Solomonovich, Leon (Nello)

Leon (Nello), son of Stella and Isaac Solomonovich, was born on July 31, 1921 in the city of Galatas, Romania. He graduated from high school and studied two years of medicine but could not continue because of the decrees imposed on the Jews of Romania. Leon boarded the illegal immigrant ship “Dorian B” and arrived in Israel on 19.04.1941, where he was held in Atlit for a year. At first he worked in a diamond factory and later in a weaving factory, but all he wanted was to be a doctor.
In December 1947, he enlisted in the army and served in the Negev Brigade as a company paramedic. In the army, as in his civilian life, he excelled in devotion and love of others. As part of efforts to contain the progress of the Egyptian army, the Givati ​​Brigade was ordered to attack the concentration of the Egyptian army in Ashdod, and on the night of June 2, 1948, the force set out for the operation. They encountered difficulties in the Ashdod sand dunes, and on the morning of June 3, 1948, the Egyptians opened fire. During the assault, which caused many casualties, the force retreated to Nitzanim in broad daylight, carrying the wounded and fighting in retaliation. Leon fell along with nine of his friends, and their bodies remained in the area. The families contacted the Prime Minister’s Office and in November 1949, searches were carried out and eventually, Leon, along with the others, were found and a mass burial was made in Nahalat Yitzhak. On the 2nd of Av 5763 (11.07.2013), a ceremony was held in Nahalat Yitzhak, where a gravestone with was placed on the mass grave.