My parents made immigrated to Israel in November 1949. My mother wasn’t feeling well at the time. They took her Geula to the nursery in Rosh HaAyin because in 1950 our tent collapsed due to the heavy snow that year.

I was eight years old and went with my mother to see her, to see Geula. They showed her to us through the window. It was a Wednesday, five in the afternoon. My mother went to nurse her on Thursday morning. One of the nurses opened the door and told my mother, “why did you come looking for her, she died on Monday.”

We received a conscription order for Geula, naturally. My parents sat shiva at the time. My brother and I refused—we knew she wasn’t dead.

Her name is listed on the Ramat Gan civil registry. Her ID number is 04158599.

Batya Keysari