Rizi, Isaac

He was born on July 18, 1910 in Boisotsk, Poland. He attended elementary school in his hometown and from his youth he excelled in the beauty, simplicity, and loyalty of his friends. At a young age, he lost his father and mother and grew up in his grandparents’ home. In 1926 he joined the He – Chaluts ha – Tsa’ir youth movement and in 1926 entered the Zionist pioneering training commune (kibbutz hachshara) in Klossowa. In time he was drafted into the Polish army and served in the Artillery Corps. In 1934 he immigrated to Eretz Israel and joined Kibbutz Ayelet Hashachar. In the kibbutz he soon absorbed himself and liked everything because of his personal qualities and his willingness to play any role. At the outbreak of the 1936 riots he joined the Nutras and spent nights as a day in charge of the guard force moving in the fields and on the roads. In 1938, when the aid for immigration to Hanita was organized, he was one of the first to enlist in this aid, and remained there to guard the spot for a year. After the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted in the Baps Company in the British army. After the establishment of the Jewish Brigade in September 1944, he was transferred to a training camp in Fiuggi, Italy, and later promoted to sergeant. On the eve of Pesach 5705, he wrote to his home, among other things: “… On Passover, the birthday of Nurit the beloved, waves of memories flood my heart, and I feel a great longing for that great day, I will celebrate her birthday here according to my ability, and when I return I will tell my sweetie that Abba has gone out to avenge the children’s blood and the little girl will forgive me for missing me this time.” On the following day, on 15 Nisan, 29th of March, 1945, he was hit in the battlefield by shrapnel and killed. He was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Ravenna, Italy. He left a wife and a daughter, and his name was immortalized in the book “The Jewish Brigade.”