Jaroslawa Lewicka, the last Righteous Among the Nations living in Israel, dies at 91
Dozens attend funeral of Poland-born woman who, as a young girl, helped smuggle food to Jews during the Holocaust; Haifa mayor vows to preserve her memory
Dozens of people gathered at a cemetery near Haifa on Thursday to pay their final respects to Jaroslawa Lewicka, the last Righteous Among the Nations living in Israel, who died Tuesday at age 91.
The Haifa municipality had urged residents to attend the funeral at the Darchei Shalom cemetery in Tel Regev to honor Lewicka, who helped rescue Jews during the Holocaust when she was a young girl.
“Thank you, Jaroslawa, on behalf of the State of Israel, the Jewish people and the generations who were able to live thanks to people like you,” Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav said in his eulogy for Lewicka.
“Haifa was fortunate to be your home for more than 30 years. We were fortunate to have you,” Yahav added. “We will continue to tell your story, educate others through it and honor your memory.”
Lewicka was born in Poland in 1935 and grew up with her mother, Katarzyna, and grandfather, Aleksander. After Nazi forces occupied Zloczow, now in Ukraine, in 1941, her family began supplying food and medicine to Jews facing increasingly severe restrictions.
Lewicka served as a messenger for her grandfather, carrying supplies in her schoolbag and evading the suspicion of German and Ukrainian guards.
She was just a little girl when she started saving Jewish lives.
A thread????: pic.twitter.com/bBLNrALvJb— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) November 11, 2026
Among those she helped was a Jewish boy named Jurek, later known as Yoram Miron. She smuggled food to him in the Zloczow ghetto and continued visiting him after her grandfather moved him between hiding places outside the ghetto, according to the pro-Israel group StandWithUs.
Miron later credited Lewicka and her family with saving his life.
Her family also supplied food to 25 Jews hiding in the basement of a ruined building about two kilometers (about 1 mile) from their home, according to the Haifa municipality.
“I wasn’t afraid of anything,” Lewicka told Ynet in a 2022 interview. “My Jewish friends had nothing to eat, so it was important to me to take care of them.”
In September 1989, Yad Vashem recognized Lewicka, her mother and grandfather as Righteous Among the Nations, an honor given to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.
Lewicka settled in Haifa in 1995 and became an Israeli citizen, making the northern city her home for more than three decades.
In January, dozens of students from Haifa’s Bosmat school visited her assisted living residence to celebrate her 91st birthday, presenting her with flowers and a cake and singing in Hebrew and Russian.
“I am happy that you are happy. I was always happy to help Jews. The most important thing is that there should finally be peace in the world,” she told the students, according to the Haifa municipality.