Rosenberg, Yosef

Son of Hanna and Yehuda. He was born on October 10, 1911, in Kaysmontarton, Hungary. He was nine years old when orphaned of his father, who was murdered by Horthy’s “white terror”. For three years he was educated by his relatives, and at the age of twelve moved to Budapest where he studied at the rabbinical seminary. With the founding of the “Hashomer Hatzair” movement in Hungary, he joined it and worked there, mainly in imparting the Hebrew language to its graduates. In 1930, with the split in Hashomer Hatzair, he founded the Netzach organization with a group of friends, and he headed it. In 1931 he came to Israel as a tourist without a permit. He joined the Givat Hayim farm and continued to maintain ties with his movement in Hungary and to guide them from the country. In the kibbutz he worked in foreign jobs and later in the management of the orchard. In 1933, he was sent to train a group of immigrants from Transylvania who served as a nucleus of the Sha’ar Hanegev Company, later the village of Szold. Joseph participated in a seminar for the emissaries of Netzach in Afikim and showed special interest in the situation of Hungarian Jewry and dedicated lists published in the workers’ press. His estate contains a comprehensive essay on the history of the Jewish youth movement in Hungary, and his most recent literary work was the translation of parts of Hannah Szenes’ works. Among his friends, he was known as a devoted family man and a loyal friend with a sense of humor that was enjoyable to all. On the 21st of Kislev (26.11.1945), military forces surrounded Jewish settlements in the coastal plain for a search after the Haganah attack on observation stations of the Coast Guard waiting for illegal immigrant ships. Yosef was among the masses of Jews from the surrounding communities who gathered to prevent the search and fire was opened by the army. Yosef was hit and killed, along with six of the crowd. He left a wife, a boy and a girl. His kibbutz published a pamphlet in his memory.