Pereira, Aaron
Son of Malka and Avraham, was born on February 4, 1911 in Jerusalem, where he worked as a driver in various service lines, and later as a member of the “Hamrat” cooperative, which maintained transportation between the Bukharan quarter and Jaffa Gate. When he joined the “HaMachasher” cooperative (which later merged with the Egged Cooperative), he also joined him and served the public at the steering wheel and the members of his association at the helm of its leadership. In the winter of 1948, with the beginning of the War of Independence after the United Nations General Assembly resolution on the partition of the country, he drove armored buses in places that served as a meter He was the driver of the supply convoys to Jerusalem and was able to transport the fuel tanks, which were so vital to the existence of the besieged capital, and a bus was traveling to Mount Scopus, passing through the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, During the morning of 13.4.1948, a convoy left for Mount Scopus after the British promised the road was open and safe, and the convoy encountered an Arab ambush in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and hundreds of Arabs hurled heavy fire at it. . Some of the vehicles managed to get out and return, but two buses, an ambulance and a escort vehicle were ambushed. For many hours the convoy members fought and tried to prevent the Arabs from approaching the vehicles. Fire from our positions in the city and Mount Scopus, as well as armored vehicles sent to the area, failed to help the convoy. British military forces in the area did not intervene and did nothing to help, despite appeals to them. In the afternoon the Arabs managed to set fire to two buses on their passengers. Only in the late evening did the British intervene and rescue the survivors from the trapped vehicles. Aharon was among the fallen on April 13, 1948. He was buried in Sanhedria, and on 9 Cheshvan 5702 (8.11.1951) he was laid to rest at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
