Bat Galim memories of yesteryear - the story of Edna (Milgrom) and Uzi Nagid

On a personal note

In recent years, I have been dealing with the history of my favorite Bat Galim neighborhood, among other things: meeting with veterans, interviewing and researching. This year, to mark the neighborhood's centennial events, I added to the historical exhibition that I presented in the past some family stories as well as a collage of about 150 moving nostalgic photos taken in the neighborhood in the first decades of its establishment. The exhibition will be shown in the coming months.

At the same time, I will publish here in the coming weeks the stories of some old Galimite families. And this time, the story of rejuvenation וUzi will say, for your enjoyment.   

The Milgrom family - from Poland to Bat Galim

In 1914, a baby girl named Hana to her parents, zalta (Blitman) andUncle Montchersh (Moncze). When she was about 20 years old, Hana immigrated alone to the Land of Israel to fulfill Zionism. The young pioneer's first stop in Israel was at a kibbutz in the Galilee and from there she moved to Haifa. A few years later, many of her family members who remained in Poland perished in the Holocaust.

Around the same time they immigrated from Ternopil (Poland) to Israel Sarah וMoshe Milgrom with their daughter come on and settled in the Bat Galim neighborhood. On the bottom floor of their house on the corner of Hasharon and Shef Streets they ran a grocery store where she worked come on with her parents. brother, Uncle (born in 1912), joined his family in 1936 after graduating from architecture studies in Warsaw. Here he was hired as a draftsman of signs in the British Army and as a supervisor of personnel at its bases in the Haifa area, positions in which he served for about a decade.

Hana and David are getting married, living in a car park

In the meantime, an introduction Hana וUncle Bava Galim led to their marriage on May 25.5.1941, XNUMX, after which the couple moved Milgrom to live in rent on the first floor of the Beit Harechabi on Hasharon Street 31. In the house, which was built in 1923 according to the design of the architect Alexander Bravold, they lived upon its construction חיה to home Stamper and the judge Zedekiah Hakavi And later the writer S. Y. Agnon and the captain "Captain Steve" also stayed there for periods of time.  

She told about the days of building the house Rachel Albert (Later, Uzi's mother said): "On Yom Kippur, when the worshipers returned from the synagogue, they were horrified to discover that the Arab workers were continuing to build the house and broke into cries of grief."  

On February 14.2.1943, XNUMX, she was born in Beit Harkavi rejuvenation, the eldest daughter of Hana וUncle, who in her adulthood was engaged in the field of education. her younger brother, Tuval, was later an engineer at TAS and unfortunately passed away.

Hana Garden, one of the first gardens in Bat Galim

After the move to the car house he built Hana A kindergarten for the children of the neighborhood that continued to operate for many more years. Gan Hana, one of the first kindergartens in Bat Galim, operated in the living room and balcony of a family home Milgrom And during the day she went out Hana with the toddlers to play in the yard. Among the kindergarten children was also Yael, daughter of Dr Berthold Levi, a pediatrician of Yaki origin who lived with his family in a nearby house. rejuvenation וYael They became friends in heart and soul, a close bond that has been preserved to this day.

"The living room where the kindergarten operated was used for my brother and I to sleep," she says rejuvenation. "Every day after the kindergarten children were gathered at home, mother would organize the living room for the night's sleep. Sometimes our cousin also joined us for sleep, Ruthie, daughter of come on".

Later, in preparation for the first grade, Edna moved to the Zirka Shapira Kindergarten, at 37 Hasharon Street, not far from her home.

sneaking into the Bat Galim pool

"As children we used to sneak into the Bat Galim pool by swimming through the sea. Swimming competitions were often held in the Olympic pool. During the hours when movies were shown in the 'Gan-Yam' cinema (later 'Teklet') we would climb the nearby tree and peek. 

One day we received an exciting invitation - to perform in the banquet hall at the casino. I was jealous of my friends who appeared on stage dancing in beautiful costumes while I sat behind the piano and accompanied them by playing... Later we celebrated in the casino hall the alliance of Ido, the youngest of our children (born on March 17.3.1971, XNUMX). Shortly after that, the casino closed its doors."

"My grandfather Moses Milgrom, who was a religious man," Edna continues, "took me and my brother to prayers in the synagogue. On our return, grandfather used to whistle from afar so that my mother would know we were coming and stop cleaning... We celebrated my Bat Mitzvah in the bosom of the extended family in the yard of our house on Hasharon Street."     

Dry clothes for the sailors of the ship "Haim Arlozorov"

At the end of January 1947, the immigration ship 'Ulua' under the command of Luba Eliav With 1,348 qualifiers on board. After an arduous voyage of about three weeks, the ship was spotted by a British patrol plane off the coast of Port Said and had to continue on its way to Israel under the close escort of British destroyers.

