Yisraeli, Chaim (Gaon)

Son of Joya and Mordechai (Marco). Chaim was born in 1926 in Izmir, Turkey. In 1944, he set out for Palestine as an illegal immigrant by land. At first he was caught and arrested near the border, and after his release he arrived in Syria, where he was again arrested, interrogated and tortured, but did not reveal details of his origin. One day Chaim managed to escape his prison and arrived in Israel. He first worked at Kibbutz Givat Haim, in the company of Youth Aliyah, and eventually volunteered to transfer immigrants to Israel by land. He was a member of the Haganah and a commander of a Palmach class. Chaim was killed in a road accident while carrying out his duties – escorting an illegal immigrant convoy, on 21 Av (7.8.1947). He was brought to eternal rest in the cemetery of Ayelet Hashahar, and his memoirs were published by his colleagues in the “Palmach Diary of Ayelet Hashachar”.