Shref, Ze’ev

Son of Fishel. He was born in 1923 in Vienna, Austria. In 1939 he immigrated to Eretz Israel in a youth group and upon his arrival in Eretz Israel he was sent to Kibbutz Tel Yosef. He joined Aliyat Hanoar and soon became prominent as an outstanding worker involved in the agriculture and taking part in many fields of activity. At the end of 1941, despite his young age, Ze’ev volunteered to do his part in the war against the Nazi enemy and was assigned to Transportation Unit 462. He participated in battles in the Western Desert and later joined the ship “Arinapura” that was attached to a large convoy. The convoy made its way toward Malta, where the invasion force was preparing. On the 27th of Nisan 5703 (May 1, 1943), as the convoy marched through the sea, the convoy was attacked by German bombers. The “Aryanpura” suffered a direct hit and went down to the depths, along with 140 soldiers from Unit 462, Zeev among them. In the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, a ship-shaped monument was erected in memory of the missing, and next to it is a water pool with the names of the fallen engraved on the bottom.