Reuven Yaron (, born Ruben Mihael Freiberger; 19321956) was an Israeli soldier, composer and son of

Miroslav Šalom Freiberger Miroslav Šalom Freiberger (; 9 January 1903 – 8 May 1943) was a Croatian chief rabbi, translator, writer and spiritual leader. He was educated as a lawyer and doctor of theology. Biography Freiberger was born in Zagreb on 9 January 1903. He ...

, the chief rabbi of

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

and Croatia.

Early life

Yaron was born in Zagreb and was the only child of Rabbi Miroslav Šalom and Irena (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Steiner) Freiberger. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, at the end of 1942, Yaron's father had escorted the last group of rescued Jews from Zagreb to

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

and

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, from where they were transferred to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

. Among the ten underage girls and boys was Yaron. The group had received travel documents only after Archbishop of Zagreb

Aloysius Stepinac Aloysius Viktor Stepinac (, 8 May 1898 – 10 February 1960) was a Croat prelate of the Catholic Church. Made a cardinal in 1953, Stepinac served as Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 until his death, a period which included the fascist rule of th ...

and

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

officials had intervened with the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

authorities.

Life in Israel

In 1943, following 16 days of travel, Yaron arrived in Palestine. Upon his arrival, he Hebraized his name and surname. His father, mother, grandfather Antun, grandmother Anka and aunt Ljubica would all be killed in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. He was adopted by Avraam and Lina Avni and accepted into the Sha'ar HaAmakim Kibbutz. His music talent soon became evident, inherited from his mother, who played piano, and uncle, who was a singer at the

Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb (), commonly referred to as (), is a theatre, opera and ballet house located in Zagreb. Overview The theatre evolved out of the first city theatre opened in 1834, housed in the present-day Old City Hal ...

. Yaron took lessons at the Tel Aviv Conservatorium. There he studied under the mentorship of one of the most prominent Israeli composers, Mordechai Seter. At the age of 15 he conducted a choir. In March 1956, the "Rinat Choir," which he conducted, won first prize at an international festival in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, a competition in which 16 countries participated. The choir sang Yaron's song. In 1956, he was killed while fighting as a soldier in the

Suez War The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

. He was buried in the cemetery on Sha'ar HaAmakim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaron, Reuven 1932 births 1956 deaths Burials at Mount Herzl Croatian Jews Jewish songwriters Israeli soldiers Yugoslav emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli military personnel killed in action