Reynman, Yekutiel (Kuti)

Son of Adele and Yosef, was born on January 21, 1924 in the town of Yagilnica, Poland. In 1929 his parents moved to Vienna where he studied until the Nazis invaded Vienna. His father was taken to Buchenwald concentration camp and murdered there. His mother was also murdered by the Nazis. Yekutiel was one of the last survivors from Vienna and immigrated to Israel in 1939 as part of the Youth Aliyah. He spent about two years in the youth organization in Balfouriya, and from there he moved to Hulda. In 1941 he joined the ranks of the Palmach and served there for three years, for six months in Tel Aviv, where he moved to Tel Aviv and worked for the Israel Electric Company, and during the search for “Black Sabbath” (29.6.1946) He was arrested by the British and held for four months in the Rafah and Latrun camps, and when the War of Independence broke out, he joined the “Paratroz” battalion of the Harel Brigade. Accompanied convoys, was in Beit Dagon and Mikvah Israel, and from there he moved to Hulda and the mountains of Jerusalem. Kuti despised the dangers and used to say that “a bullet will not dare hit Huldai.” Fought in Castel and the breakthrough to Jerusalem and the battle of Nebi Samuel. Towards the end of April 1948, a “Yevusi” operation was carried out in the Jerusalem area, intended to create a Jewish territorial contiguity within the city and between Jerusalem and the northern communities. For the purpose of the operation, the Harel Brigade was transferred to Jerusalem and on April 22-23, its forces attacked Shuafat, Beit Iksa and Nabi Samuel. The force movement to Nebi Samuel took a long time and the assault began at dawn. In the face of the enemy fire, the force was forced to withdraw and in the difficult retreat in broad daylight there were many casualties. In this battle he fell, in the course of helping his injured friend, on the 14th of Nissan 5708 (April 23, 1948). He was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Kiryat Anavim.