Petkovsky, Tamar (Tmaskala)

Daughter of Paula and Mordechai, was born on July 2, 1928 in Jerusalem. An only child of her parents. From her childhood, her talents were evident in various branches of art – painting, piano, and dance – and she became addicted to their studies, especially in dance. At the same time, she had acquired knowledge of literature. All these together shaped the image of this girl, a graduate of the Rehavia Gymnasium, to a harmonious figure who promised a great deal. She was a counselor in the Scouts movement, prepared for agricultural life and held positions in the Haganah from an early age. At the beginning of the War of Independence, she accompanied convoys in the framework of the Hagana and participated in the defense of isolated points. After the women and children were evacuated, she was the “mother” of those who remained. On the day when it was decided to evacuate the entire community, she knew how to encourage those leaving and to influence them with her security. But she herself wrote her parents a farewell letter and begged their forgiveness for leaving them. She felt she would not see them again. Its last stop was Neveh Yaakov – on the outskirts of Jerusalem in the north. On the 17th of Iyar 5708 (16.5.1948), at the time of the heavy attack that preceded the evacuation of the site, she went to help a friend who had been wounded in the field, despite the deadly fire that raged around her, and was buried in Neve Ya’akov on the 17th of Cheshvan 5710. 1949) was put to rest at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.