Origins
Giorgio (Yehuda) was born on May 4, 1927, in Florence, Italy to Elsa (nee Sachs) and Bruno Algranati. Elsa is the daughter of Ida (nee Gentili, a family founded in the 17th century in San Daniela del Friuli in northeastern Italy) and Ettore Sachs, a famous physician in the same Friuli region. Bruno for his part is the son of Gabriella (nee Castelnuovo) and Alessandro Algranati. Alessandro is a descendant of a Jewish family who immigrated from the Spanish city of Granada to Izmir, Turkey, as part of the Spanish deportation. The family was named "Algranati", meaning "the people of Granada" in Turkish. In the 18th century, the family emigrated from Izmir to Ancona, Italy, and from there to Naples. Elsa and Bruno met on vacation in Capri in southern Italy, married and moved to Florence, where Giorgio (Yehuda) and his sister Ada were born.
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Life in Kibbutz
Yehuda joins a training nucleus in Kibbutz Givat Brenner. During the training, he is recruited to the Givati Brigade and participates in "Operation Yoav". At the end of the operation, he returns to the nucleus, which establishes kibbutz Regavim. In Regavim he married Babi, and in 1952 his eldest daughter Hagar was born. The young family moves to Maagan Michael, and about two years later Yehuda and Babi divorce . At Maagan Michael Yehuda works in the dairy, which he will manage for many years. In the dairy, Yehuda is introduced with Rochale, a diligent and efficient worker. In the special atmosphere of working non-routine hours, a romantic bond is forged between them. In 1959, Yehuda and Rochale get married (each again). Yehuda brings Hagar to the new family cell, and Rochale brings her child Adva. Andra joins the cell, adopted by the crystallizing family. Together, Yehuda and Rochale give birth to Razia, and later to Ravit, Tamir and Dotan.
In addition to his years in the dairy, Yehuda also served as a work center, economist and cultural coordinator. During all these years, he also serves as the kibbutz's photographer, documenting the kibbutz's life in photos and films.
In 1972, he went on a two-year mission with the family to the Israeli embassy in Rome. As the ambassador's first secretary, his job was to bring to Israel through Italy Jews who were refused to immigrate from the Soviet Union. In light of his success in the job, he was asked and agreed to go on another mission in 1982. Regarding his work in Italy, Maurizio Molineri, the editor-in-chief of "la Repubblica", wrote that Yehuda's contribution to the Jews of the Soviet Union still affects relations between Israel and Russia.
Upon returning to the kibbutz in 1985, Yehuda worked in the kibbutz's factory, Plasson, until his retirement.
Italian Childhood
Yehuda grew up in Florence. Mother Elsa, who served in the Red Cross during World War I, and later as a teacher, advocates Italian nationalism, and in light of this young Yehuda takes part in the fascist youth movement. Father Bruno, on the other hand, believes that children should also be familiar with the Jewish tradition. Before racial laws are enacted in Italy, Bruno is promoted and appointed deputy bank manager. With the enactment of the laws, Judah is expelled from the youth movement and the school. His studies continue within the Jewish community, where he is exposed to Zionism, the kibbutz, and the Hebrew language. Meanwhile, Bruno is fired from his job at the bank, and goes to France to look for work, hoping to find a safe haven for the family. After the first Aktion in Italy, when the existential danger to the family becomes tangible, Yehuda leaves Florence for relatives in the village of Monte-San-Sabino, whereas Ada is sent to a convent in Florence. Yehuda later decides to cross the border into neutral Switzerland, where he finds a place in a refugee camp until the end of World War II.
Upon his return to Florence, and in preparation for life on the kibbutz, Yehuda completes his agronomy studies at the university. During this period he was active in the He - Chaluts movement, participating in a course for instructors of the Haganah and an instructor in weapons in the camps of Holocaust refugees awaiting immigration to Israel in Italy. Immediately after graduating, in August 1948, Yehuda immigrates to Israel under the pseudonym Georg Granit on a ship of the Haganah Organization.
Heritage
Yehuda, with his smile and ever-open heart, wisdom and nobility, united a large multi-generational family . At the age of 90, Yehuda distributed to the general public hundreds of photos he captured over 80 years of photography. He died in good health at the age of 93 at his home in Kibbutz Maagan Michael, leaving behind 6 children, 21 grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren; and was buried in Maagan Michael, next to his wife Rochale. Of blessed memory.