Elkaslasi Family Archive

Shmuel Elkaslasi (1926 – 2006)

A Life of Courage and Resilience

Early Life & WW2

Shmuel was born in 1926 in Safi, Morocco. When he was 10 years old, riots broke out across the city, deliberately targeting Jewish neighborhoods. Synagogues, homes, and shops were burned, and families like Shmuel's feared for their lives. With nowhere safe to stay, his family fled to Casablanca.

In Casablanca, his father started a small grocery store to rebuild their life. But the trauma of the riots stayed with Shmuel. At 15, he joined B'nei Akiva, a Jewish youth group, to connect with his heritage and protect his people.

Post-War Journey to Israel

After WW2, Shmuel focused on helping Jewish refugees. In 1947, he joined the ship Exodus, carrying Holocaust survivors to Palestine. When British soldiers attacked the ship, Shmuel fought them off, throwing explosives back into the sea. The British captured the ship and sent everyone to Germany. Shmuel saw the abandoned Nazi camp Bergen-Belsen, shocking him deeply.

Using fake papers, he escaped to Paris and finally reached Israel in 1948, just before it became a country.

Life in Israel

Shmuel joined Israel's new army (IDF) and helped build its engineering unit. Later, he moved to a kibbutz (a farming community), there he met and married Hannah, and raised seven children with her. Even after retiring, he kept helping others volunteering with police, neighborhood patrols, and a children's hospital.

Legacy

Shmuel's life shows bravery and strength from fleeing riots in Morocco to building Israel. His courage outlived hardship. He passed away in 2006, and Hannah in 2017, but their family continues their story.

Hannah Elkaslasi (1931 – 2017)

A Journey of Courage and Dedication

Early Life & Aliyah

Hannah was born in 1931 in Morocco. At the age of 18, she made the courageous decision to immigrate to Israel alone through the Youth Aliyah program in 1949, while her family remained in Casablanca. Youth Aliyah was a Zionist movement established to bring young people to Israel and prepare them for settlement in the country's kibbutzim and moshavim.

Life in the Kibbutz

Hannah joined the training program at Kibbutz Dores, where she met her future husband, Shmuel Elkaslasi, who was one of her instructors. In the kibbutz, she worked primarily in the children's house and helped with various required activities on the farm. During this time, she even had the opportunity to meet Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who listened to the group's work on the farm.

Building a Family

Hannah and Shmuel married in 1950 at Ma'agan and moved to Kfar Ata. While Shmuel served in the Engineering Corps, Hannah began working at Ata Textile Factory, a factory established in the young State of Israel to produce work clothes and military uniforms.

Medical Career & Yom Kippur War

In 1962, the family moved to Petah Tikva, where Hannah began working at Beilinson Hospital in the operating room. She was responsible for the delicate and expensive surgical equipment. During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Hannah was urgently called to the operating room even before the general mobilization of reserves, including her husband Shmuel and their eldest son Nisim. Her dedication to her work during this critical time was a testament to her commitment to saving lives.

Retirement & Volunteer Work

After retiring, Hannah volunteered at Schneider Children's Hospital for many years, receiving a certificate of appreciation for her dedicated service. Together with Shmuel, they raised seven children, instilling in them strong values, achievements, and love. In their home, they spoke only Hebrew, as Shmuel always said, "This is our language, we need to develop it and don't need any additions."

Legacy

Hannah's journey from Morocco to Israel, her dedication to building the country, her medical career, and her commitment to family values continue to inspire future generations. Her story is one of courage, dedication, and unwavering commitment to both her family and her country.

Nurit Steinovitz (1956 – 2026)

Steady Hands in the Operating Room

Growing Up

Nurit was born in 1956, the second daughter of Shmuel and Hannah Elkaslasi, in the early years of the young State of Israel. She grew up in Kfar Ata and, from 1962, in Petah Tikva, in a home where only Hebrew was spoken and where courage and service were part of everyday life.

Following Her Mother

Her mother Hannah spent her working life in the operating room at Beilinson Hospital, and Nurit's path led to the same corridors. She became a nurse in the operating rooms and rose to become head nurse of the operating rooms at Rabin Medical Center, of which the Beilinson campus in Petah Tikva is a part.

Head Nurse

As head nurse, Nurit was responsible for the operating rooms of one of the largest hospitals in Israel: the schedules, the teams, and the delicate surgical equipment, the same kind of responsibility her mother once carried at Beilinson.

Remembered

Nurit passed away in 2026. After her passing, a colleague from the medical community wrote that she was one of the people he loved most. Her family carries her memory: the warmth she gave, the standard she kept, and the same quiet dedication to healing that her parents taught her.