Geula was born in Herziliya in 1937. Her parents, Aryeh Cahana (Belbrishki) and Tova (Gita) Handel were born in Lithuania. They met in a training session given by the Zionist Youth Movements for the youth before their making aliyah to Israel. Tova Handel was born in Šiauliai to Henya and Meir-Mordechai, a younger sister to three brothers and one sister. Her older sister, Manya, and her brother, Yosef, remained in Lithuania and were killed in the Holocaust. Her two brothers, Avraham and Shragai, together with their father, Meir-Mordechai, came to the land of Israel in the 1930's, before Tova. After moving to Israel, the father and brother changed their name from Handel to Giladi. Aryeh was born in Vilkaviškis to Hinda and Avraham-Yitzhak Belbrishki. Aryeh had two brothers-the elder, Moshe Zusel (who remained in Lithuanaia and was killed in the Holocaust) and Tuvya, the youngest. Tuvya moved to Israel before Aryeh and started studying in the Hebrew University. When Aryeh arrived in Israel, he and his brother Tuvya changed their family name from Belbrishki to Cahana. Tova and Aryeh married in Lithuania in the beginning of September 1935. They were told that they would be able to receive a 'certificat' from the Youth Movements, enabling them to move to Israel. However due to the very large number of applicants there weren't any left for them. To solve the problem Aryeh's father (temporarily) transferred a sum of money to Israel and Aryeh and Tova received permission to make aliyah under the category of 'shareholders'. Tova and Aryeh reached the coast of Israel in the boat, 'Shalom' in April 1936, close to the time of the outbreak of the Arab Revolt (1936-1939). Upon their arrival, the bus that took them from Haifa to Herziliya was stoned. Tova and Aryeh had family who were already living in Israel when they arrived. Tova had two brothers and a father living in Herziliya and Aryeh had one brother who studied in Jerusalem. Thus, in contrast to so many others of their generation, their daughter, Geula, had cousins and even a grandfather during her childhood. Geula was the first of the family to be born in Israel and therefore was given her name, so laden with meaning. Her parents had two more daughters, Ayala and Michal (Miki). Geula was raised and educated in Herziliya. She studied at the Weizman School. She was a good student but was a bit of an individual and somewhat opinionated. She studied at the Teacher's Seminary in Givat Hashlosha and received her teacher's certificate before she was drafted to the army. She studied biology and geography, two subjects that reflected her love of the landscape, the animals and especially the flora in Israel. She served as a teacher in the army, teaching in the settlements in the South: Shoval 4 (later Kelahim) and Segula. Shortly before her release from the army she was offered the opportunity to found and run a school in Segula, however she chose to teach in a school in Acre. She later taught in Kiryat Bialik. In 1958 she married Tzvi and in 1965 their son, Itai, was born. He was 'named after' Itai HaGiti, the Minister of War of King David, he remained loyal to him even at the time of the revolt of Avshalom. Geula liked reading the Bible and was well versed in it. In the story in the Book of Samuel II and the Chronicles the name Itai is written with one yod and therefore she insisted on spelling it that way. In the 1970's she was the vice principal of the junior high school ORT Kiryat Bialik. In the beginning of the 1980's she started a new junior high school Ort Afek in Kiryat Bialik and ran it until she retired. Geula was known to be familiar with all the children by name (as well as the name of their parents and siblings). She believed that this was essential if one wanted to succeed in running a school. She ran a 'tight ship' however the door to her office was always open to the students. Many of them say that she changed their life by accepting them listening to them and helping them to solve different difficulties and to 'find their way' in life. The yearly school trips were one of her favorite activities and she made a point of going on these trips and sleeping with the children. It was on these outings that she was able to express and find an outlet for her love of Israel and the flora of the area (she knew the names and types of the plants as well as stories about them). She was a devout listener to the radio program, 'The Treasure Hunt' and it was natural that for her 50th birthday she was chosen as the 'hunter' on the program that was dedicated to teachers. Geula was an educator for 44 years. After retiring from being a school principal she continued her involvement in education, volunteering in the Teacher's Union, helping to arrange trips for teachers in Israel and abroad. She arranged a trip to Egypt, which held special interest for her. She also continued her sewing and embroidering and even began quilting. She invested much time and thought in these works and her family enjoyed beautiful pieces. She made three beautiful quilts for her grandchildren and was lucky enough to give them the blankets personally and to see their pleasure from receiving the gifts. She had many serious health problems and underwent difficult treatments. At the age of 71 after a process that saved her life, she decided to celebrate the day as a second birthday. She invited her whole family to the party which was held in an interesting place (the Scottish Hotel in Tiberais, Beit She'arim, Kibbutz Tzuba and more) all of which were tied to her love of the land. She is survived by her son Itai, her daughter-in-law Tamar and three grandchildren- Na'ama, Nadav and Yael.
Language:
שפה נוכחית
