Dov Gruner Arviv

My parents - Isaac and Nassriya Arviv, immigrated to Israel in 1949 from Tripoli, Libya. My parents had five children, born in Libya.

I was born in 1950 in Israel. In total we were 6 brothers & sisters on the day of this event.

The names of the 6 siblings, in order of birth:

Rina - 84

Rachel - 81

Yossi - 78 years old

Eli - 74

Judith - 70

Herzl (My self) - 66

Between August 22 and August 26, 1952, my parents went to Jerusalem urgently because they had heard that something had happened to a bus of the trainees of the Gadna [pre-military youth organization], while my brother was on a trip.

My mother was in the ninth month of her pregnancy. She went into labour suddenly and was evacuated by ambulance to the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.

She gave birth by Caesarean to a boy there. The doctor told my father he had a son and asked what name he wanted to want to give him. My father was a Zionist, so he said, "Dov Gruner."

After a day or two, when my parents asked where the child was, they were told that he had died. My father raised an outcry and asked to see his child or a body. He was told that dead babies are not shown, and none of my parents’ arguments helped.

My mother, blessed be her memory, was sure from that day onward that the baby was alive and never died, and she lived the rest of her life in great mental suffering, in fact, became mentally ill until her death in January 2000. She was 90 years old when she died.

My parents did not approach the committees.

She gave birth to a baby boy by caesarean section there. The doctor told my father that he had had a son and asked what name would you like to give him. My father who was a Zionist said, "Dov Gruner."

A day or two later, when my parents asked where the child was, they were told that he had died.







My mother, blessed be her memory, was sure from that day onward that the baby was alive and not dead, and she lived the rest of her life in great mental suffering, and in fact became mentally ill until her death in January 2000. She was 90 years old when she died.