Jaroslawa Lewicka, the last Righteous Among the Nations living in Israel, dies at 91

Jaroslawa Lewicka, the last Righteous Among the Nations living in Israel, died Tuesday at age 91. Her funeral was held Thursday near Haifa. Lewicka helped rescue Jews during the Holocaust as a young girl, smuggling food and medicine. She was recognized by Yad Vashem in 1989 and became an Israeli citizen in 1995.

Jaroslawa Lewicka, the last Righteous Among the Nations living in Israel, died Tuesday at age 91. Dozens gathered at a cemetery near Haifa on Thursday to pay their final respects. The Haifa municipality urged residents to attend the funeral at the Darchei Shalom cemetery in Tel Regev. Lewicka helped rescue Jews during the Holocaust when she was a young girl. Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav said in his eulogy: 'Thank you, Jaroslawa, on behalf of the State of Israel, the Jewish people and the generations who were able to live thanks to people like you.' Lewicka was born in Poland in 1935. After Nazi forces occupied Zloczow in 1941, her family supplied food and medicine to Jews. She served as a messenger, carrying supplies in her schoolbag. Among those she helped was a Jewish boy named Jurek, later known as Yoram Miron. In September 1989, Yad Vashem recognized Lewicka, her mother and grandfather as Righteous Among the Nations. Lewicka settled in Haifa in 1995. In January, students from Haifa's Bosmat school visited her to celebrate her 91st birthday.