Yaacov Tordjman was born on March 17, 1963 in Casablanca, Morocco to Esther and Chaim. He studied at the Alliance Elementary School and at Neve Shalom in his home town.
Yaacov and his brother persuaded their father to celebrate their bar mitzva in Jerusalem at the Kotel. Their father responded to their request and the event made an indelible impression on Yaacov.
He returned to Morocco to complete his studies at the ORT high school and a few years later, in 1983, he made aliya with one of his brothers and a cousin. They stayed originally in Kibbutz Saad and then moved to Givat Olga. Yaacov began to study engineering and electronics at the ORT College in Netanya.
A while later, Yaacov persuaded his family also to come on aliya and they moved into the Mercaz Klita in Mevasseret Zion. It was there that Yaacov met his wife, American-born Yolande, whom he married in the summer of 1988. In March 1989 Yaacov was drafted into the IDF and served six months as a new oleh. In the reserves he served as communications officer in Judea and Samaria.
On June 26, 1996 Yaacov was on reserve duty in the Jordan Valley when his unit encountered a group of terrorists who had infiltrated from Jordan. In the ensuing battle, Yaacov and two other soldiers were killed. Yaacov was buried in the military cemetery on Mt. Herzl.