After several attempts to take over, Luba Eliav ordered a blue and white flag to be raised and to reveal the name of the ship from 'Uloa' to 'Chaim Arlozorov' and the sailors on board broke into a mighty song of 'Hatikva'.

The British ships hit the side of the ship. The illegal immigrants threw screws and cans at the British soldiers in an attempt to prevent them from boarding. "During the confrontation, two officers and a number of British sailors jumped aboard 'Chaim Arlozorov' and there was a severe face-to-face fight with the illegal immigrants," the captain later said Gad Hilev.

To the surprise of the British, the ship suddenly began cruising at maximum sailing speed towards Haifa Bay and Bat Galim in order to land as many immigrants as possible, but off the coast of Bat Galim the ship ran aground. Several Ma'afilis jumped into the water and swam to shore but were caught by the British. Many residents of Bat Galim, including David Milgrom, ran to the beach bringing dry clothes to the Ma'afils and tried to comfort them. I don't know if I will qualify with him in the future."

The resistance attempts were unsuccessful. The illegal immigrants were forcibly put on British ships and deported to a detention camp in Cyprus where they stayed for about a year until they immigrated to Israel in March 1948. The remains of the ship 'Chaim Arlozorov' remain to this day as silent testimony in the depths of the sea not far off the coast of Bat Galim.

David is a member of the Hagana organization, chairman of the Bat Galim committee and more...

Hana וDavid Milgrom They liked to host friends in their home. Fondly remembered for the cheerful Purim parties where all the participants came dressed in the best costumes, all of course self-made in the spirit of the time. 

David served as the secretary of the Histadrut Haifa branch and was a member of the Hagana organization. In the well in the yard of the family house and on top of one of the trees he hid a weapon for the day of command. During the War of Liberation, David was appointed as assistant to the secretary of the 'Military Labor Division' and later as the secretary of the oil workers and IDF workers in the Haifa Workers' Council (MPH).

David Milgrom initiates the establishment of the 'Aliya' school

As part of his extensive activities as chairman of the Bat Galim neighborhood and due to the lack of classrooms at the Bat Galim school, David Milgrom initiated the establishment of a second folk school in the neighborhood. His daughter Edna, who was also educated at the Aliya school, later worked as an educator at the same school. Closing the circle exciting

In view of a petition submitted by the residents of the adjacent blocks against the construction, it was agreed with the mayor at the time that a referendum on the issue would be passed among all residents of Bat Galim. In his address to the residents, David wrote:

"As you know, the state school in Bat Galim is unable to accommodate all the children sent to it, especially since the students of the new housing estates were sent here (veterans of the Histadrut, IDF veterans, artisan housing, and more). Today, about 900 students study there in two shifts, 7 classes in the afternoon. Next year the situation will worsen many times!

The municipality of Haifa responded to the appeal of the neighborhood committee and the parents' committee and decided to build another school, because there is no possibility of additional construction in the existing school. After multiple searches for a lot, it turned out that only the "parking lot" on Aliya Street was suitable for this purpose.

In the end, after weighing the results of the poll, it was decided by a majority of votes to establish the 'Aliyah' school as planned.     

Safe Beach

In April 1949, with the founding of the 'Insurers' institution to deal with the social conditions of the workers, David Milgrom was chosen to establish the branch in Haifa and managed it very successfully for 34 years until his retirement. Initially, the branch operated in the basement of the Mapah building and in 1954 moved to 29 Jerusalem Street.

In 1968, David was one of the founders of the convalescent home 'Mvathim' in Zichron Ya'akov, which was inaugurated about a year later. The building, which won the architect Kobi Rechter the Israel Prize for its unique design, is considered the flagship of the 'Mvathaim' chain of convalescent homes. Since its establishment, the place has gone through several incarnations and is now a luxury hotel.  

Gustav Reich and Rachel Albert establish a home in the Land of Israel

Even as a high school student in Austria, the fascination of the Zionist idea toGustav Reich. He decided to travel with his body to Palestine - the Land of Israel, to check which professions are necessary for building the homeland. When he realized that working hands were needed for agriculture, he returned to Austria and in 1906, to his father's displeasure, he was accepted to study agriculture at the University of Vienna. Years later, he arranged for his father to be brought to Israel.  

With the outbreak of World War I in the summer of 1914, shortly after he was awarded a doctorate in agronomy, Gustav was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian army and served in it as an officer. Upon his release at the end of the war, he immigrated to the Land of Israel to realize the vision of Zionism and establish a home there. He was accepted as an agronomist at PICA and settled in Zichron Ya'akov, where the company's management sat. Although he changed his name toElyakim, many continued to call him Gustav.

