Zolotov, Bezalel

Son of Sarah and David. Was born on May 17, 1924 in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, and immigrated to Israel with his parents when he was 11 years old. He studied at the commercial high school in Tel Aviv and, after completing his studies, As a guard. At the base, he soon became corporal. Among his many friends in the camp were American officers and Negro soldiers, Arab workers and farm people in the area. At the end of his year of service, he studied for one year at the Hebrew Technion in Haifa, but was forced to stop his studies and take part in the work. Bezalel worked as a clerk, was one of the best swimmers in the swimming department of Brit Maccabim-Atid, liked to swim and ride, read a book or write in his diary. Cheerful and fresh, there was always a smile on his lips, and that was what his friends liked. Bezalel was among the first volunteers in the War of Independence and served as a squad commander in the southern front, as a soldier in the Givati ​​Brigade and was among the defenders of Nitzanim. After the progress of the Egyptian column near Ashdod was halted, Kibbutz Nitzanim remained behind. The Egyptians understood that this point could serve as a basis for the activity of our forces in the rear and therefore concentrated considerable force in order to conquer it. The Egyptian attack was launched on June 7, 1948. In the early hours of the night, the agriculture was severely shelled, and in the morning the infantry assault began, but this was stopped by the defenders. The Egyptians increased the shelling and even activated planes that bombed the agriculture and caused heavy damage. Under this cover, Egyptian infantry and armored forces advanced and managed to penetrate the agriculture and take control of it. Bezalel participated in a vain attempt to break out of the occupied agriculture and in the last consultation, in which it was decided to surrender the place. At the same time, he and another friend fled with an unusable Bren machine gun to the grove on the southern side of the farm where he fell on the 29th of Iyar 5708 (7.6.1948). He was laid to rest at the cemetery in Nitzanim.