Singer, Jacob

Jacob (Yaki), son of Ivria and Joseph, was born on July 25, 1946 in Tel Aviv. He attended elementary school in Tel Aviv and at the Borochov Elementary School in Givatayim; Afterward, he continued his studies in the Kalai High School in Givatayim. Jacob was a diligent student. He was an active boy, served as a member of the school’s student council and was elected to be its chairman, and was a member of the Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed youth movemen. He was an instructor in the Borochov branch, a music lover who was a piano player, and he was honest and conscientious, adhering to his principles and insisting on the tasks and challenges he set for himself. He was Simcha, and all his acquaintances remembered him as a polite, hospitable person. Yaakov was drafted into the IDF in mid-August 1964 and volunteered for the Paratroopers Brigade. After basic training, he took a parachuting course and a course for infantry commanders. After he succeeded in his duties in his unit, he was sent to a course for infantry officers and later took part in a course for company commanders. He was a good officer, industrious, dedicated, efficient and knowledgeable. He had a sense of responsibility and could be trusted in whatever he did. He was very capable and had original ideas. He had the ability to absorb and learn, initiated a lot in the field of his job, had a good perception and fulfilled his role in an exceptional manner. In his service he participated in the battle of Samu in the role of operations officer, and was awarded the “Six Day War.”award. After the Six-Day War, during the breakthrough to Sharm-a Shaik he was injured and hospitalized for a while, and after completing his regular service, he studied at the Tel Aviv University, where he studied electrochemistry and the University of Cleveland, Ohio, where he studied for his doctorate in electrochemistry. He responded to the call of the defense minister during the War of Attrition to return to the regular army, served in the Tempo outpost during the days of very heavy shelling and at the dock post. In 1973 he married his girlfriend Gilo and was always a loyal and devoted son, who was very close to his family. The Yom Kippur War broke out and he was sent to the Sinai front on October 21, 1973. In the battle for the Foxtrot outpost on the southern outskirts of Ismailia, a sniper shot him in the chest and was killed on the spot. He was brought to eternal rest in the cemetery in Kiryat Shaul. He left behind a wife, a father, a brother and a sister. After his fall, he was promoted to the rank of Major. His battalion published “diary pages” in memory of his fighters who fell in battle, and Yaakov was among them.