David (Dudik) Keter

David Keter was born in the Mekor Haim neighborhood in Jerusalem, the third son of Michael Kronglevsky (later Keter) and Haya Anya Sheindel Stokin (14/4/1897), from Kiev in the Ukraine. He was the younger brother of Gavriel, Binyamin (1923) Ruth and Yehudit. Michael (Meishe) Ben David Kronglevsky, David's father, was born on August 14, 1897 in Odessa, Ukraine. He served in the Russian army in WWI. He was wounded in his leg and captured by the Germans. After his discharge from the army and the Communist Revolution he returned to Kiev and then went to study electrical engineering in Heidelberg, Germany. Michael married Haya (Anya) Stokin. Haya left her home town, Batumi, Georgia, after being witness to pogroms of the Jews there. Haya's father was an observant Jew who made a living building fancy carriages in Kiev, Ukraine. Michael came to Israel in 1920. Haya, his wife, joined him 9 months later. Michael arrived at the Haifa port on a ship which left Constantinople, Turkey, along with other youngsters. On the ship he met the Jewish author and journalist Michal Rabinowitz (later the owner of the 'Darom' Book Store in the center of Jerusalem) who advised him to change his name to Keter. (Karon=Keter). Some of the passenger on the ship did not have certificates of entry to the Land of Israel and they bribed the captain to take them aboard. The ship reached the Haifa port and the Jewish passengers disembarked onto the beach and set up a tent camp at the base of the Carmel, near Bat Galim. The couple bought property in Neve Sha'anan and there their eldest son, Gabriel, was born. Their second son, Binyamin, was born in 1923. Michael was a photographer, using an Eastman-Kodak camera that he received from his mother when he was in Russia. In addition he worked in the first motion picture in Haifa and assisted building the electrical system and lighting for fishing boats at the Haifa port. Haya worked with new immigrants. Michael began working in the Haifa train station. While working there he met an employee of the Jerusalem train station from Sevastopol who told him about a new Jewish neighborhood that was being built in the Southern part of the city- Mekor Haim. In 1924 Michael and Haya bought property in Jerusalem and built themselves a house there. The Keter family moved to Mekor Haim and Michael was appointed to serve as the Assistant Director of the Electrical Company and the Public Service of Jerusalem, in charge of the electrical system of the train station and of the neighboring Greek Colony. The family completed building their home in Mekor Haim in 1931. Their third son, David (Dudik) was born the same year. In the 1929 Arab riots in Palestine Michael defended Mekor Haim against Arabs who broke into the neighborhood and took the son of the Mukhtar of the village, Eliezer Mar-Haim captive. Later an agreement was signed between the Mekor Haim neighborhood and the neighboring Arab village, Beit Zefafa, to cease the fighting between them. On June 30, 1945 Michael was electrocuted while working and died from his wounds in the Hadassah Hospital. He was 48 years old at his death. He was buried on the Mount of Olives. Haya, his wife passed away on July 9, 1971 at the age of 74. David (Dudik) Keter grew up in Mekor Haim. He went to the local kindergarten of Hana Cohen, to the Tahmoni Elementary School and the Jerusalem schools-"Bema'ala", Sokolov Gymnasia and Talpiot School. He studied in the 'Amal" Vocational School in the Bucharan neighborhood where he developed his technical abilities. After the death of his father he went to work to help support his family. In 1946 David and his older brother were arrested and imprisoned by the British. David was imprisoned for about 6 months after they proved that he hid and smuggled weapons. They found a 'slick' in his parent's home with weapons that were assembled in Kibbutz Ramat Rachel and hidden in the nearby neighborhood of Mekor Haim. The slick was discovered because a neighbor informed on them. After his release from prison he joined the police forces and served in the Jewish division. His brother Gabriel joined the Jewish Brigade during the Second World War. David joined the forces which defended his neighborhood, Mekor Haim, during the War of Independence. He was later drafted into the 'Harel" Brigade and fought in Sha'ar Hagai (Bab-El-Wad) and on the road to Jerusalem. On January 1, 1950 he traveled to Tzriffin and was drafted into the IDF to the 12th Battalion (Barak Battalion) in the Golani Brigade. He joined the course of class commanders and taught in the officer's course. In 1951 he was released from the army due to his health, however as a reserve soldier, he fought in all the wars. In 1952 David Keter worked as a mechanic and truck driver for the railway service, in addition to working as a draftsman for the JNF. David and Aviva were married on October 27, 1961. They had two children: Yael (1964) and Michael (1967). In 1962 David renovated his house in Mekor Haim in which he lived for more than 80 years. His house served as an informal archive for the neighborhood which included pencil sketches of the neighborhood during the War of Independence, which he drew from memory. The drawing project, of which some of the drawings can be found in this photo collection, was started by David when Doron Herzog, who researched the neighborhood, asked him for some drawings to include in a book about the neighborhood that was soon to be published. This photo collection includes, apart from family photos, many photographs that tell the story of the neighborhood, as well as the drawings mentioned above. Read more