Picard, Baruch (Jean-Benoit)

Baruch, son of Colette and Bernard-Issachar, was born on September 10, 1941 in Perpignan, France, and attended a school in Strasbourg. Afterward, he continued his studies at the Lail High School of Engineers, through a special study grant, which he received when he successfully completed the matriculation exam. Baruch was a talented student and was very successful in his studies. From childhood, he was an active member of the French Jewish Scout Association, first as an apprentice and later as the head of an area in Marseilles. He received a faithful Jewish education at his parents’ home and was an excellent student of the Jewish idea. At the age of nineteen, he founded and organized a Jewish Scout movement in the city of Lille. He served as the correspondent of the Jewish newspaper in Marseilles in the years 1967-1969, and from Bar-Mitzvah he clung to the belief in the importance and importance of immigration to Israel. Baruch was naturally cheerful, with a sense of humor, wide-hearted and clever. He excelled in an excellent organizational capacity that found expression not only in his activity in the school but also in the organization of Jewish youth movements. He had a special talent for training and managed to instill in his students his faith and his attitude toward Judaism. By nature he was modest and modest, and despite his many successes in various fields, he knew how to behave with restraint and modesty and never bragged or bragged. From his youth he behaved like a responsible and polite man, and his mother trusted him even then. Despite the separation from the family during his years away from home, he did not sever his cordial ties with the family and managed to learn and progress without burdening them, despite the economic difficulties. In Marseille, he married Jacqueline, who met with the Jewish Scouts and the couple moved to Paris, where Baruch continued his studies. At first the young family lived in harsh conditions and when their first son, Ariel, was born, Baruch served as an officer with the rank of lieutenant in the French army, away from home and from the family. After his release a year later, he was hired by IAI in Marseilles, and a new period began in his life and in the life of his family. Two years later, his second son, Abby, was born, and the cute children were very pleased with their parents. In 1969 Baruch decided to immigrate to Israel with his family. In mid-July they all came to Israel and settled in Jerusalem. In the early years, the family encountered difficulties and tenderness, which was accepted to work in the “Beit Shemesh Engines” factory, was forced to struggle to achieve a proper status in its work. After a while he advanced and succeeded and was sent as a representative of the factory to negotiate with factories in France. Afterward he moved to work in a construction company in Jerusalem and was Simcha that he had taken part in building the country. That was when his “Sabra” daughter Rachel was born. Baruch was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in 1971 and assigned to the infantry corps, where he was assigned to a reserve unit as a rifleman, and was called to reserve duty during the Yom Kippur War, On October 8, 1973. He was killed and fell in battle in the stronghold of Milano, on the banks of the Suez Canal, where he was laid to rest at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, leaving behind a wife, two sons and a daughter. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, his commander wrote: “Baruch, blessed be He, fought valiantly in the stronghold of Milano, Pit Suez Canal, and fell defending his friends and his neck. He showed great devotion to his friends, courage and resourcefulness in to the downfall follow risked their lives and a danger to himself. We found that the characteristics of a person and a fighter exemplary character always remain with us. “