98
And Still Working
Ezra
Belboul (Lev) continues working at the Ministry of Defence
at the age of 98. He was born in Baghdad in 1903. In 1917
with the British entry to Baghdad, he was employed by the
British authorities at the young age of 14 for his knowledge
of Arabic, French, Turkish and English. They found him trustworthy
and reliable. He rose in his position to become personal
secretary to the British Governor. He also worked with King
Feisal I and was in his entourage when he met King Ibn Saud
in 1930 on board a British battleship. He occupied important
positions in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior until his emigration
to Israel in 1950.
In
Israel he was appointed as translator in the Ministry of
Defence and remained in this position until he was pensioned
in 1968, but continued to work with a salary until the year
2001. He still continues to work without pay as he finds
his work to be his life. He has 2 sons and 2 daughters and
26 grandchildren.
**
Letter
of Appreciation from The Attorney General, Jerusalem –
25 January 2001
Dear
Mr Ezra Lev
I
have learned with pleasure that you have attained the age
of ninety-eight years, in well-being and good living, and
that the Ministry of Defence will distinguish this day during
which you will conclude your period of formal work in this
office and will commence your work as a volunteer. This
makes me want to tell you: may you continue to stand on
your post, as you have done over one generation’s time
from the usual age of retirement. Yours is an outstanding
phenomenon, few, if any, of which can be found in public
service. The beauty of this is that, firstly, that the administration
appreciates the importance of your service, and secondly,
in that your service is that of the Defence of Israel, a
country still struggling for peace and security. May you
know happiness and live for many years to come, in good
health.
Best
wishes,
Elyakim
Rubinstein
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