Pvt. Livka Shefer
Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
War of Independence casualty's remains found 70 years later
Killed in Egyptian shelling while defending her home of Yad Mordechai, Pvt. Livka Shefer's remains found 70 years after her death by IDF's MIA Accounting Unit; Shefer died trying to extract another wounded soldier, and was considered a fallen soldier whose place of burial is unknown up until now.
Private Livka Shefer, who fell during War of Independence battles in the southern region's Yad Mordechai kibbutz and declared a fallen soldier whose place of burial is unknown, was finally found after an exerted investigation by the army, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced Sunday evening.
The search operation was presided over by the IDF's MIA Accounting Unit, part of the Casualty and Wounded Soldiers Department.
Pvt. Shefer was born in Poland in 1914 and made Aliyah in 1939. She joined the founding group that created the kibbutz, and participated in its defense during the 1948 war for Israel's independence.
Pvt. Livka Shefer was considered a fallen soldier whose place of burial was not known for 70 years (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
During Egyptian bombings and infantrymen overrunning her adopted home, Shefer served as a liaison between different defensive positions and fell while trying to extract a wounded soldier, alongside fellow fallen kibbutz member Pvt. Yitzhak Rubinstein.
Shefer, who died overnight on May 24, 1948, is the only female IDF casualty whose burial place was unknown. She was killed mere days after the declaration of the country's founding.
A cenotaph in her memory was erected at Yad Mordechai's military cemetery.
Lt.-Col. Nir Israeli, head of the MIA Accounting Unit, said, "Finding the casualties of past wars is not a trivial pursuit. The unit's people are required to show initiative, devotion to their task and extreme professionalism, and come from many varied fields."
"We do the utmost to bring any and all fallen soldiers to a proper burial. That is the army's commitment to both the fallen and their families," he iterated. "Any investigation that reaches fruition is highly significant for the family, for the unit's people and for the IDF in general."
"It gives us the strength to move on and to keep tirelessly inquiring and investigating to close as many investigations into the locations of fallen soldiers whose place of burial is unknown," he concluded.
Head of the IDF's Manpower Directorate Maj.-Gen. Almoz will attend the unveiling of a tombstone ceremony for Shefer (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
In the coming weeks, the traditional unveiling of the tombstone ceremony will take place as part of which, 70 years after her demise, Shefer's name will be added to the mass grave at the Nitzanim kibbutz, where her remains were found.
The ceremony will be attended by the head of the IDF's Manpower Directorate Maj.-Gen. Moti Almoz.
