Yanowitz, Moshe-Mordechai

Moshe-Mordechai, son of Chaya and Shlomo Yanowitz, was born on October 5, 1916, in the city of Zeten, Slovakia. He developed his Zionism in the Betar movement to which he belonged until the day he fell. In 1936 he served in the Czech Army with the rank of sergeant. When the state fell into the hands of the Germans, he immigrated to Eretz Israel in March 1940 on one of the Betar ships and settled in Rishon Letzion, where he volunteered for the Betar Company and from there joined the “Special Company” in the British Army. Later Moshe-Mordechai moved to the Jewish Brigade and served as a machine gunner. As a member of the unit that was trained to parachute in the enemy countries, he studied vocational courses of the Armored War and was able to deal with the immigration of Jews in Northwest Europe, and later joined a handful of soldiers searching for a way to save refugees in the vicinity of his birthplace. He was one of the first to arrive illegally in Eastern Europe. Moshe-Mordechai was one of the founders of the illegal immigration organization and his missions were crowned with success. With the dismantling of the Brigade, he planned the transfer arms to Israel. As an officer of the Second Battalion, Moshe-Mordechai joined the British delegation and guided the Belgian army. After the failure of the first attack, the Ben-Nun Bet” operation was planned to conquer the Latrun Legion and break into Jerusalem, and its task was to break into the police building and occupy it. The force burst into the police yard, but most of the half-tracks and fighters were hit by the heavy fire of the enemy and were forced to retreat. On the 21st of Iyar, May 30, 1948, he fell. He was survived by his wife. After his death he was promoted to lieutenant, and on the 25th of Cheshvan 5710 (17.11.1949) he was transferred to the military cemetery at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.