Reb Yitzhak-Shmuel Rozenblat came from the well-known Epstein-Szapira Radomski family. Yitzhak was educated in the Cheder and Beit Midrash, as was customary in those days. When he was only 12 years old, he asked to join the 'Tseiri-Mizrachi' organization founded by religious national youth after the Balfour Declaration in 1917. Despite being the youngest, he completed every task with love and dedication – collecting donations for the 'Keren Kayemet', tutoring students at the 'Mizrachi' school, etc. He helped before he was asked to out of simple friendship.

In 1926 he left his father's comfortable home to fulfill the ideals of Aliya and settlement. The beginning here was difficult, as it was for many of the first Olim, until he found work. He took on construction work, painted walls, nothing was beneath him and all work was accepted with love and done responsibly.

He married Malka, the daughter of our townsman reb Mordechai-Yosef (Melinovitser) Ben-Zvi z”l who was one of the first to make Aliya from Radomsk and passed away here at an old age. Reb Yitzhak-Shmuel was an honest person, a Hassid of the Levov Rabbi and in his close circle. The Rozenblat house was open to all and he was always welcomed in the homes of Radomskers in Israel. His sons were brought up on Torah, avoda, building the country and protecting it. Son Dov z” l was killed defending Gush Etzion in 1948.

May the memory of the father and the son be blessed and bound in the bond of life.

My dear friend Y. Shmuel was a member of the 'Halutz Mizrachi' and a devoted activist in all the Zionist institutions in Radomsk. He also participated in all Torah and Talmud lessons. In Israel he managed to save some money from exhausting work and until he was settled. His demeanor was that of a pleasant honest Hasid and he loved to help those in need. Many of our townspeople came to him for support for various purposes such as commerce, marriage of a daughter, and charity.

It is a pity for those who are gone and no longer be found.

My father and teacher Yitzhak-Shmuel came to Israel in 1926, he was 20 years old and a bachelor. We never spoke with father about his motives for leaving a spacious comfortable home and Radomsk which he referred to as “a Judaism town”. But as I matured and knew him better the reason became clear to me: the special challenge in making Aliya in those days, the aspiration to physically fulfill the mitzvah of every simple Jew to build Israel. And indeed, he never thought to leave, not even in the times of crisis he experienced.

Father never became hooked to a certain political party. His Aliya and adaptation path in Israel had nothing to do with benefits from political institutions. He had enormous love for the country and people which he passed on to his sons. Three of the brothers participated in the War of Independence. Two joined the Army before the national institutions called people to join the war effort, the eldest brother Dov was killed.

Our father's most salient personality characteristic was his ambition to do everything to completion without giving up or compromising. He had no patience for those who promised but did not follow through and those who do not complete their task. He invested all necessary effort to reach his goals, calculating everything with precision. I think father's highest praise for another person was to say: “this person did his job in faith and ability”.

He liked two types of people: religious scholars because the Torah was very dear to him; and masterful craftsmen. He never discarded the days of hardship for him and the family during the time he worked in the Jezreel Valley and the Jordan Valley as a constructor and craftsman. The difficult times solidified his Jewish faith and pride in the creative, perfect, clean work he did.

I am uncomfortable praising my father in public and I'm sure he himself would not allow me to do so. But I must mention another of his prominent characteristics which he developed in his special way – the desire to help others. His house was open to every person, for either anonymous or named donations, for advice, or for restoring peace between two friends.

In conclusion, I will quote a paragraph of contemplation he wrote down. The words summarize his expectations from others and from himself, not just from judges: “It is said “Judges and guards put in all your gates”. The word 'your' is there to teach us that every mitzvah begins with self- judgement. To don every righteous and good attribute. To be clean. In the words of Chazal: “Any religious judge who takes a bribe is not religious a judge”. This idea is repeated in the scriptures with the words: “Justice justice you shall pursue”. Be righteous yourself before you judge others”.


[Page 579]

He is the son of Radomskers Rachel and David Buchman, born on May 1, 1937. His early educational path took him from elementary school in the neighborhood of Beit-HaKerem in Jerusalem, to high school in Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek. He left the Kibbutz in pursuit of higher education but the Kibbutz members admired and loved him deeply until his heroic death.

At Hebrew University, Eilam completed two academic degrees – a BA in social sciences & humanities followed by a four-year MD degree. He excelled in all subjects and research projects as well as in a variety of sports, winning numerous medals in swimming, basketball, shot put, weightlifting and wrestling. In 1967 Eilam qualified for a spot on the national wrestling team scheduled to participate in an international sport event in India in November of that year.

