Mendelovich, Gershon (“Geshe”)

Son of Moshe and Golda. He was born on September 6, 1936, in the city of Botoshen in Romania. After he survived the horrors of World War II, the family immigrated to Israel. Here she was caught by the British and transferred to Cyprus. In Cyprus the family stayed for ten months and after the establishment of the state immigrated to Israel and settled in Haifa. After graduating from elementary school, Gershon worked at the Israel Shipyards and Engineering (“Hayama”) in Haifa as an apprentice and in the evening he attended a vocational school. He was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in May 1955. After being discharged from regular army service, Gershon was hired to work at Solel Boneh in the Haifa Bay where he worked for twelve years as a welder and driver. In 1969. In early 1969, Gershon was called to active reserve duty, during which he was injured in an encounter with the Egyptians in the Suez Canal area and on 8 Tevet 5706 (17.12.1969), three days after being operated at the hospital in Be’er Sheva, died. He left a wife and a child. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Haifa. “Gershon served in the unit since 1959. He was a disciplined soldier, responsible and always showed a social spirit in the unit – so we will remember him and always stand before our eyes,” he wrote in a letter of condolence sent by his unit commander to his wife. His wife donated a hundred and twenty books to Beit Kaye, a home for the IDF disabled in Nahariya, in memory of the books and three pictures of her tapestry to decorate the Beit Kaye cultural center. These are especially dear to us, for they are named after a brother-in-arms who, together with all the heroes of Israel, commanded us to continue the existence of the nation and the people of Israel. “