Veterans of the pre-state Jewish militia Lechi are calling on the government to find the body of their comrade, Alexander Rubovitz, who was kidnapped and murdered almost 62 years ago. Rubovitz, 16, was nabbed by British soldiers while hanging Lechi signs in a Jerusalem park.
According to eyewitnesses and evidence discovered in the park, a British soldier by the name of Roy Farran was responsible for abducting Rubovitz. Farran was arrested but was soon released, and he subsequently fled the country.
A note revealed 57 years after the killing indicated that three British soldiers tortured Rubovitz in an attempt to force him to reveal information on Jewish underground activities. They then murdered him and disposed of his body between Jerusalem and Jericho, near the modern-day city of Ma'aleh Adumim.
Farran immigrated to Canada and worked in the police force. He died three years ago, after refusing throughout his life to discuss the alleged murder or to reveal the location of Rubovitz's body.
Rubovitz's friends want the government to actively search for the body. “The Defense Ministry must not wait for someone to volunteer information or open secret archives. The unit for locating missing persons should initiate an active investigation,” they explained.
On Sunday, at 4 p.m., exactly 62 years after the kidnapping, Lechi veterans will hold a memorial service at the site of the kidnapping – the corner of Ushiskin and Keren Kayemet streets in Jerusalem in the Rechavia neighborhood. Students from Ma'aleh Adumim are expected to participate as well.
A second service will be held beginning at 4:30 p.m. in the Prisoners of the Underground Museum in Jerusalem's Russian Compound.