Zlotnicki, Avraham

Avraham, son of Necha and Gershon Zlotnicki, was born in 1893, in Izbica, Poland, where the Tzeirei Zion activists were active. He immigrated to Eretz Israel in the Fourth Aliya in 1925, settled in Afula and opened a workshop there. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Avraham enlisted in the British army, rose to the rank of sergeant, and he proudly carried the Jewish badge on his sleeve. Proud and meticulous, he stood watching the Germans, who with burning hatred followed his orders from dawn until the end of the day. He devoted himself to the rescue work among the refugees and did a great deal for their immigration, especially for the sake of the children’s immigration. At the end of the war he returned to his position in Nazareth and again devoted himself to the Haganah. He was one of the first firefighters in the area. During the War of Independence he enlisted immediately, despite his old age, and was appointed commander of a section in Afula. On February 12, 1948 he set out to repair the electricity lines cut off in Wadi Ara. When his group got out of the car, he was attacked by a gang that ambushed them and Avraham fell wounded in the ditch. British soldiers who passed by took him to the hospital in Be’er Ya’akov and from there was transferred to Hadassah, but could no longer be saved because of the inflammation caused by the bullets. After severe torture he died on the 11th of Adar I (February 21, 1948). He was buried in the Nahalat Yitzhak cemetery. He left behind a wife and two daughters. In 1955 he was transferred to eternal rest in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.