Shlomo Rubinstein
Shlomo, son of Zelig and Yehudit, was born on April 14, 1916 in Ostrowiec, in the Kielce Voivodeship, Poland. In his youth he joined the Zionist movement and underwent pioneering training. In 1939, he immigrated to Israel on the Ha'apala ship “Assimi.” He worked as an agricultural laborer and was among the first settlers in Kibbutz Nitzanim. He lent a hand to every job, easy or difficult, and his friends respected him as one of the central members of the kibbutz. He also fulfilled his duty in the Haganah, and was responsible for security matters and the commander of the Nitzanim area. For this, he enlisted to the Notrut so that he could bear arms openly and with permission. With the increase of the Arab attacks in the winter of 5708, the responsibility for the security of the place and its transportation was extremely difficult. As a commander, he had to send 2-3 Notrim to escort the transport and supply convoys. Even though he was already married and the father of children, his conscience did not allow him to impose this dangerous service on others, and on most trips he also accompanied the convoy.
On March 21,1948, he traveled with a convoy from Nitzanim to Tel Aviv. The convoy ran over a mine and was attacked by a superior Arab force. The attacked defended themselves bravely, and Shlomo returned fire even though he was wounded and bleeding. According to his friends' testimony, he managed to cause many losses to the attackers. When reinforcements arrived and rescued them from the difficult battle, they found Shlomo wallowing in his blood. They tried to bring him to a hospital, but he died on the way. The next day he was laid to rest in the cemetery in Be'er Tuvia. He left behind a wife and two sons, his second son was born a week after his fall and was named in his name - Shlomo. His memory was brought up in the booklet “Nitzanim under Siege and in the Campaign.”