Not much time passed and an acquaintance was made between Gustav LRachel, daughter of Bella to home Rosenfeld וAlter Albert, born in Kobrin in Russia and from the memory of Jacob who served as head of the settlement council for about 15 years. The two fell in love and got married.

Even earlier, YKA, the company founded by Baron Rothschild to manage his colonies in the Land of Israel, purchased the Shoni lands, with the aim of creating a sequence of settlements between the colonies of Binyamin, Givat Ada, and Zichron Ya'akov. In 1914, the "Gideonim", peasants from Zichron Ya'akov, settled in Shoni, who played a role Important in the establishment of the Nili underground. Years later, weapons training of the IDF was held there and from there they went on secret operations against the British government.

Agricultural training in Shuni

After their marriage, Gustav managed the agricultural training in Shuni that was intended to establish the colony in Nimina and the couple lived there. Their eldest daughter was born here in 1922, date, who died of tuberculosis when she was 3 years old. After her death, Gustav moved his wife and her baby brother Complete to a safe place in Haifa, to a house she built at 88 Aliya Street in the Bat Galim neighborhood.

In 1924, Gustav was appointed to manage Zeronia and Shuni on behalf of PKA, a position he held for about a decade. During this period, Complete, Her friend, דניאל (died as a child from fever) fJeremiah. Under the influence of the Zionist home where they were brought up and the events of the difficult days that passed through the settlement, a friend of hers in her youth joined the Lehi underground (Israel's freedom fighters) and worked as part of it, among other things, as a liaison.    

After leaving PKA, Gustav purchased 30 dunams of land in the settlement of Zaronia (Benyimina), settled with his family and became a farmer. A year later (December 2, 1935) the son was born in a house in Zaronia Uziel (below – Uzi).

At the beginning of the 20th century, the well was renovated, a diesel engine was installed and a network of metal pipes was deployed to irrigate the crops of the agricultural experiment station that operated around it. The sign in the building surrounding the well reads: "The area of ​​the well and the pool were expropriated from their son Uzi Nagid for a noble purpose: the preservation of the irrigation facility that operated from the beginning of the Zionist settlement in the homeland."

From a boy born in Austria passionate about the Zionist dream, Gustav became one of the leaders of Zionism, the manager of the Agricultural Experiment Farm in Zarionia who took part in the planning of settlement areas in the Land of Israel and was even active in draining swamps like a well.

In 1952, about two years after the father's death, Uzi and his brothers joined their mother and brother Shlomo in Haifa. Uzi meanwhile graduated as an industrial and management engineer. In 1961, when he was only 25 years old, he was appointed to manage a factory for the production of radiators in Checkpost. After 8 successful years of management, he moved to manage the pressing and spring factory in Tel Aviv (later from TMR) owned by Yitzhak Shubinski, until the factory closed in 1983.    

Uzi, a socialist at heart, a social activist for many years in Bat Galim and, among other things, served as the secretary of the Eretz Yisrael Workers' Council branch in the neighborhood.

An endless meeting, Edna and Uzi are getting married

"It was on Saturday night, I went out with my friend Yankol (Jacob) for hanging out at the student club on Halutz Street in Haifa," recalls Uzi. "A group of girls was standing at the end of the club and I caught sight of the most beautiful one in the group. While watching I was surprised to see David Milgrom, whom I knew from Bat Galim, picking up the same girl in his car. It turns out that it was his daughter Edna...  

On Saturday night a week later I returned to the place to meet Edna. I offered a ride at the end of the evening and to my delight she accepted. How great was her astonishment when she found out that the vehicle in which I suggested the ride was a motorcycle with a boat... that's how our romantic relationship began and the rest is history.

"Uzi wooed me and sang to me on the boardwalk in his deep voice the song "Let Ziona be a miracle and a flag," says Edna. "We went to the sea together and love blossomed and on August 6, 1963 we got married. The canopy ceremony was held in the rabbinate, after which we held an event at the Solel Bona hall in Haifa Bay."

"Ahead of the wedding, my mother asked her cousin Aaron Rosenfeld and his wife to serve as our groomsmen at the wedding and they gladly accepted" he says Uzi. "Aharon Rosenfeld, one of the pioneers of Hebrew shipping and one of the founders of the Bat Galim neighborhood, was an honorable man. I remember his habit of walking every day along the beach on the street that would later be named after him."   

Edna and Uzi Nagid still live in the Bat Galim neighborhood (on Avdimi St), They have 3 children (Oded, Idit, Ido) and 8 grandchildren.