Zmetski, Jacob

Jacob, son of Rivka and Ezra, was born on 1 December 1935 in Tel Aviv and studied at the PICA elementary school in Ein Ganim, near Petah Tikva. From his youth Yaakov was active in the “Maccabi Hatzair” association and was a member of the youth committee of the association. He was an avid sports fan, mostly devoted to football. His other hobby was reading books. He spent many hours, sometimes nights, reading books and was knowledgeable and educated in many fields. He loved animals and dogs. He was a handsome young man, gentle and pleasant, with a sense of humor and a passion for life. His home was the focus of social activity and he was blessed with many friends and friends who admired him and maintained close ties with him. They called him James. Yaakov was drafted into the IDF at the end of March 1952 and assigned to the Ordnance Corps, and after completing his training he served in armored corps workshops and units, completing one of the first courses of armored corps commanders in the Armored Corps. And he was responsible for the unit and when he was about to be released, his commanders asked him to continue working in the unit as a civilian employee of the IDF and he accepted the request. After being discharged from regular service, Yaakov was accepted as a member of the Dan cooperative in Petah Tikva. His friends defined him as the spirit of the Dan station in the city. He was loved by his colleagues and by the passengers who had traveled with him in the Dan buses for many years. Jacob was a prominent family man. “His home was his fortress” – and most of all he loved spending time with the wife, the son and the daughter. In his spare time, a good book was his best friend. In the Yom Kippur War, Yaakov was one of the first recruits in his unit. He went to Sinai and on the Romani-Balousa road the unit was attacked by Egyptian MiGs on the fifth day of the war. Yaakov was seriously wounded, hospitalized, and underwent surgery for twelve days. He died of his wounds on the 26th of Tishrei 5740 (22.10.1973) and was brought to eternal rest in the cemetery in Kiryat Shaul. He left behind a wife, a son and a daughter and parents. After his death he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. His colleagues at ‘Dan’ named after him the Dan Club in Petah Tikva; The Maccabi Petah Tikva association named after him the Maccabi-Jacob-James youth group, and every year a soccer tournament is held in the name of Yaakov, where the veteran team of Maccabi Petah Tikva and the workers’ Dan. ‘