Ruth was born in Vienna as Gertrude, to her mother Berta and father Binyamin, on 16.5.1921. The family was traditional, and she was the third of four children. At thirteen, she joined the Beitar youth movement, together with her sister Bella. She absorbed a love for the Nation and Land of Israel. She dreamed of aliyah, and this became the prime mover of her life. At first, this was a point of contention between Ruth and her mother, as she did not want her daughters to leave. However, once Anschluss took place in March 1938, she realized that the best thing for Ruth and Bella was to emigrate as soon as possible. In Austria, life had become hellish. Neighbors and friends suddenly turned on the Jews. Binyamin, who had been in Germany, disappeared without a trace. Ruth and Bella joined the illegal aliyah program under the auspices of Beitar, and in June they sailed for the Land of Israel. The ship was discovered by the British, who turned it away, but nevertheless sixty Mapilim made it to the shore. Ruth was among them; she had jumped into a rowboat at the last moment, and she reached Israel. She joined the labor company of Beitar in Ekron, and she was recruited by Shlomo Ben-Shlomo to the ranks of IZL. He declared: “Henceforth, your name shall be known in Israel as Ruth.”

After three months, she made her way from the Ekron company to the Netanya company. There she learned of her mother’s cruel death; she had been run over. Her younger brother Shmuel was alone, but he made his own way to Israel by late 1938; he was inseparable from Ruth in the company, and then in a rented apartment in Netanya. In 1940, with the split in IZL, Ruth joined Lehi.

In September 1940, the CID arrested her and she spent a year-and-a-half in the Bethlehem Women’s Prison. She was released to house arrest, and she had to present herself at the police station twice daily. In Lehi, she served in Department 6 (Intelligence), maintaining contact between the central committee and Jerusalem Central Prison. She visited under the pretense of seeing a friend, but she was really a courier bringing messages and information back and forth. She met Rabbi Aryeh Levin, the prisoners’ rabbi, there; Rabbi Levin played matchmaker, setting her up with Eliyahu Amikam (Kashak). He even officiated at their wedding in 1947 on the roof of their home in Jerusalem. This apartment was given them by Eri Jabotinsky; the author Arthur Koestler used the apartment whenever he visited the Land of Israel.

Ruth was also the first point of contact for any Lehi prisoner who was released; she would give each five pounds for their initial arrangements. She also made contact between the newly released activist and Natan Yellin-Mor so he could return to duty.

From Jerusalem, the couple moved to Tel Aviv in the last armored vehicle to leave Jerusalem during the War of Independence. Eliyahu became the editor of the Lehi daily, HaMivrak. Their apartment was Lehi’s office.

They had two sons, Yair and Amnon.

Eliyahu passed away on 14.8.1995, and was buried in Nahalat Yitzhak.