Speyer, Yehuda (Leon)

Son of Dina and Yaakov, was born on the 7th of Nissan, March 25, 1931 in Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia, and immigrated to Eretz Israel on July 30, 1933. In Israel he began to work as a goldsmith to support his mother. Yehuda joined the army and first he served in Ramat Gan, but his heart demanded that he be transferred to the ranks of the fighters. He served in the first firefighters and served in the Yiftah Brigade. In preparation for the first truce, the Yiftah Brigade was demoted to the central region and took part in the fighting in the Latrun area. On the night of 17-18 July 1948, towards the beginning of the second truce, the “Haemek” battalion seized Shilat and an outpost in the eastern part of the Korikor ridge, in order to threaten the wing of the legion in Latrun. In the morning it became clear that the Legion force was holding the western part of the ridge. The enemy attacked the force in the outpost from two directions with the aid of armored vehicles. In the harsh retreat in an open area under crossfire, many of the fighters fell. In this battle Yehuda fell on the 11th of Tammuz 5708 (18.7.1948) and he was only 17 years old. He was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Nahalat Yitzhak.