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[Page 664]
by the Editorial team
Translated by Meir Razy
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| Benyamin Perach |
Benyamin was born in Karkur, son of Malka and Moshe-Yaakov, on August 22, 1927. He studied in the local elementary school, continued in the Agriculture High-School in Pardes-Channa and found employment as a clerk at the Yitzhar Oil factory in Nachalat-Yitzhak.
He was known as a friendly man, always smiling and happy to help everyone.
He was a member of the HAGANAH and received some military training. When the War of Independence broke out, he enlisted in a religious unit, was sent to a Squad Commanding Course and fought with the Alexandrony Brigade in all its battles in the Sharon, Shomron and Lod's regions. His battalion was then sent to the Negev Front. During leaves, in order not to alarm his parents, he did not tell them any 'heroic' stories. Another soldier in the same Company was Chaim Reches. He too was born in Karkur and he and Benyamin were childhood friends who grew up together, fought together and were killed together in the battle for the Irak el-Manshiya Fort in the “Faluja Pocket” on December 28, 1948. The people of Karkur said: “Two candles were extinguished together the night of the second candle of Chanukah”.
He was buried in the Faluja Temporary Cemetery and was moved to the Nachalat-Yitzchak Cemetery on December 8, 1949.
He was a fighter like his father. Moshe-Yaakov (let him live for many more years) was a fighter for the Torah since his youth in Volozhin. The son sacrificed his life for the Holy War that gave us our Independence. We shall carry his memory in our hearts forever.
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| Chaim Persky |
Chaim Persky was born in 1911 in Volozhin, son of Shmuel and Galia. He was educated in the Tarbut School and was a member of the Chalutz movement. He practiced sport and came to Eretz-Israel in 1932 as an athlete in a team for the Maccabia Games. He settled in Kiryat-Chaim and joined the “Hapoel Haifa” work teams as well as its music band. He was a member of the Haganah and worked as a “Noter” (an armed guard protecting busses and trucks on the roads) during the Arab Revolt of 1936-8.
He was drafted by the Army for the War of Independence and fought in the region of Acre. He was killed in the battle for the village of Miar. During that battle, the situation was dire and some of the soldiers retreated from their positions. Chaim stayed behind, refusing to leave his post without a direct order from his commanders. He was killed on September 4, 1948 and was laid to rest at the Kfar-Ata Cemetery on September 9, 1948.
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| Eliezer Rogovin |
Eliezer was born on May 6, 1922, son of Zvi and Toibe Rogovin. The family was poor, but his parents gave him a Zionist education and he excelled at school. During the Holocaust, the family was trapped in the Ghetto. When the Ghetto was liquidated, he managed to escape to the forest and, with his friend Bernstein, joined the partisans of Tzkalov near Nalobok-Stopltz. He was a brave fighter and earned several medals, including “a Hero of the Soviet Union” and the rank of lieutenant. In 1943 he became the commander of a team of explosives experts whose task was to lay mines and to sabotage railroads and bridges.
At one point his unit faced a large group of German soldiers. He ordered his soldiers to fight the Germans “till their last bullet”. The battle lasted for a whole hour and Eliezer's leg was hit. Nonetheless, he continued fighting and when the Germans approached him, he threw a grenade and killed them.
He spent two months in a hospital and then returned to the front.
After Volozhin was liberated by the Soviets, he was appointed as Commander of the Secret Police. He was responsible for shooting and killing a peasant while trying to repair a machine gun and was punished by being sent to the front. In Vilna, he found and killed the collaborator, the person responsible for helping the Germans kill his family.
After the war, he returned to Lodz where he joined the “Gordonia” Group and tried to reach Eretz-Israel. He was an activist in the DP camps of Salzburg, Vienna and in Italy. He was a Hebrew teacher and active in the “Aliya Bet” – the effort to smuggle Jewish survivors into British-ruled Eretz-Israel. In Italy, he joined the “Etzel” underground movement and sailed to Eretz-Israel. The British Navy stopped the ship and the survivors were detained in refugee camps in Cyprus. Twice he tried to escape but was arrested. After a year in Cyprus, he arrived in Israel in 1948 and served in ZAHAL as an Explosives Officer.
Towards the end of the War of Independence he was sent to defuse mines in the Negev. On December 26, 1948, he was killed while defusing a mine. He was buried the following day in Rehovot.
[Page 667]
Written by Yafa Abramovitsh (Sheyna Lidski from Horodok)
Translated by M. Porat z”l
| I recall Leyzer Rogovin The rebellious hero The Partisan from Volozhin
Gun in hand
Your words: “Revenge! Vengeance!
“Deep in my body and soul
Camp Krasno you fled, |
[Page 668]
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To the bandits it will be shown They must die and see Their own mortality Through their blind eyes!
Yes, you have gone
Returned back into the woods
After the war we met again,
You joined the Betar rank
You, Leyser the Partisan
Our triumph you did not see |
[Page 679]
by Binyamin Shapir (Shishku)
(chairman of the Organization of Volozhin Natives in Israel)
Translated by Jerrrold Landau
I regard it as a pleasant duty to express my feelings of gratitude, and the feelings of gratitude of the Volozhin natives in the State of Israel and in every other place, to the editor of the Book of Volozhin, Mr. Eliezer Leoni, who did a great deal for the success of the book.
Mr. Leoni collected detail after detail from the few Holocaust survivors. He delved deeply into the entire rich literature of Volozhin. His compositions published in the book excel in their great expertise and broad, deep knowledge about Volozhin.
Those who should be blessed: Mrs. Shoshana Neshri (Berkowitz), the secretary of the book committee, who invested great toil into the organizational effort.
Mrs. Fruma Gurwitz (Kiwilowitz), treasurer of the committee.
Mr. Dov Lavit, who took the financial responsibility upon himself, even though he did not have the means.
Mr. Chaim Potashnik, who was active, and enlisted others in organizational matters.
Special thanks to Mr. Pesach Berman, who organized the financial means among the Volozhin natives living in the United States.
Also remembered for a blessing are all the friends from among the Volozhin natives, as well as those who are not Volozhin natives, who assisted and participated in the effort toward the book.
May the Book of Volozhin be a source of encouragement and comfort for all who research the city.
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