Eilam met his wife Ruth when they were both members of the IDF delegation to the Dutch traditional 'Four Days March' in 1958. They wed in 1962 and became parents to son Alon in 1963.

Alongside sports, Eilam cultivated his musical talents learning the piano, oboe and accordion. From age 11 he frequently and diligently competed in live musical quiz shows on the Israeli radio “Kol Israel” in which he won many prizes. After years as one of the lead oboe players in the youth orchestra of the “Kibbutz HaArtsi” and the Hebrew University orchestra, he was offered a second-seat position in the “Kol Israel” orchestra.

Eilam's mandatory IDF service began in 1956. Within three months of joining the army he participated in the Sinai War, demonstrating impressive battle abilities in the Rafah front. After the war he was sent to officer training and was stationed as the commander of the patrol commando of “Golani” brigade. He held various combat positions in “Golani” until his release to reserve duty ranked captain in March 1959.

As a reserve commander of a paratrooper commando unit he was mobilized at the beginning of the Six-Day War. He was killed in the line of duty on June 7, 1967 in the battle to liberate the old city of Jerusalem when he led his squad with dedication and bravery under fire to extract wounded friends stuck in the section between the Lions' Gate and the Mount of Olives.

D. B.

On the night of the combat operation to liberate Jerusalem, the paratrooper commando unit was given the mission to ascend and gain hold of the Mount of Olives and its vicinity. The operation began with the assistance of armored tanks which slowed down progression. The commando jeeps were ordered to bypass the tanks and ascend without them.

The road passed at the foot of the old-city walls then swerved at the Lions' Gate through the Valley of Hinnom towards the Mount of Olives. The first vehicle that passed over the valley was hit by heavy artillery fired from a Jordanian camouflaged tank straight ahead, followed immediately by machine gunfire from the Jordanian posts on the old city walls. Three of the soldiers in the first jeep were injured but managed to turn their vehicle and return. The three jeeps behind them were hit and began to burn.

Under heavy, efficient, well targeted Jordanian gunfire aided by flares they shot throughout the battle from 81 mm mortars, the Israeli commando extraction-rescue teams began their task. Captain Yaacov Eilam z”l led the first unit. For his exceptional bravery and dedication in extracting the wounded he was recommended for a medal of commendation.

For 90 minutes under relentless gunfire, Eliam and his soldiers successfully completed three rounds to their wounded friends dragging them back to a safety zone. Eilam reported there were three severely injured soldiers remaining on the bridge. An attempt to bring a tank to silence the Jordanian posts on the old city walls was delayed due to topographical difficulties. After two hours, Eilam and two commando soldiers reached the wounded by removing their protective vests, holding on to the side rails of the bridge and sliding themselves forward. After reaching the wounded, the two soldiers were also hit but made it back to the Israeli side. Eilam stayed with the three wounded on the bridge.

An Israeli machine gun was unable to destroy the Jordanian wall posts that were well fortified and well situated. The tank eventually made its way there but failed to hit the Jordanian posts and ran out of ammunition.

Eilam and the commando forces on the other side of the bridge communicated by yelling. On the forth hour of the battle he reported that the situation of the wounded was deteriorating and suggested the tank block the fire line between the Jordanian wall posts and the wounded so that maybe they could be saved. The tank almost reached the spot before it was hit and began to burn – it's three soldiers able to run to safety. The heat around the burning tanks caused its ammunition to explode and the fire light helped the Jordanians aim at the wounded on the bridge.

By the time the ammunition stopped exploding – there was no sound from Eilam. Another attempt under heavy Jordanian gunfire to reach the bridge through the valley failed.

Eilam stood out in his dedication to reach the wounded soldiers at any cost. He died with them. Despite the grave danger to himself he stayed, providing comfort and encouragement while also communicating with the forces. He could have probably saved himself but was loyal to the sacred paratrooper principle that wounded are never left in the battlefield.

(From “Haaretz” newspaper)

David Konitspoler – a dear loyal friend – among the first to step up to fulfill the idea of publishing this yizkor book and among its most significant multitasking contributors to completion – passed away just as this final edition was headed for printing, just short of the finish line of this holy public project to which he dedicated his last years.

He walked amongst us as a community elder, a physical and psychological remnant of our community's Shoah and destruction. In past times, when Radomsk flourished, Konitspoler was a central figure in its political, Zionist and public arenas. His name and legacy are mentioned throughout this book.

