shlomo

Son of Sarah and Ben-Zion, was born in 1924 in one of the Jewish communities in Czechoslovakia. In 1945 he immigrated to Israel after he managed to survive the horrors of the Holocaust. Upon his arrival in Israel he joined the Haganah, lived with his wife in the Kiryat Yosef neighborhood of Givatayim and worked as a carpenter. At the beginning of the War of Independence he served in the Harel Brigade and participated in the battle for the Castel. Towards the end of April 1948, a “Yevusi” operation was carried out in the Jerusalem area, intended to create a Jewish territorial contiguity within the city and between Jerusalem and the northern communities. For the purpose of the operation, the Harel Brigade was transferred to Jerusalem and on April 22-23, its forces attacked Shuafat, Beit Iksa and Nabi Samuel. The force movement to Nebi Samuel took a long time and the assault began at dawn. In the face of the enemy fire, the force was forced to withdraw and in the difficult retreat in broad daylight there were many casualties. This battle was on the 14th of Nissan 5708 (April 23, 1948). He was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Kiryat Anavim.