Rotman, Ze’ev
Son of Johanna and Max. Born 1920 in Berlin, Germany. His wealthy parents sent him to a Hebrew school and from a young age he discovered a developed sense of technique. In 1936 he immigrated to Eretz Israel in Aliyat Hanoar and received his training at Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim. He was very sociable, pleasant and talented in various fields. With the completion of his years of training in Kiryat Anavim, his parents wanted him to continue his studies at the Technion and in the direction of his technical orientation, but he refused to do so because he found it contrary to the pioneering idea. He joined the “BaMaleh” group of Gordonia, a settlement group that trained in Kiryat Anavim. After the murder of the five in “Har HaRuach” (9.11.1937) and the establishment of Kibbutz Ma’aleh Hahamisha in memory of the fallen, Ze’ev became responsible for signaling and wireless communication. He became the liaison between the group and external elements. As a result of this position he spent a lot of time on the roads but continued to maintain close and personal contact with his teammates. On 21 Iyar, May 18, 1941, he went on a Haganah mission withthe “Yordei Hasira” group, whose goal was to blow up the oil refineries in Tripoli, Lebanon. One of his friends wrote: “The day before his departure, I saw him. We spoke briefly, but I saw that he was fully alert to the task he had undertaken. He knew the dangers before him and despite this clear knowledge he was enthusiastic and proud that he had been given such a responsible role. Ze’ev the dreamer and the enthusiastic also saw the dangerous role, but the purpose of life. His love for the country, for the group, was very faithful in this mission.” The unit encountered fire and the fourteen bridges were blown up. Thirteen men, Yosef among them, were killed when the fire hit the explosives they were carrying, and the railway bridge was destroyed on the fighters who took shelter from its pillars. He was brought to rest in a mass grave in the cemetery on the Carmel coast. He left a brother and three sisters. In 1968, the remains of the thirteen men were transferred to a grave that was dug in the heart of the monument erected in memory of the fallen. His name was immortalized in “The Palmach Book”. Five years after the disaster, the memorial monument erected in Ma’ale Hachamisha in memory of Ze’ev was unveiled, and his name is engraved among the others. He was 21 years old when he died.
