Nafha, David
Son of Rachel and Shraga. He was born on April 8, 1921 in Haifa, where he studied at Ben-Shemen Youth Village, Rishon LeZion, and at the Reali School in Haifa, where he was an outstanding student and especially attracted to technical subjects. Chaim also excelled in swimming – and this attraction led him to join the “HaPoel” naval company, and every Saturday, even during the bloody riots, he would descend through the Arab city streets to the beach near the Shemen factory to train seamen. He was recruited to the Jewish Settlements Police and was a guard in Kiryat Haroshet, and was operated by the Haganah to bring immigrants on the shores of the country. He was accepted to work in the shipyard in Haifa, and was trained as a guide in 1939. David was considered an excellent instructor and also specialized in preparing training literature and preparing training programs, translating professional material from English and determining Hebrew terms in the sea. He was called to return to Israel at the outbreak of the war, and in May 1941 he was called by the Haganah to operate a naval commando unit called the 23 Yordei Hasira. The aim of the operation was to blow up the oil refineries in Tripoli, Lebanon, and the twenty-three young men went there on May 18, 1941, in an engine-boat called “Lion of the Sea”. None of those leaving had returned to its base, and the circumstances of the matter had not been clarified to this day. David left two parents and two sisters. In the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, a monument was erected to commemorate the 23 Yordei Hasira, and his name was commemorated in the book “Secret Shield.” The naval officers’ school in Acre was named after the 23 Yordei Hasira. He was 20 years old when he died.
