Sassi, Yaakov
Yaakov, son of Rachel and Nissim, was born on February 3, 1954. He completed his elementary studies at the Assaf school in Ashkelon and then continued his high school studies at the “Tzach” school after two years of study He was forced to stop his studies in order to help support his father’s home, and due to illness, he was unable to bear the burden of the family’s agriculture. He wanted to study and always expected the situation at home to improve, and then he could return to school. He also did all the housework, from washing floors and washing dishes to shopping for the household, and helping his brothers and sisters to do their homework and memorize their studies, and in his relationship with his friends, Yaakov was always willing to help with his own volition. And his books were always clean and orderly in his bag, with all his things in order and everything in place: he was also a sports fan, and as a child he organized ball games among his classmates and was an active participant in them. Yaakov was drafted into the IDF in early May 1972 and assigned to the Engineering Corps, where he completed a professional course and was a member of the unit, and was well-liked and accepted. When the Yom Kippur War broke out, his unit set out to fulfill its mission of building bridges and maintaining them on the Suez Canal, and during the entire period of the war, Yaakov was able to write to his family and reassure them, so that they would not worry for nothing. On 22 Kislev (17.12.1973) in the West Bank of the Suez Canal, in the area of the 101st kilometer, Yaakov was found on a landmine and killed in the explosion, and was brought to rest in the military section of the Ashqelon cemetery. His family donated a Torah scroll and religious objects to the synagogue in Ashkelon to commemorate Yaakov’s name.
