David Mitrani, the son of Rachel and Mordechai who were Turkish immigrants to Cuba, was born in Havana on 6th September 1929. There he grew up and completed his schooling. As a youth he belonged to the local Maccabi Zionist movement. He was an accomplished sportsman and coached athletics at the elementary school in his city.
When he learned about the UN Partition Resolution in November 1947, he sought out and made contact with the Irgun Zvai Leumi (Etzel), and joined a group of Maccabi involved in secret military training and preparing to sail for Israel.
As part of their training David’s group were sent to Marseilles, and there met brothers-in-arms from numerous countries. They all boarded the ship “Altalena” laden with arms, equipment, and some 800 volunteers ready to sail and participate in the fighting.
On reaching their destination, the vessel was fired upon by the Haganah, resulting in the tragic deaths of eighteen Jewish fighters of both Etzel and Haganah, as well as forty wounded.
David Mitrani was killed by fire directed at the ship from Haganah positions on the Tel Aviv beach on 22nd June 1948. He was laid to rest at the Nachlat Yitzhak military cemetery.
His name is recorded in Etzel’s memorial book “They Will be Remembered Forever,” as well as in a book called “Altalena.”
Source: Translated from the Yizkor website by Joe Woolf.