A family photo of Milka Revah

This is a family photo of my sister Milka Revah. The woman at the back with the weater is my sister Milka Revah and the man in center of the picture is her son, Izi [Izak] Revah. The old man - first from left in the photo, is my father Beniamin Kohen. I do not remember who the other people on the photo are. The picture was taken in 1974 in Tel Aviv.

My father's name is Beniamin Shemtov Kohen (1877 - 1979). He was born in Samokov. My father had secondary high school education. He knew French, because his parents wanted him to go to study in France, which did not happen, because my father was the first born child and his duty was to stay and support the family, who was not very well-off. My father believed in communist ideas, but I did not remember if he was a member of the party or if he was involved in illegal party activities. In this sense my father was more of an idealist and communist in beliefs than an active party member. I remember that my father worked in a small shop owned by him, but did not earn much money. I also remember that we were constantly short of money and my father had to carry goods on his horse to the nearby villages on Sundays. He carried the villagers' hats, which my mother sowed and knitted at home, as well as cotton, or other things they needed. The Bulgarians bought them and provided us with an income. At first my mother sowed clothes for my father's shop. My father often worked as a travelling salesman to the nearby villages so that his children would have enough food and clothes. My parents also insisted that we further our education. When my parents wanted to go for a walk, they asked us to draw or write something interesting, made up a variety of artistic activities, then they came back and pointed out our best works.

My sister Milka became a social worker in Israel (she had a university education in Bulgaria) and my brother Sinto, who was studying medicine in Bulgaria became a famous doctor. They still live in Israel today and have good families, children and grandchildren. My sister has two boys: Izak Rofat Revah [born in 1942] and Beniamin Rofat Revah [born in 1947]. Currently Izak lives in Canada. He works as an engineer there.