Zeilingold, Ester (Esti)

Born in London, England, on June 27, 1925, daughter of Hannah and Moshe-Leib, she completed high school and became a teacher, and before immigrating to Israel she volunteered to teach in refugee camps in England. Her parents’ home was steeped in traditional and national Jewish culture and her youth grew up feeling as expressed in her words: “Jerusalem is my home”.
In November 1946 she immigrated to Israel. After being accepted as a teacher at the Evelina de Rothschild School, she settled in Jerusalem. She was a dedicated and active member of the Torah v’Avodah Organization. She participated in educational work, wrote and published many articles. She was very enthusiastic, talented, deep in thinking and searching for the roots of things, writing articles and descriptions that were printed in her movement’s journals as an excellent material for explanation and ideological guidance, After the United Nations General Assembly resolution on partition, she joined the religious department of the girls of HISH in Jerusalem. She was sent to the “Hagana” base in Tzuba and worked there as a cook. Then she went to a training course in Jerusalem and after finishing the course she was sent to Neve Ya’akov and there she also worked in the kitchen and participated in the defense of the place. After the evacuation of the place, after bitter and severe attacks, she returned to Jerusalem and was assigned the role of supervising the recruitment of the evaders and also made visits to hospitals, clubs, etc. on behalf of the relief department. As a person with initiative, she was very useful in all these roles. She broadcast in English on the underground “Hagana” broadcasts and actively participated in committees and organizations close to her spirit and published articles in the English language in “Agrot Lachaim” and the “HaGesher” newspaper. During the siege and the hard battles in the besieged old city, after many efforts she managed to get to the old city in the role of a so-called teacher. Upon her arrival, she was appointed secretary of the section and welfare functions were placed on her, but she also participated as a fighter in repelling the enemy. More than once she was wounded and operated, but when her condition improved she left the hospital before she completely recovered from her wounds. The day before the surrender of the Old City, mortal wounds were caused by a shell. Until the last moments she worried about friends. Esther died of her wounds on May 29, 1948, a few hours after the evacuation of the Old City, and was buried in Sheik Bader Aleph in Jerusalem, where she wrote extensively in the press in Israel and in England and America and in various books. Elul 5710 (10.9.1950) was transferred to eternal rest in the military cemetery at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.