War of Independence hero David ben David, who fought for the protection of the community of Kfar Etzion in 1948, passed away on Tuesday evening at the age of 98.
Ben David, a Holocaust survivor, was a member of the Jewish Brigade within the framework of the British Army during World War II, and was honored with the privilege of lighting a torch at the 50th anniversary ceremony marking 50 years after the end of the Second World War.
During the battle in which Kfar Etzion fell to the Jordanian army in 1948, Ben David was wounded and then captured by the Jordanians. Together with the survivors of that battle, he later founded Moshav Nir Etzion, south of Haifa, upon his return from captivity. The moshav was his home for the rest of his life.
Kfar Etzion Field School director Yaron Rosenthal wrote, “David ben David’s legacy leaves us without one of the pillars of Gush Etzion of the 1940s, and has orphaned us all from one of our spiritual fathers.”