NAME: Michaeli Yaffa nee Zitoni

LEHI ALIAS: Ziona

DATE OF BIRTH: 30 January, 1933

DATE OF DEATH: 2010

Yaffa was born on 30th of January 1933, to Shoshana (nee Seidman) and Yitzhak Zitoni, one of the founders of Binyamina. Her father’s family had lived in Israel for generations, and her mother immigrated to Israel from Belarus in 1919.

Yaffa attended primary School in Binyamina and then high school, also in Binyamina. After her studies, she worked as a kindergarten teacher in the refugee camp (ma’abara).

In 1947, she was recruited to Lehi in Binyamina. She received training from Shaul Aloni, assisted in hanging posters, small arms training, patrols, and defending against the British and Arabs.

In 1948, she participated in bombing the railway in Haifa by Lehi. After the independence of Israel and the dissolution of Lehi, she enlisted in the IDF and served as a medic.

She married Yaakov Michaeli, her childhood friend and Lehi member. She worked as a kindergarten teacher in Binyamina for 45 years.

Yaffe died in 2010. She is survived by her husband, Ya’akov, three sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.