Ya’akov was the only child of a devout Jewish family who owned a large bakery. He joined the “Hashomer Hatzair” movement. He excelled in various sports. Ya’akov met his future wife, Rahel (Tornay Ágnes) at an early age. When he was fifteen, his father died.
In 1942 Ya’akov moved to Budapest with Rahel and joined his comrades in the movement there. Ya’akov gave assistance to the Jewish refugees who at the time were arriving from Slovakia to Hungary. He gave one of the refugees his own documents and when he returned to Nyiregyháza to get new ones, he was arrested and taken to prison in Budapest. He was released by his family who hired a lawyer who convinced the judges that he had acted genuinely. Ya’akov was sentenced to returning to his hometown and to report to the police on a daily basis.
Ya’akov told the leaders of the community all he had learnt from the refugees about the extermination of Jews but they did not believe him. He saved the youngsters who were willing to hide and receive forged documents. After the German occupation of Hungary on 19.3.1944, he returned to Budapest with Rahel and, after some time, they found refuge on the estate of Christian acquaintances.
At the end of June 1944 they left Hungary on the train of the Relief and Rescue Committee and arrived in Switzerland. In the spring of 1945 Ya’akov and Rahel made aliya with certificates. They joined Kibbutz Ein Dor.
