Rubio, Jac (Jacob)

Jac, son of Regina and Pinchas (Felix), was born on August 12, 1941, in Alexandria, Egypt, and immigrated to Israel with his family in 1949. The family was sent to live in an immigrant camp and were later transferred to Tirat Hacarmel, where they lived in tents and under conditions of distress until they were given an apartment. In Egypt, Jac studied until the second grade and in Israel, he continued his studies at the Degania School until fifth grade and completed his elementary studies at the Kfar Masaryk Youth Society. Afterward, he studied for an additional year in the evening at Sammat School studying frameworks, and as a member of a family of eight, who was struggling to earn a living, went to work as an apprentice at the Vulcan factory, where he worked until his recruitment. He was a member of the “Hapoel” Haifa and was very fond of folk dances he studied in the kibbutz and also organized a dance troupe in the area, and he had a tendency to paint and other delicate handwork, and he devoted his spare time to him. Chaim, who was educated on the knees of the collective tradition to the love of the land and the love of man, he knew how to listen to the soul of others and to understand it and was willing to help anyone in need. He was very fond of his parents and respected them, and was grateful to them for the great efforts they invested in family education, which was large but cohesive, and was friends with his brother and sister. Jac was drafted into the IDF in early May 1959 and was assigned to the Armored Corps. After basic training, he completed a tank training course and served as a cannon in a tank. In his unit he was considered an excellent soldier, who did everything he was required to do with his willingness and his recognition. He understood the meaning of the crew’s life and loved them. He loved the tank and treated it with devotion. He was loved by his commanders and his comrades in the unit and was careful to maintain friendly relations with them. When the Yom Kippur War broke out, he did not wait for the order to read but hastened to stand in his unit and fight with it in the battles of containment on the Golan Heights. On October 12, 1973, his tank was hit in the battle and he was killed. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Haifa. Survived by a wife and daughter, parents, brothers, and sister. After his fall, he was promoted to sergeant. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, his commanding officer wrote: “Jac acted as a team member with dedication and responsibility, and fell on his way out with his friend’s threat of the enemy to destroy us. His fall is a loss to his friends and to the unit. “