Last Righteous Among the Nations in Israel Dies at 91
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Yaroslava Leytska, the last Righteous Among the Nations living in Israel, has died in Haifa at age 91. As a child, she risked her life delivering food and medicine to Jews in the Złoczów ghetto during the Holocaust. Leytska immigrated to Israel in 1995 and was honored in 1989 along with her mother and grandfather for their rescue efforts. The Mayor of Haifa praised her courage and humanity.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Yaroslava Leytska, the last Righteous Among the Nations in Israel, died in Haifa at 91.
- She risked her life as a child to deliver food and medicine to Jews during the Holocaust.
- Leytska and her family were honored in 1989 for saving Jews during the Nazi persecution.
- She immigrated to Israel in 1995 and became an Israeli citizen.
- Haifa's Mayor praised her as a symbol of courage, humanity, and kindness.
Yaroslava Leytska, recognized as the last Righteous Among the Nations residing in Israel, passed away in Haifa at the age of 91. Leytska, who as a six-year-old child risked her life to deliver food and medicine to Jews during the Holocaust, had been living in Israel since 1995. Born in Poland in 1935, she began assisting her grandfather in providing essential supplies to Jews persecuted by the Nazis. Despite her young age and the dangers involved, she successfully acted as a courier, evading guards and delivering aid.
Following the establishment of the Złoczów ghetto in December 1942, Leytska, her mother Kateryna, and her grandfather continued their efforts to aid the Jewish community until its liquidation in April 1943. Leytska would walk approximately two kilometers to the ghetto, carrying a small school bag filled with food for the starving inhabitants, navigating past German and Ukrainian police. The family also supplied a group of 25 Jews hiding in a ruined house.
In 1989, Yaroslava, her mother, and grandfather were honored as Righteous Among the Nations for their life-saving actions during the Holocaust. Six years later, in 1995, she immigrated to Israel, obtained citizenship, and settled in Haifa.
Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav eulogized Leytska, stating, "Yaroslava Leytska was a symbol of courage, humanity, and kindness. Even at the age of six, she risked her life to save Jews during the Holocaust, proving that even in the darkest moments, humanity can overcome fear and evil." He added, "Her actions remind us all that heroism is not measured by age or strength, but by the willingness to stand by others, even at the cost of personal danger. Yaroslava was one of those rare individuals who chose good in a time when evil reigned, leaving behind a moral legacy whose importance transcends time and place."
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