Yaakov was born in Iraq in 1922 to Avraham and Simcha Kamara. The family had four girls and five boys. In 1926, they made aliyah. The father owned a store in Jerusalem’s Old City. On Yellin Street, he built a great house for his family, which still stands. The mother was a homemaker.

In 1935, he joined the IZL. Its first attempts to operate a radio station in Jerusalem were in 1937, in the family home. When the split occurred, he followed Yair and joined Lehi.

He was arrested and imprisoned a number of time by the British authorities, including in Jerusalem Central Prison, in Acre Prison, and at the detention camps Sarafand (Tzrifin), Mizra and Latrun. He was among the first group of 251 prisoners deported to Africa on 19 October 1944. He was held in Sembel (near Asmara, Eritrea), Carthago (Sudan), back in Eritrea, and finally in Gilgil (Kenya). After the State was established, he was returned in the final group, on 12 July 1948.

He then enlisted in the IDF, serving in the Armored Corps during the War of Independence. He also fought in the Sinai War as a reservist.

He had a store on Ben-Yehuda Street in Jerusalem’s center. Later, he trained as a tour guide, and he worked in this field for a number of years. In his last years, he was the driver for the Dutch ambassador.

He was a pleasant and generous man, always ready to help others.

He passed away on 11 October 1993, and he was buried on Har Menuhot.

He left behind his wife, Violet née Shemesh, as well as two daughters, Arnona and Ariella.