Nahum was born in Jaffa in 1924, to Avraham and Esther. The family lived in the “cardboard neighborhood,” i.e. Kerem HaTeimanim, near the Carmel Market. As an infant, Nahum lost an eye. He studied in Tel Aviv, but at a young age he went to work to support his family. Because his home was full of the nationalist spirit, he was eager to respond when he was recruited for the underground of Lehi. At that time, he worked in security, and he was able to acquire information which allowed the underground to seize a printing press, so they could produce promotional materials. Nahum was part of the operations division (the combat arm of Lehi), and he took part in various operations.

On 19 Sivan 5706, 17-18 June 1946, Nahum was part of the great Lehi attack on the Haifa Railroad Workshops, a major part of the British Army’s transportation infrastructure in the Middle East. The operation was successful, as all the machines were destroyed or rendered inoperative, but as the truck was retreating, it encountered a roadblock of British armored vehicles which had responded to the explosions. They opened automatic gunfire on the fighters, killing eleven and capturing eighteen, some of them wounded. Nahum was severely injured in his leg. While he was on the ground, he told his comrades: “Kill me now, the enemy has wounded me. Tell my brothers to carry on in my place.” He started singing Anonymous Soldiers. His injury was so serious that his leg had to be amputated. Dr. Katznelson, who later was visiting the wounded, said that Nahum joked that he could only feel the missing leg and not the remaining one.

The fighters were tried and condemned to death, Nahum among them. Later, the sentence was commuted to life in prison. Because of his leg, Nahum could not participate in the great jailbreak at Acre Prison, organized by the IZL. After the establishment of the State, Nahum worked in an ice store in Carmel Market in Tel Aviv. When the disabled underground fighters were finally recognized by the Minister of Defense, Nahum got a “green number.” This allowed him to work as a cabdriver for many years.

Nahum was active in the establishing the memorial to those who fell in the Haifa Railroad Workshops operation near Kiryat Ata, where the firefight occurred. His younger brother Yehuda fell in the Sinai War.

Naḥum died and was buried in the Holon Cemetery.