Yann ram t13tD`2

sought to prevent the birth of Is-
rael.
According to the records, he
was last seen alive on July 17,
1948, as his unit engaged the Syr-
ians in what was to be the last
battle in the War of Indepen-
dence.
His
younger
brother,
Binyamin, obtaining a short leave
from his own army unit, went to
the area shortly thereafter, seek-
ing word of Dov. He was not on
the list of identified dead or
wounded. Bodies were still being
gathered from the battlefield,
where there had been close hand-
to-hand fighting. The burning sun
and predator animals had done
their work, and most bodies were
completely unidentifiable. Many
of the fallen were new immigrants
to the country, who had been sent
straight into battle, and there
were no families available.
Comrades told Binyamin that
Dov had been lightly wounded
earlier and wore a bandage on
his leg. Sick to his stomach,
Binyamin surveyed seven face-
less bodies. One looked as if it
might have had a bandage on its
leg.
Without a moment's hesitation,
he told the Hevra Kadisha crew
that was gathering the corpses for
decent burial that he had made
positive identification. That was
his brother.
Seven bodies were buried on
the grounds of Moshav Shear
Yashuv, but only one bore a
marker with a name — Dov Ge-
nizdovitz. Binyamin had the dif-
ficult task of informing his
parents, but he did not divulge
the identification problem. For
them, there should be no doubts.
The father died not long there-
after, but the mother made an-
nual pilgrimages to the grave of
her son, which was later moved
to the military cemetery in Haifa.
She lit a memorial candle there,
leaving flowers and adding a
small stone to the army marker.
During all those years, the
younger brother, now known as
Binyamin Gonen, was haunted
by gnawing doubt, but kept his
secret.
Could it be that during all those
years his mother was paying trib-
ute at the grave of one who might
have been a Syrian soldier —
while somewhere in Syria, an-
other mother was bent over the
grave of his brother?
It was only after his mother's
death that he felt that he had to
remove the stone from his heart.
He had no regrets whatsoever, he
said. He did what he felt was best
for the family. "Missing in action,"
never found, would have left a
void. The family should have a
grave at which to mourn.
There are still unmarked
graves in Haifa's military ceme-
tery, but one headstone does car-
ry the name of Dov Genizdovitz,
who gave his life for his coun

1111M1 111115

to-- all

to ail

otw-jcienalsi

otacfitend&

and ..=etati(Jas,

and feetatioes,.

ADELL AND HERMAN
OZROVITZ

SYLVIA AND IRVING ROSS

lann Tlalt nitn

vann 11111.1 niv2

to- aft

to all

otatdCVends.,

ottvCciettac

and riefatiovs.

and /v./at/flee.

DR. LLOYD AND DORIS PAUL
SANDER, DANIEL, DENNIS, ELISSA,
ALEX, ZACHARY AND EVAN

FAY AND SAM ROTBERG

mid :el for a
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MARGATE, FL

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JENSEN BEACH, FL

Bell wallet tor a
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(Mew Wear.

a.
,Aappg, healthg
(Mew year.

ANNE NORBER
DELRAY BEACH, FL

HARRY AND FARA RICHE,
SUSIE AND ASHLEY

dap, healthy.
• (Mew *Mc

WIAPA 1610

MAGENE AND SAM RICHMAN

RUBY AND PAULINE SAMSON

NDA AND JEFF SHUSTER
ANNY AND AMANDA

All Our
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ay the comih g
yealA be filled

with hapit,;ness;
edfrh cod tr - arentp

ith health and
lhappihess -Foy'
all otAp. family
and friehds.

ONARD AND SHIRLEY
HULTZ AND FAMILY
AVENTURA, FL

ATHIE, JEFFREY, EVAN

D ASHLEY SCHWARTZ

ARNOLD, JOYCE, JASON
JOSHUA WEINER

,

VO' All

ay the coming
yeav be filled
ith health and
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all obilA family
and friehds.

1$: NJCE AND NATE SCHECTER

ay the comin g
Yeah be filled
ith health and
happihess fop.
all OIA V family

and friehds.

HELDON AND KAREN
SCHORE

Our
Jae/wipes and cycrienoic
n7ish fir a pear
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edh ana trasperit c v.

RS - BOB AND ELAINE
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