A moving visit to Kibbutz Kfar Etzion

We have visited Israel many times over the past 40+ years. Each trip has been very special to us. There has always been something new and different to see and do. 

During our most recent trip to Israel, in March, we had the pleasure of traveling with our friend Meir Werner, who was born in 1947 in Kibbutz Kfar Etzion. This kibbutz is situated in an area now known as Gush Etzion. The original kibbutz existed between 1943 and 1948 and was inhabited mainly by European refugees and survivors of the Holocaust.

On Nov. 29, 1947, the United Nations approved a partition plan that would establish the independent State of Israel in May of 1948. Kibbutz Kfar Etzion lay within the territory designated for the Arab state. The kibbutz itself was surrounded by Arab villages.

Members of the kibbutz decided to remain where they were as a strategic position to defend their community and to prevent the Arabs from attacking Jerusalem from the east.

In preparation for an attack, kibbutz members made the difficult decision to evacuate the women, children, elderly and sick to Jerusalem to keep them out of harm’s way.

One of the children evacuated was Meir. He was only eight months old. His 29-year-old father remained behind to defend the kibbutz.

While most of the mothers left with their children, one of the mothers, Tzipora Rozenfeld, chose to send her infant to Jerusalem for safe-keeping while she remained in the kibbutz, along with her husband, with the thought that she would be reunited with her baby soon. 

The kibbutz was attacked on May 4, 1948, by the Arab Legion and local Arabs. It was overrun when the brave residents ran out of ammunition. Most of its members were captured and eventually murdered by the Arab forces. Tzipora Rozenfeld was among those killed in what became known as the Kfar Etzion Massacre. It occurred just before Israel Independence Day.

After the War of Independence, the fallen were brought to eternal rest in the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, in Jerusalem.

It was not until June of 1967, after the Six Day War, that Kibbutz Kfar Etzion was reestablished and some of the descendants were able to return. The kibbutz is over the Green Line, or border, east of Jerusalem.

The trip to this kibbutz with Meir as our guide was a memorable and touching experience. Among the highlights was a multimedia presentation, shown in one of the original buildings, that described the history of the kibbutz and its inhabitants. The portrayal of the lives of those who perished was enlightening and captivating.  

We happened to view this presentation with a group of high school students. When one of the teachers learned that Meir was in the audience, she asked him to talk to her students at the end of the presentation. How fortunate these students were to hear the words of a child of a hero who was killed defending Kibbutz Kfar Etzion!

 The massacre was one of the most tragic events in the battle for the State of Israel, leaving 242 fighters in Gush Etzion dead, including 21 women.

May the memory of Meir Werner’s father, Moshe, and all the other heroes and defenders of Israel be for a blessing.

EZRA L. STIEGLITZ and VARDA STIEGLITZ live in Providence and can be contacted at estieglitz@ric.edu or Varda823@hotmail.com.