Doctor, Gentleman, Lover of Man and Nature – we have inscribed on his grave, how can an entire life be reduced to a few words.

Father was born in the town of Djakovo, Yugoslavia, in 1923 and grew up in the city of Osijek. In the spring of 1942 when the situation of the Jews worsened his parents sent him using forged documents towards Italy (which he never reached) hoping that he would survive. He never forgave himself for being the sole survivor of his entire family, a dark cloud that hung over his life until his death. Father managed to reach the Adriatic shore.

Towards the end of 1942 all of the Jews were transferred to the concentration camp in the city of Kraljevica, and in 1943 to the concentration camp on Rab Island, where Father met Mother and since then they have never parted. In September, 1943 they escaped to the mountains and joined the partisans. In the Spring of 1945, after the war ended, Father returned to Osijek where he understood that no one but himself survived from his family, and he left immediately.

When they heard about the founding of the State of Israel they immigrated to Israel in December 1948 with very little belongings and money. As pioneers in the State of Israel, they founded the Kidron Settlement in 1949. Mother worked on a giant farm almost entirely on her own and Father began learning medicine in Jerusalem. In 1954 Father became a medical doctor.

In the fifties he served as a medical doctor in the rural area in the south. He completed his Israeli identity by becoming a medical officer for the IDF, serving in all of Israel’s wars, until the Yom Kippur War in which he was the commander of the hospitals for burn victims established in Ashkelon. At the end of the sixties he was appointed district medical doctor of the HMO’s Yehuda District which is responsible for a vast area from the border of the Beer Sheva District until the Center area. Due to the appointment, the family moved to Rehovot where he lived until his last day.

Father loved reading, enjoyed many activities and hobbies, was filled with knowledge and curiosity.

Passed away at the age of 92 surrounded by his family. He leaves behind a wife, a daughter and a son, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

May he be of blessed memory.