David Israëls, born in Visvliet, municipality of Grijpskerk (province of Groningen), butcher by trade, was a son of Levie Israëls and Grietje Gans. At the age of 32 he married 17 March 1915 in Weesp to the 24-year old Bela Rubens from Amsterdam, a daughter of Salomon Rubens and Sarah Hirsch. The couple had two children: Levie Salomon in 1916 and Salomon (Sal) in 1920. Levie Salomon, who got married in 1942, survived the Shoah with his wife, just as his brother Salomon Sjlomo.
After their marriage in Weesp, David and Bela have resided for some years in Wageningen, where both their sons were born. On 21 March 1924 the family was registered in the Peoples Registry of Den Haag at the address Douzastraat 35. After a few more removals, they were registered per 23 November 1935 at Weteringkade 103. Still one move followed to Scheldestraat 38 in Den Haag, from where David and Bela were arrested by the Germans in February 1943 and carried off to Westerbork.
Their eldest son Levie Salomon was had become a religious teacher and lived since 1927 in with his uncle Alexander Bernard Abrahams and aunt Esther Rubens at Gerard Terborgstraat 1 2nd floor in Amsterdam. From 1935 he lived at some other addresses in the city as i.e. Plantage Kerklaan 1, Roeterstraat 16 and St. Anthoniebreestraat 34. His last knonw address was Nieuwe Prinsengracht 22 2nd floor where he lived together with his newly wed wife Elisabeth Groothuis, to whom he got married 19 August 1942. She was a daughter of Abraham Groothuis and Leentje van Staverden and she was employed as short-hand typist at the financial department of the Jewish Council. Levie Salomon Israëls was since 1938 employed at the rabbinate of the N.I.H.S. (Jewish Congregation of Amsterdam) at Jonas Daniel Meijerplein in Amsterdam (renamed by the Germans then in Houtmarkt) and he was exempted from deportation until further notice because of function. Also his wife was exempted from deportation because of function of her husband.
The youngest son Salomon did not live with his parents anymore too. He was unmarried and according his registration card from the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, he was a youth leader and lived at Pletterijstraat 66 in Den Haag
On 19 February 1943, David Israëls and his wife Bela Rubens arrived in Westerbork and had to stay in barrack 73. Immediately after 20 February, frantic attempts were made, among others through correspondence with Professor Cohen, to escape deportation. In the end, all attempts has led to nothing and on 10 March 1943 both were put on transport to Sobibor, where on arrival on 13 March 1943, David Israëls and Bela Rubens immediately have been killed.
Sources among others: Municipal Archive of Den Haag, family registration card of David Israëls; website allegroningers.nl; website openarchieven.nl; City Archive of Amsterdam, family registration cards of Levie Salomon Israëls and Alexander Bernard Abrahams; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of David Israëls, Bela Rubens, Salomon Israëls and Levie Salomon Israëls.