Merhavia, Eliezer

Son of Henia and Moshe, was born on May 5, 1917, in the village of Prziatoli, near Radzivilov, Poland. As a child, he studied in a “cheder” and in a Polish elementary school. After completing his studies at the school, he completed tailoring in the town of Stavisk, where he joined the religious guard. In the spring of 1939 he immigrated to Israel and when he got to the shores of the country he was caught by the British, but managed to slip away from them. In April of that year, Eliezer joined the Avraham group in Kfar Pines, which later moved to the settlement of Kfar Etzion. He began working in the Pardes of Karkur and in the vineyards of Givat Ada, and also worked on paving roads and building. Sometimes he also worked in tailoring. In 1942 Eliezer volunteered for the infantry in the British Army, served in Israel and Egypt and later in Italy. With the Jewish Brigade, he participated in the battle against the Germans on the Sanyo River. During the period of his service in the Brigade he married in 1945 they had a daughter. At the end of the war Eliezer moved with the soldiers of the Jewish Brigade to the Netherlands and Belgium and was among the rescuers for survivors. Upon his discharge from the army he returned to Kfar Etzion where he was involved in land training, a stairwell building in the mountains and the construction of the Gush Etzion quarry. During the War of Independence Eliezer was responsible for ammunition and took care to transfer it to positions. During the siege he was also responsible for the economy of the local people and the soldiers stationed in the area. When the Arab Legion broke out at Kfar Etzion on the 4th of iyar, May 13, 1948, he fell on guard duty near the weapons depot in Kfar Etzion, and on the 25th of Cheshvan 5710 (November 17, 1949) was transferred to eternal rest with the rest of the victims of the Gush , at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.