This post is about Zippora (Feige) Jacobowitz and her life story that was what we call Netzer Acharon. But what is Last Remnant (Netzer Acharon)? Zippora is a Last Remnant (Netzer Acharon). Namely, Holocaust survivors who remain as the last survivor of their nuclear family. So they are those who experienced firsthand the Holocaust terror. During or after World War II; Enlisted in the armed corps and fell in Israeli Wars.
Zippora (Feige) Jacobowitz: Time in Auschwitz And Theresienstadt
In 1944, Zipporah was sent to Auschwitz. But she managed to survive the horrors of the place. And from there she was transferred to Theresienstadt. She was employed in the bakery. And in her work, she tried to supply bread to the hungry Jews. Actually, the ghetto in Theresienstadt was established by the Germans with the aim of concentrating on the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia. Also the Jews from Germany and Western Europe. Terezin was meant to be a “Model Jewish Ghetto”.
Finally – Liberation!
Zippora was liberated from the Theresienstadt camp on May 8, 1945. When she returned to her native village, she found the house empty and desolate. Then she moved to Budapest, the capital of Hungary, joined the Gordonia youth movement. But kept her faith in her religious upbringing, and kept the commandments in all her ways. After Budapest came to Graz, Austria. Also, she was one of the first to steal the border with Italy, and in October 1945 made Aliyah to Eretz Israel on the “Enzo Sereni” ship.
Zippora (Feige) Jacobowitz Reaches Eretz Israel!
In Israel, Zippora separated from her group, and in January 1946 joined Kfar Etzion in Mount Hebron, the first of the Gush Etzion settlements. Quiet and dedicated to work, she got along very well. And she took it upon herself to learn Hebrew, becoming a real Sabra.
According to the United Nations Partition Resolution of November 29, 1947, Gush Etzion was not included in the Jewish state. Immediately afterward, Arabs launched attacks on the Gush and its roads from Jerusalem. All of the Gush, and Zippora among them, served in the Haganah as part of the Etzioni Brigade.
For most of the six months of the battles, Gush Etzion was under siege, cut off from Jerusalem and other Jewish communities. The connection with the Gush has been maintained thanks to several vehicles that broke into Jerusalem, especially during the first few blockades and with British assistance.
Zippora (Feige) Jacobowitz: The Jordanian Legion Is Attacking The Gush
Due to the importance of Gush Etzion in the campaign in the Jerusalem area, the Jordanian army (the “Arab Legion”) launched a fierce attack on him even before the end of the Mandate and the British leaving the country. On May 12, 1948, the Legion’s troops launched a powerful attack on the Gush. Armed with armored vehicles and artillery, and accompanied by a great deal of local force from the surrounding villages, conquered several crucial sites around Kfar Etzion.
The next day, (May 13, 1948), the Legion broke through. The village women, including Zipporah, found shelter in the German monastery – which was the headquarters. Where they served as paramedics. The Jordanians could not get in the Bunker. So they blew up the building with its occupants, who were buried under the rubble.
The Sad End
Zipporah is among the dozens of defenders who died that day. And many of them were murdered after they already surrendered. The next day, on May 15, 1948, the day of the state’s Declaration; the other defenders of the Gush settlements surrendered. Zipporah was twenty-one when she died. The bodies of the dead remained there for about a year. If you want to learn more I recommend you to take a tour of Mount Herzl and The Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. I use to work there for five years and I will be honored to take you on a private tour of the Museum and the monuments on the complex. So don’t hesitate and get in touch and if you have some questions or if you’re interested in getting a quote. And for more posts please check out my Blog!
