During the 1938 events, the Yusuf Abu Dora Arab gang, which included 200 Arabs raided the British detainment camp in Atlit with the intention to release the prisoners held there. The gang used to raid, rob and kill Jews and Druze, the Gang operated under the leadership and finance of the Mufti of Jerusalem.
During the attack on August 17th, 1938, the gang broke into the house of the Jewish officer Moshe Leizerovich who was the deputy of the camp commander. The gang kidnapped the family members, Moshe the father, Bruria, the Mother, Rachel, 12 years old, Yifrach, 8 and little Chagay, 2 years old. The gang also took Eliyahu Kirzner, the kids uncle, Bruria’s brother.
Three days later the children were released at the gates of Kibbutz Mishmar Ha-Emek, the parents faith was a mystery till 1963. After a research work of the famous investigator Shlomo Ben Elkana the three were found identified using Rachel’s buttons and were buried in a mass grave in Rishon Lezion.
During his service, Moshe Leizerovich got the respect of the Arabs ad they called him “Sheikh Musa”, he was considered an outstanding officer and received an accommodation mentioned in the book “The knights of the Galilee” , a book about the police at that time. On 1935 Moshe joined the Haganah and was active in “Bnei Brit”.
Yusuf Abu Dora was caught and found guilty in murdering two Arab elders, he was executed in 1940.
One of the children, Chagay, died and he is four and half years old during an Italian planes bombing in Tel Aviv during war world II in 1940.
Chagay is commemorated in Tel Aviv with all the Italian attack victims.