Yaacov Kaufman

By the Romanian records, he was born on the 17th January 1925 , but he always celebrated his birthday on the 10th February 1925 (and that's what is written in the Israeli records). It is likely that he did born on the 17th January and not on the 10th February.

During the war and Holocaust he stayed with his family in Timisoara, his hometown. In 1943-1944 he was sent to Lucareț, a labor camp ,where there many Jews from Timisoara worked in the quarry, he had good conditions there comparing this time, close relationship to the "capitan" of the camp and his daughter.

source: http://www.bjt2006.org/GN_Munca_obligatorie_1016.pdf

Later, in Roshe Hashana of 1944, all the family escaped from Timisoara and stayed in Lugoj as refugees, from a fear .that the Nazis might attack the city.

After the war, he joined the the Beiter movement (maybe during the war) in Timisoara, the branch of Beiter in Timisoara got in 1947 1 place to make Aliya to Israel, and Yaccov got it. In late 1947 he left Timisoara to Bucharest, from Bucharest he went to Burgas, Bulgaria and from there he left Europe in late December 1947 to Israel with the famous Maapilim ship "Hatzmaut" or in it's old name, "Pan Crescent".

Sadly, the ship was caught by the British (it was illegal Aliya in this time) and they were told to the the ships (they sailed with another big ship, Pan York) to sail to Cyprus, the Cyprus internment camps. Yaccov stayed there 9 months, there he improved his Hebrew. On the 8th September 1948, after Israel was established he immigrated to Israel in a small ship "Yardena" and joined the IDF and fought in the War of Independenced and was one of the liberators of Eilat (he probably was in the Golani Brigade, 19th Battalion) from there he probably moved to the base Kfar Hayeladim near Afula, which was a Golani base but he served most of the time as Afsanai in Pikud Hatzafon in Nazareth until late 1950. כפר הילדים, אפסנאי, פיקוד צפון

First he lived in Haifa (right after his Aliyah and for few months), in a small hut that the agency gave to him and to another friend in Bat Galim, but after he found a job in Fabric shop owns by Neuman in Herzel St. he moved with this friend to Hasharon St. 21, in Bat Galim and later he bought a small apt for his parents and his brother in Jerusalem, Mea Shearim neighborhoods with money his father sent to him.

He participated also in Sinai war in 1956 and in 6 Days war in 1967 from the 7th June until 2nd July, most of the time in Sinai.

Publication of Yaccov and Miriam marriage in the HaTzofe newspaper from 17/03/1955