Naftali, Levi

Levi, son of Malka and Yaakov Naftali, was born in 1925 in Iasi, Romania. During his studies he joined the Hashomer Hatzair movement. Levi immigrated to Eretz Yisrael with his fellow movement members in 1944. When they arrived at Kibbutz Daliah, he served as a guard and a weapons instructor, and worked to protect the kibbutzim Eilon and Hanita in the Upper Galilee. Levi took part in the immigration of illegal immigrants to Nahariya, where he was very active and was elected to the important positions of treasurer, secretary and member of the committee. During the War of Independence, on the 6th of Adar 2 5748 (March 17, 1948), Naftali was on duty at the entrance to the “Naaman” factory in Haifa Bay. Suddenly, a car with armed Arabs emerged and they shot at the workers, who were leaving work. Levy was killed in this burst of gunfire. He was laid to rest in the cemetery at Kibbutz Ramat Yochanan. He left a wife, Marietta, and a sister. His daughter, who was born a month after he fell, was named after him.