Mendelssohn, Eliyahu (Ernest)

Son of Roza and Moshe. He was born in April 1911 in the city of Posen, Germany. His father was one of the leaders of the Mizrachi movement in Germany. At the end of the First World War, the family moved to Berlin. Eliyahu completed elementary school, continued to study in a vocational high school and specialized in fine mechanics, cameras and a measuring instrument. During his studies he was a member of the Blau-Weiss Zionist youth movement. He had an evening voice and a sense of painting. After completing his studies, he worked for a while in a school-related factory and in 1932 immigrated to Eretz Israel. Here he worked in literature and after he settled down a little he married and the couple had a son. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Eliyahu joined the Royal Air Force and was transferred to the service at the Heliopolis base as technical director of the Aircraft Repair Workshop. After the occupation of Italy he was transferred there, specialized in optics and was certified as an aircraft engineer. At the end of the war he was released and accepted to work at the Lod airport in the service of the British airline. Alongside his work, he was a member of the “Airport Club” and in his profession he greatly assisted the Hagana. On the 16th of Kislev 5708 (29.11.1947), he died in the fall of a plane driven by his friend, Haganah member Ze’ev Levinson near Kibbutz Beit Yitzhak. He was laid to rest in the cemetery in Nahalat Yitzhak. He left a son, three sisters and four brothers. Details of the case appear in the periodical papers.