Nussbaum, Yaacov

Son of Meir and Klara, a member of a well-known rabbinic family, was born on the 28th of Kislav, December 25, 1924 in the city of Fulda, Germany. As a child, the family moved to Frankfurt where he attended an ultra-Orthodox school. When the Nazis came to power, the family left and crossed the border to France, then to Switzerland and Italy. In each country, he adopted the language of the country.
Yaakov immigrated to Israel together with his family in 1939. He was a member of “Elitzur” and participated enthusiastically in its illegal activities to bring immigrants to Israel.Yaacov was an active and dedicated member of the Haganah. At the beginning of the War of Independence and the Arab riots against the Jewish Yishuv following the UN General Assembly resolution, he was one of the first conscripts and was part of a religious unit. From there he was sent to a paramedics course in Holon, and then sent as a company medic to the Givati ​​Brigade. Yaacov participated in many battles around Tel Aviv, breaking the road to Jerusalem and even came as a backup to the Yavneh group, where he worked previously as an enthusiastic farmer. In all his army service, he was meticulous in his religious duties, despite the difficulties involved. After one of the nightly attacks of the Egyptians, while the youths were forced to retreat from the positions, he wrote: “My blanket, my jacket and other objects were left behind, but I saved my notes from the course of paramedics.” His unit clung to Hill 69 east of the coastal road to block the movement of the Egyptians. The hill was captured on June 8, 1948, and the unit began to barricade itself. On the June 10, 1948, the Egyptians shelled the site and then attacked with armored vehicles, causing casualties, the collapse of the positions and damage to the weapons. While Yaacov rescued a wounded man while retreating, he was hit by a shell and died on the 3rd of Nissan, Tuesday, June 10, 1948. His commander, in this report, noted the courage of Yaakov, who helped his friend without hesitation. Nine months later, his body was gathered together with the bodies of his comrades who fell in the same battle. On the 8th of Adar 5709 (9.3.1949) he was laid to rest in the military cemetery at Nahalat Yitzhak.