Zwikelski, Uri

Uri, son of Bella and Yosef Zwikelski, was born in 1930 in Jerusalem. From childhood he was known at school and at home as having a sense of duty and responsibility. When he was 12 years old, he went with his class to a trip to Caesarea and jumped into the stormy sea to save two drowning girls from the shore. When the War of Independence began, he was too young to be drafted and he volunteered. After three months he was finally admitted to the Golani Brigade and soon became known as an exemplary soldier whose presence in the camp benefited the other recruits. He went with his company to a raid on the Arab al-Zubayh at the foot of Mount Tabor, which was a major concern for Hebrew transportation and the surrounding communities. The force took over the village and blew up some of its houses. The Arabs launched a counter-attack. In the course of the retreat Uri and his group covered the retreat of the company and for hours fired a machine gun at the enemy, causing many casualties. Uri fell in this battle, on the 27th of Nissan (May 6, 1948). Six days later, his body was rescued from the battlefield and brought to rest in a grave in the Beit Keshet cemetery.