Born in 1923 in Kovno, Lithuania, he was a member of Beitar till 1940. Having tried to cross the USSR-Iran border in an attempt to reach Erets Israel, he was arrested and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for high treason. Two fellow group members, Mordechai Glaida & Baruch Levin were shot. Jacob, in trying to escape from the labour camp, was caught and had to serve out his sentence in Turinsk, Novosibirsk and Vostulag. Freed in 1954, he was unable to reach Israel till 1971. He continues his Zionist activity in the Jewish Agency where he helps in the absorbtion of those who followed him on Aliyah.
