The inspiration to produce
this web page grew out of a March 20 – 27, 2015 Atlanta trade and sister cities
mission to Israel. After 39 years,
I fortunately re-connected with branches of the Panzer family in Israel, the Ilani and Metzger lines. I so appreciated the strength of this bond after such a long
disconnect that I decided to produce a web page to describe it.
I married into this family by
virtue of a wonderful 38 year marriage to my late wife Sue Auerbach Heller
whose grandmother Sadie was a Panzer.
Sadie was the mother of Rosalinde, or Rozzie, who married Herman Auerbach, my father-in-law. Marc Auerbach is Sue’s brother and my
brother-in-law.
From left
to right, Marc, Rozzie, Herman and Sue Auerbach
Heller.
Herman Auerbach passed away
ten years ago at the age of 90 – my wife Sue, age 59, died Nov. 21, 2009. Rozzie passed
Oct. 8, 2013 at the age of 94.
Marc Auerbach lives in Houston, Texas, with his wife Lisa. Their daughter Maggie Bolstead lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with husband
Paul and daughter Talula
This tribute is not a
Panzer Family History, nor is it intended to be comprehensive or even balanced. For a
true history, proceed to the Panzer Family History being written
by Michelle Leder, or peruse the Panzer Family
Facebook page.
My aim is to illustrate my
re-bonding with the Panzer family branches in Israel.
Therefore, the focus is on the Panzer family in Israel and Sue’s family
links.
Abraham Panzer married Scheindel Altman and lived in the Chodoroiv
shtetl located in then Poland and now Ukraine. They had seven children who were all
born and lived in Chodroiv – by birth order they were
Faiga, Jacob (Jack), Julius, Sadie, Sol, Gladys and Murray.
Faiga was born in 1886 and married Leifish
Baumel.
They moved to Lemberg and raised three
children there – Eda, Moshe, and Rivka.
Faiga and Leifish immigrated to
Palestine in 1935. Eda became involved in the Zionist movement and may have
influenced them to make aliya instead of joining the rest of the family in the
United States. They would have
died in the Holocaust if they’d stayed in Poland.
As an act of Israeli
patriotism, a lot of European immigrants changed their Yiddish and European
names to Hebrew names – Leifish became Arie, Faiga
became Zipora. Cobi Metzger,
son of Joseph, thinks they are the same Hebrew names they’d had in Europe. Moshe changed his last name Baumel (German) to Ilani.
1. Yaron -Boyfriend of Sarah
2. Sarah Cassel (grand grand child of Soul Panzer)
3. Maya Metzger
4. Ido Ilani
5. Efi Ilani
6. Dalia Ben Shahar
7. Martin Cardoso
8. Ofer Barak
9. Miri Barak
10. Hadas Cardoso
11. Hagit Ilani
12. Yael Ilani
13. Tom – Boyfriend of Yael.
14. Oren Karaso
15. Asaf Karaso
16. Avi Karaso
17. Ayelet ilani
18. Dan Ilani
19. Sharon Karaso
20. Tamar Karaso
21. Yoav barak
22. Yonatan Barak
23. Lior Topaz
24. Rotem Barak
25. Adi Metzger
26. Moshe ilani
27. Alex Bekerman
28. Shula Metzger
29. Roni Ben Shahar
30. Ayala Metzger
31. Harel Bekerman
32. Michal Bekerman
33. Davides (Guest)
34. Yulia (Guest)
35. Omer Bekerman
36. Erez Yoskovitch
37. Tal Yoskovitch
38. Michal Topaz
39. Neri bekerman
40. Dor Bekerman
41. Roy Bekerman
42. Sharon Eshet
43. Itay Eshet
44. Rotem Eshet
45. Guy Topaz
46. Eyal Topaz
47. Yarden Topaz
48. Yael Bekerman
49. Ilay Bekerman
50. Eliana Bekerman
51. Aya Yoskovitch
52. Ayelet Eshet
Cobi Metzger is photographer and not pictured.
Yael Harel (48) married Alex Beckerman
(27) – she is pictured holding grandson Ilay
(49). Alex is grouped in the back,
center-left with Effie and Dalia.
The three children of Faiga and Leifish married – Eda Baumel married Vizek Harel (changed to Hebrew from Halperin). They had two children, Dr. Michael
Harel and Yael Harel Bekerman. Michael married Nava Abramavitch and moved to New York to practice medicine. Michael is pictured below in 2008 with
my late mother-in-law Roz Auerbach.
Moshe Baumel
was born in 1920 and changed his name from Baumel to Ilani. Moshe
married Chaya, joined the Hagana,
and was part of the Jewish Brigade that fought under the British in WW II.
Moshe was also part of the Jerusalem Brigade - the 250 who in 1947 took
Jerusalem from 10,000 Jordanian soldiers.
Moshe and Chaya had three children: Dalia,
Effie, and Rachel.
Rivka Baumel was born in 1922,
married Joseph Metzger, joined the Irgun and assisted with medical
supplies. Rivka
and Joseph had two children, Coby and Shula. Cobi and his
wife Ayala have two daughters, Maya and Adi.
Moshe, now 95, is flanked by
Dalia on right and Effie standing.
Cobi Metzger, son of Moshe’s sister Rivka, is seated far left. Joseph, Moshe’s brother-in-law, is credited with developing
the anti-Tuberculosis program within the National Health Service.
The below picture is my dinner
with the Metzgers and Ilanis,
March 25, 2015. Yael Harel Bekerman is to my right, her husband Alex is to my
left. Across table are Cobi’s wife Ayala, two daughters Adi
and Maya, and his sister Shula.
Effie is at top of table with his sister Dalia (top right). Cobi was also
the photographer and again is not pictured.
Dalia Ilani
married Roni Ben Shahar –
they have three daughters and six grandchildren. Miri Ben Shahar
married Ofer Barak – their three children are
Yonatan, Yoav, and Rotem. Michael Ben Shahar
married Eyal Topaz – their three children are Guy, Lior, and Yarden. I am pictured below with Effie, Moshe, and
Dalia.
Effie Ilani
married Hagit Beit Dagan – they have three children;
Yael, Iddo, and Dan who married Ayelt. Rachel Ilani
married Avi Karasso – they
have four children – Oren, Tamar, Sharon, and Asaf.
Rachel died tragically in a car crash on August 4, 2013.
Of the seven children born to
Cipi Leder and Moshe
Altman, the Leder family has stayed connected to the
descendants. The family spread
across small to medium sized North Carolina towns – the next generation
graduated college and migrated to Atlanta. Brenda Leder, far right, is seated
next to cousin Sherry Segerman – Marcia Leder Goldman is to Sherry’s right with Anne Bernstein to
her left.
The original Panzer Cousins
Club included Saul and Dora Panzer, Seymour and Zelda Panzer, Claire and Herb Afromsky, Ruth and Ben Hilton, Roz and Jay Lewitt, Howard
and Shirley Cassell, Danny and Estelle Kornhausen.
The next
generation of the Panzers and Blanks.
My Texas mispoocha - my
brother-in-law and sister-in-law Marc and Lisa Auerbach top row; my son Sasha
Bart Heller (left) and me (right).