David Konitspoler was born in Radomsk in 1896 to his parents Hana and Shlomo Ben-Tsadok Konitspoler, a labor-working family in town. His father was one of the 12 members (as the number of tribes of Israel) of the Mishmeret Kodesh Society founded by reb Zvi-Meir Hacohen Rabinovitch for the purpose of building the largest synagogue in Radomsk and maintaining it. As a child in this environment, David absorbed the Chasidic tradition and principles of Judaism. But once he matured and interacted with other town youth he was exposed to ideals of human equality and socialistic progress towards which the Jewish youth gravitated under Czarist Russia and conquered Poland before the First World War.

From then on, David sought the youth activities that centered around the socialist-nationalist doctrine of Borochov and Sirkin who advocated a synthesis between these ideals and the national liberation of the Jewish people from oppression and discrimination; implemented by gathering in the land of Israel.

On the brink of WWI and during its early years this political activity was illegal. To disguise it, Jewish activists formed the Jewish cultural organization “Cultura”. David Konitspoler was one of its founders and activists. When the Austrian conqueror loosened the leash a bit in 1916 and political organizations were more free to assemble, a legal branch of the Poalei-Zion party was opened and led by David Konitspoler. Ideological arguments swiftly turned into a central political-public group that worked to alleviate the severe food shortage and financial distress that hit the Jewish population of our town in the transition period of 1917-1920.

In 1920 Konitspoler moved to neighboring Częstochowa and became involved in the social-public life there. Although a “stranger” in Częstochowa and despite the many local activists there, he quickly rose up the ladder. He was elected to the community committee and became a central figure among the Jewish residents. With his wife Leah he built an exemplary Jewish home that was later destroyed with the extermination of all Beit Israel, but the two were saved from devastation thanks to his carpentry workshop that provided services to high-rank German police officers during the Holocaust.

Throughout his years in Częstochowa, including the Holocaust, he maintained close contact with family and friends in his home town Radomsk. He visited frequently and returned after WWII to search for survivors and participate in a memorial to the sacred victims in 1947 which was attended by only 10 survivors.

In 1949 David and Leah Konitspoler made Aliya and settled in the city of Holon. He was grateful to have found work in his profession as a carpenter at the socialist labor union “Solel-Bone” public works and building company where he swiftly earned a good reputation as a person and professional.

David also joined the organization of Radomskers. As mentioned, he was a central force in the production of this yizkor-book. His dedication to the cause became literally addictive in the same way that his engrained energy and loyalty characterized his long path of public service. He often said that our yizkor-book was a form of release from the abundance of memories he carries from his place of birth-childhood-adolescence-adulthood and as a way to redeem the debt he felt towards the people of Radomsk, the annihilation of whom he witnessed firsthand.

Another form of temporary relief from the horrific memories were his shocking witness testimonies before German tribunals prosecuting Nazi police officers for the hideous murderers they committed in the Częstochowa ghetto. In August 1958 he travelled to Germany to testify and in February 1964 a German tribunal convened in a Tel Aviv court to specifically collect his testimony because he was too ill at that time to travel to Germany.

Despite his deteriorating health, David Konitspoler did not rest when there was work to be done on the Yizkor book. His contribution is evident in almost all its sections. He wrote many pages of his memories about Radomsk during the first world war (pg. 135); the eternal flame in the Big Synagogue (159); Poalei-Zion Party (202); the action for the Keren Kayemet (211); the Jewish community (229); education and cultural activities (251); the “Cultura” organization (259); the orphanage (270); the Radomski Society in the United States (499); history of the Radomsker Aliyot and how they settled in Israel (527); and he organized the name index (585-600). Thirty texts appear under his name in this index. Numerous others are signed D. K. or with pseudonyms.

David's enormous contribution to this book is mentioned in a short bland sentence at the beginning of the book because the words were written and printed when he was still alive and we respected his humbleness. But it should be said loud and clear: his contribution turned this book into a truly historical compilation of documentary importance and public interest.

In his last letter to me in Yiddish (he wrote all his material for this book in Yiddish) he said: “When we will be blessed to see this book printed and bound, it will be our reward for years of effort, health and time devoted to this historical enterprise. May we be blessed to reach the moment when we open the first book and shed a first tear in memory of our sacred beloved.”

He did not reach this longed for moment, but his yearning tear joined all of our tears and his soul is bound with all the beloved souls of the sacred people of Radomsk.


[Pages 581 - 584]

Index of the Photographs

[Page 604]

Hear this ye old men, And give an ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or in the days of your father? Tell ye your children of it, And let your children tell their children. And their children another generation. (Joel 1[2-3]) And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered; For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, As the Lord hath said, And among the remnant those whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 3 [3-5])

The last photograph of May 1967 The ohel (structure over the grave) of the Rabbis (right) on the Radomsk Besoylem (cemetery)

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