Ya’akov joined the movement in 1938. In 1941 he dealt with the smuggling of Jewish refugees from Slovakia to Budapest. One of the smuggled Jews was caught. As a result Ya’akov was incarcerated in the Mosonyi prison and later sent to the Garany detention camp. From Garany he was transferred to Komárom, from there to Sárvár and then to Auschwitz. After the liberation Ya’akov returned to Budapest and joined the Ehad BeMay garin. He made aliya and was one of the founders of Kibbutz Ga’aton, where he was a member.
