Gerson Yaakov (1905-1936)

Gerson Yaakov (b. 1905, Riga – d. 16 June 1936, Jerusalem) – Builder of the Jewish Yishuv, victim of Arab terror.

In Riga, Yaakov Gerson was a member of the HaHalutz movement, primarily active in promoting *aliyah to Eretz Israel. After completing secondary school, he emigrated to Eretz Israel in 1932. He worked as a lorry driver, mainly transporting construction materials.

During the Arab riots of 1936–1939, travel by road was particularly dangerous, as Jewish travellers were frequently targeted by Arab gangs. When his friend Zvi Dannenberg was critically wounded by Arab gunfire, Gerson donated his own blood in an attempt to save him, but Dannenberg died. Later, while driving on the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem road, Gerson’s vehicle was ambushed near Mount Castel; he was fatally wounded in the attack and died shortly thereafter in hospital.

He was buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

Reference: Book of Remembrance for Victims in the Course of Building the State of Israel, 1860–29.11.1947. Israel, 1993, p. 70 (in Hebrew).