Pivko, Yisrael (Uzi)

Son of Rudel and Yosef-Baruch, was born on the 3rd of Tevet, December 16, 1928 in the city of Cologne, Germany to a family of pious rabbis, on the father and mother’s side, He studied at the Beit Yosef Yeshiva, was a diligent and an outstanding student, and at the age of 15 began to work and enlisted in the Lehi underground service taking on various dangerous positions. A few months before the liquidation of the British Mandate, Uzi was caught printing pamphlets and imprisoned in Atlit. Upon his release Yisrael moved to the Lehi camp near Petach Tikvah and stood out for his administrative qualities and talents. Yisrael was active in the Lehi youth front, loyally fulfilling the tasks assigned to him, and when fighting broke out in Israel, he went to battle, even though he was the breadwinner of the family. Yisrael served as a sergeant in the battles in the Negev. Onthe 27th of Kislav, December 29, 1948, he was killed in the battle and was buried in Rechovot on December 31, 1948. On the 30th day of his death, his battalion’s soldiers gathered and decided to call the battalion after him – the Yisrael Battalion.