Rabi’a, Ezra

Son of Lulu and Moshe. He was born in Baghdad in 1926. He immigrated to Palestine on his own and joined a group of young people from Baghdad who lived in a house in Jaffa and joined the ranks of the Irgun Zvai Leumi in 1942. His command of the Arabic language and his knowledge of the Arab way of life He was employed as a “Arab” in an operation to confiscate weapons in the army camp in Rosh Ha’ayin, and was known for his kindness and courage on the night of April 3, 1946, At the railway stations and at the Iron Bridge, went out with his friends to attack the Shukri evening train station between Yavneh and Ashdod. The attackers encountered fierce fire from the British policemen and Ezra, who tried to raise himself to throw a grenade, was severely wounded by this fire. His friends threw him onto a stretcher and carried out his soul. For two hours they carried his body on the way to the retreat and finally was buried under the pressure of time in the sands. The commander of the operation eulogized the place and one of his friends said Kaddish. The body was later discovered by the British and buried in the village of Warburg. It was immortalized in “Memories of Netzach,” the memorial book for fallen soldiers of the Irgun Zvai Leumi.