fbpx
Gozner, Pinchas

Gozner, Pinchas


Son of Reizel and Zusia, was born in 1899 in Liabekov, the Zhitomir district of Russia. He was a traditional educator, but had a high school education. The family was from Hovevei Zion and from childhood was involved in a Zionist youth movement. During the civil war in Ukraine he and his father were captured by the Bolsheviks and by the Petlura people. They were presented to the commander as Bolshevik spies and other spies were sentenced to death. Pinchas managed to escape to a forest guard he knew. The guard brought him up to the attic and covered him with hay. After a while cavalry arrived and their daggers stuck in the hay, but they could not find it. Barefoot and half naked, disguised as a Ukrainian peasant, he came home two weeks later. As a firstborn, he took upon himself the livelihood of the family and at the same time devoted himself to Zionist work. He was one of the organizers and activists of the “Tse’irey Zion” association. Was the center of the “Left Bloc of Tzeirei Zion” (headed by Nachman Syrkin). The organizers of this faction established a Hebrew office and library, where all the activities were concentrated: lectures, donations to the Jewish National Fund, etc. When a ban was imposed on Zionism, he went underground with the movement, and despite persecutions he continued to work. He had to wander and hide. Occasionally he had to change his name. His friends called him “Sioma.” One night he was arrested in his home by the Chika (Soviet secret police) and imprisoned for six weeks. When he was released, he immediately returned to work and began with the Hehalutz organization in Kharson, Nikolaev, Sde Menucha (small and large) and Moscow, mainly in the Zhytomyr region and later in Odessa. Pinchas was one of the founders of an agricultural farm called “Shikha fields” near Odessa, and devoted himself to educating youth for pioneering. For two years, he was the driving spirit in this Zionist-labor enterprise. In 1923 he established a large Machining and Crafts workshop in Kiev and headed it for a long time, and in 1927 he saw that he had no escape and no possibility of continuing his activities. He came to the Chika and asked him to immigrate to Eretz Israel. Pinchas immigrated to Israel with his family and settled in Jerusalem, where he worked for Spinis for 14 years, and continued his public activity in Israel, where he initially tried to organize the Spaniards and the company’s clerks to improve their status, improve their salaries and social benefits. And even fought for their rights by participating in protest vigils and public relations He was elected to the branch committee of the Histadrut in Jerusalem and later to the Central Committee of the Histadrut and to the National Council, and his colleagues and workmen alike trusted him, serving for a time as a judge in the Histadrut labor court. He was a member of the Histadrut, a member of Mapai and a member of the Jerusalem Workers’ Council. His home in the Arnona neighborhood served as a Histadrut and party address for all public activities. Since his immigration, he had been active in the Haganah. He participated in the defense of Jerusalem during the 1929 riots. He was one of the founders of the Arnona neighborhood, which was built as a protection point in southern Jerusalem and Talpiot. He often kept out of his turn and felt safe about the neighborhood. In the events of 1936, he guided the youth with weapons and went to practice, although he was well trained and never disparaged a class or exercise. Those who insulted his honor as a Jew in the English company Spinis often showed his arm and the thugs were afraid of him. After a difficult operation he left Spinnis and opened a sausage factory. In Beit Jala, on his way to work, an Arab ambushed him once. Pinchas, who was wounded in the nose and forehead, struggled with the Arab and took the gun and the knife from his hand and brought it to the police. Was involved in civilian life as a member of the Arnona neighborhood committee and worked hard to build the neighborhood and its development. His kindness and gentleness bought him many friends, and Arabs and British used to visit him. He had a sense of language and many languages ​​were in his mouth. When he went to live in Gav Yam he took care of a corner around the house, he tended to take care of his flowers, and devoted every spare time to the garden, and even though the land was rocky, he got what he wanted. Pinchas had a sense of humor, loved to dance and sing, and his evening voice pleased his friends. He loved life and knew how to keep the sadness away. He was not afraid, however, and the doctors who operated on him said that lying on the operating table he joked, hummed, sang, and even gave them a cheerful spirit. In every trouble he had about the Yishuv, he used to say: “It will pass” … “We are stronger than them and we will consume them.” He was very firm and strong in character and excelled in his great energy. He was a friend of his children, and the older they grew, the more they consulted him and asked for his help. At the beginning of 1948 he received a passport to travel to Uruguay to see his brother there, but since the outbreak of the War of Independence he refused to leave the country. He did not wait for the pleas of friends, did not leave the Arnona neighborhood and was one of the few who dared to stay on the front line. When Arnona was in danger of being cut off from Jewish Jerusalem, he undertook to supply the neighborhood with all its equipment and supplies. Although the buses were attacked almost daily, he insisted on maintaining contact with the city, and did not give up travel to maintain contact with the commander in chief, bringing equipment, etc. When he returned once alone in his car to Arnona, he was attacked near the power station of the Electric Company. Calmly, he slipped out of the car, took a position behind a rock Members of the Haganah who saw the battle from their far-off positions raised this heroism to a miracle. Pinchas was deputy commander of municipal taxes and was responsible for recruiting residents. Despite his age and illness, he was active in guarding and touring the harsh winter nights. In fact, the bombardments filled daring missions to the front lines and served as a guide for the units that came to the aid of the attacked Ramat Rachel. When this soldiers were hungry, he always found something and forced them to eat. The day before he fell he came to town and his wife asked him to stay and rest a little. He refused to leave the neighborhood and his friends, saying, “I’ll have time to rest.” He returned to Arnona. In the evening, after the staff meeting, he went to guard duty. That night the battle was fought for the monastery of Elias. At a suspicious movement Pinchas left his position at four in the morning and went on a tour. He was hit by shell shrapnel in his liver and Lev. His friends rushed to his aid and in vain. Even in his last moments, his suffering suffered quietly, and bravely, and died on the 17th of Iyar 5708 (May 26, 1948). He was buried in Sheikh Bader Aleph. He left a wife, two daughters and a son. His 17-year-old daughter died of a stroke when she heard about her father’s death. After his death, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. On the 28th of Elul 5710 (10.9.1950) he was laid to rest at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

Skip to content