Jacob Lubnitzki

Deck Boy, S.S. Har Zion
Died 31 Aug 1940
Commemorated at Tower Hill Memorial
Age 15


Jacob was born in 1925 in Tel Aviv, Israel to Mordechai and Frida. He liked to swim and sail in rafts and sailboats. He enjoyed the company of fishermen, and helped them take care of the boats and fishing nets, and more than once he even went out to sea with them when they went fishing. Jacob was admitted to the Zebulon Marine Association and together with his friends from the Yarkon Boating Association, he practiced water sports and learned the principles of good sailing. All this much activity did not interfere with his normal studies. When Yaakov learned that the ship “Har-Zion” belonging to Lloyd Eretz-Israel Ltd. were looking for a deck boy he turned to the engineer E. Tovim, who was one of the company’s owners and patrons of the “Zebulon” maritime association, requesting that he be allowed to board the ship. After quite a few requests and pleas, his request was granted and the day he got on board was one of the happiest in his short life. Courtesy www.izkor.gov.il

At 06.15 hours on 31 August 1940, the ship left Liverpool with 1000 cases of spirit and 120 tons of fertiliser to travel to the USA. The Har Zion was attacked by U-boat, U-38 which fired two torpedoes amidships and ship sank north west of Ireland. The master and thirty five crew were killed.