Trumpeldor, Yosef

Son of Zeev. A soldier in the army, Nikolai I. He was born on 21.11.1880 in the city of Piatigorsk, in Kawakaz, Russia. For a short period, he studied at the “cheder” in the city of Rostov and was later transferred to a Russian elementary school. Because of his Jewishness, the Real High School was closed to him and therefore he went to study dentistry with his older brother. In September 1902 he was examined at the Faculty of Dentistry in Kazan and received a dental certificate. Later, when Joseph wrote about his youth, he would resent the restrictions on his Jewishness: “Together with other Jews, I drank from my childhood the cup of suffering and insults that I would call ‘Gide’ or deny me the rights that the other Russian citizens had. ” Zionist consciousness began to ripen within him at the time of the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897 and he organized a Zionist circle and served as the chairman of the department. In 1902 he was called up for military service and at the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War he was sent to the front and on the battlefield he was unusually resourceful and courageous. In one of the harsh battles he was badly wounded and his left hand had to be amputated. After his recovery, he asked to be returned to the front, and so he told his commanders: “I have one hand left, but this is my right hand and therefore I want to live my life with the sword as I did before.” His request was filled, and on a special command of the battalion commander his bravery was mentioned on the battlefield and promoted to the rank of deputy officer. With the defeat of the Russian forces and surrender at Port Arthur, Joseph was captured with other soldiers and transferred to a camp in Japan. In the camp he organized the life of the POWs, opened a school for them in elementary education, and especially devoted himself to working among the Jewish prisoners. He set up a Jewish theater, opened a mutual aid fund, and set up a special group, Bnei Zion, whose goal was to immigrate to Eretz Israel and set up an agricultural commune there. When he was returned to Russia after the war, he became an officer and became one of the few Jews with the rank of officer of the Tsar’s army. He rejected offers to stay in the army, went to study at the Department of Justice of the University of Petersburg and at the same time continued to seek partners in the idea of ​​settling in the Land of Israel. In October 1912 he immigrated to Eretz Israel in a group of friends, where he set out to work on the Migdal Farm and the Degania Group. He did almost all the work with one hand. One of his first steps was to call for the establishment of an organizational framework of the Hebrew workers in the country in preparation for the great tasks they were facing in settlement and security. In view of the danger that faced the Hebrew communities in the Upper Eastern Galilee due to the battles between the French authorities and Arab insurgents, the Jewish Defense Committee sent Trumpeldor to organize the defense of the settlements. At the end of 1919 he left for the Galilee and began fortifying the northern points of Tel Hai, Kfar Giladi and Metula. On the 11th of Adar (March 1, 1920) he was in Kfar Giladi and was summoned to Tel Hai when he heard about an Arab gathering to attack the spot. In the ensuing exchange of fire, Trumpeldor was mortally wounded. He handed over the command to his replacement and said: “These are my last moments, I tell them to stand up to the last minute on the honor of the people.” The life and death of Trumpeldor became a symbol and model for Zionist youth from all walks of life. After the death of his heroes, the “Joseph Trumpeldor” Labor Battalion – a group of pioneers and defenders of the “Third Aliya” – was established in Eretz Israel, which was one of the most important elements of the Haganah.