Shulman, Elimelech Raphael (Milch)

Son of Sarah and Rabbi Asher Meir. He was born in 1920 and raised in Tiberias. After completing his studies at the Or Torah elementary school and at the “Meir Baal Haness” secondary school, he studied plumbing and mechanics and worked in the fields. Elimelech used to visit his sister’s house, Batya Basha Leah, who was killed on the 24th of Iyar 5708 (June 2, 1948), about three months after his death, together with her husband Moshe Yehoshua Heshel Eisin and three of their daughters were injured by a shell in their home during the first truce in the War of Independence, and during the holidays he returned to his parents’ home to stay with them and the family. Following the UN declaration of partition and the outbreak of the War of Independence, Elimelech remained in Jerusalem, under siege and continued his main occupation as a driver, both in and outside the city. He did not hesitate to bring food in a truck on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv line, despite the high risks involved in these trips, and did not take advice from his acquaintances to stop the dangerous journeys. At the same time, he began working for Solel Boneh as a truck driver of the company inside Jerusalem and was recruited for fortifications and transporting fortifications to Hadassah Hospital and Hebrew University sites on Mount Scopus in besieged Jerusalem. On 27 Adar I 5708 (March 8, 1948), he drove a Solel Boneh truck in the afternoon, laden with fortified materials. Elimelech crossed the checkpoint at the Mandelbaum Pass and took the Sheikh Jarrah road toward Hadassah Hospital. He was ambushed by Arab rioters, shot at at close range and hit by shrapnel from a grenade thrown into the driver’s cabin. He burned alive in his truck. After his death, Arab rioters dragged his body from the driver’s cabin and abused it. His body was transferred to Shaare Zedek Hospital and only on the following day, on the 37th of Adar 5708 (March 8, 1948), he was brought to eternal rest in the Sanhedria cemetery. He was 28 years old when he fell. Survived by his parents and six brothers and sisters.