(Adnkronos) – The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that they have identified the remains of a soldier who died in 1948. He is Shlomo Haimson, killed by guards in a detention camp in Cyprus during an escape attempt in September 1948 and buried on the island in an unmarked grave. In the 1970s, his remains and those of 160 other people were brought back to Israel for burial, most of whom were unidentified.
Haimson – as reported by Haaretz – was initially buried in the Jewish cemetery of Margo, also on the island. In 1970, his remains and those of others buried in the same cemetery were exhumed in Haifa as “unknown persons”. After a thorough investigation conducted by the IDF Missing Persons Unit and the Military Rabbinate, together with the Ministry of Defense and Cypriot associations, it was established that the soldier was buried in the immigrants’ section of the Haifa cemetery.
Born in Romania in 1930, Haimson lost his father during the Holocaust. After the end of World War II, Shlomo arrived in Israel aboard an immigrant ship. The vessel was captured by British soldiers, who deported the passengers to Cyprus, then a British Crown colony. During his stay in a camp in Cyprus, Haimson joined an organization operating under the Haganah and trained to become a soldier and fight for the Jewish state. When the State of Israel was established in May 1948, his mother and fiancée were released from the camp and emigrated to Israel, moving to the Negev. He attempted to escape with eight other detainees between September 29 and 30, 1948; they were discovered by guards who opened fire, killing Haimson. The others were captured and returned to the camp.
