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Joseph Trumpeldor ( | '''Joseph Trumpeldor''' (November 21, 1880 – March 1, 1920) was a Russian-born Zionist activist, soldier, and pioneer, widely revered as a hero in the Zionist movement for his courage, selflessness, and unwavering dedication to establishing a Jewish homeland in the Land of Israel. Renowned for his bravery in the Russo-Japanese War, where he lost his left arm yet continued to serve, Trumpeldor also demonstrated remarkable kindness, organizing aid and education for fellow prisoners of war in Japan and treating those around him with compassion and respect. His leadership in founding the Zion Mule Corps during World War I and defending Tel Hai in 1920, coupled with his famous last words, “It is good to die for our country,” uttered after being fatally wounded in the Battle of Tel Hai, cemented his legacy as an enduring symbol of Jewish resilience and self-defense. | ||
== Early Life == | == Early Life == | ||
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=== Zion Mule Corps === | === Zion Mule Corps === | ||
The battalion was founded and filled with volunteers from the exiles of Palestine, and Trumpeldor was appointed captain and acting deputy to the commander, Lt. Colonel Paterson. He went with the battalion to the Gallipoli front, doing great things both in educating the volunteers in military discipline and order and in protecting them and their honor towards the English officers and in actions for their families. One time he resigned because an English officer insulted him, and at the request of his soldiers, he accepted reconciliation from the commander and stayed. While serving in difficulties and dangers, he even wrote poetic notes in his diary about the beauties of the landscape. He showed contempt for danger and moved through the service routes even on the '''front lines''', and on one occasion he was even wounded in the shoulder. Only at the urging of the senior officers did he agree to leave his men and go to the hospital for a short time. He traveled one time to Alexandria and recruited additional volunteers. He was respected by all the members of the command for his personal and military qualities that were beyond praise, but the existence of the battalion was a thorn in the side of those officers who opposed the Jews’ aspirations regarding the Land of Israel, and they plotted to drive a wedge between him and the men of his battalion and even to undermine the status of the battalion, and he held his ground against the scheming and conspiracies. But finally the order came to return the battalion to Egypt and disband it. In Egypt he made further efforts to save the existence of the battalion and to obtain other uses for it in the war, and when he failed, he went to London and participated with Jabotinsky in advocacy and efforts to create a new Jewish battalion to serve in arms on the Palestine front. But at that time the moment was not yet ripe — neither on the part of the British War Office nor among the Russian-Jewish subjects living in England. Jabotinsky remained in London and continued his stubborn efforts until success. He saw opportunities to gather and inspire a great force among the Jews of Russia, who had been freed from oppression and restrictions following the February Revolution of 1917. He traveled to Russia via the North Sea, where Allied ships were exposed to danger from German warships and submarines. | [[File:Trumpeldor_recommendation_letter.jpeg|thumb|Trumpeldor’s recommendation letter following his service in the Corps]]The battalion was founded and filled with volunteers from the exiles of Palestine, and Trumpeldor was appointed captain and acting deputy to the commander, Lt. Colonel Paterson. He went with the battalion to the Gallipoli front, doing great things both in educating the volunteers in military discipline and order and in protecting them and their honor towards the English officers and in actions for their families. One time he resigned because an English officer insulted him, and at the request of his soldiers, he accepted reconciliation from the commander and stayed. While serving in difficulties and dangers, he even wrote poetic notes in his diary about the beauties of the landscape. He showed contempt for danger and moved through the service routes even on the '''front lines''', and on one occasion he was even wounded in the shoulder. Only at the urging of the senior officers did he agree to leave his men and go to the hospital for a short time. He traveled one time to Alexandria and recruited additional volunteers. He was respected by all the members of the command for his personal and military qualities that were beyond praise, but the existence of the battalion was a thorn in the side of those officers who opposed the Jews’ aspirations regarding the Land of Israel, and they plotted to drive a wedge between him and the men of his battalion and even to undermine the status of the battalion, and he held his ground against the scheming and conspiracies. But finally the order came to return the battalion to Egypt and disband it. In Egypt he made further efforts to save the existence of the battalion and to obtain other uses for it in the war, and when he failed, he went to London and participated with Jabotinsky in advocacy and efforts to create a new Jewish battalion to serve in arms on the Palestine front. But at that time the moment was not yet ripe — neither on the part of the British War Office nor among the Russian-Jewish subjects living in England. Jabotinsky remained in London and continued his stubborn efforts until success. He saw opportunities to gather and inspire a great force among the Jews of Russia, who had been freed from oppression and restrictions following the February Revolution of 1917. He traveled to Russia via the North Sea, where Allied ships were exposed to danger from German warships and submarines. | ||
== Return to Russia and Revolutionary Activities == | == Return to Russia and Revolutionary Activities == | ||
In June 1917, Trumpeldor arrived in Petrograd, the vibrant capital of Russia (at the time), which was bustling between revolutions, and his name, adorned with heroic legends, preceded him. As the Russian Democratic Republic continued to fight on the side of the Western Allies, he campaigned among the Jews and the people of the new Russian government to create a Jewish legion of one hundred thousand men to be sent to the Caucasus front against the Turks and from there to pass through Armenia and Syria, to liberate Israel for the Jews and to lead there the democratic-socialist regime of the Russian Revolution. Meanwhile, together with the writer [https://encyclopedia.yivo.org/article/1043 Shlomo Zanvil Rapoport] (author of | In June 1917, Trumpeldor arrived in Petrograd, the vibrant capital of Russia (at the time), which was bustling between revolutions, and his name, adorned with heroic legends, preceded him. As the Russian Democratic Republic continued to fight on the side of the Western Allies, he campaigned among the Jews and the people of the new Russian government to create a Jewish legion of one hundred thousand men to be sent to the Caucasus front against the Turks and from there to pass through Armenia and Syria, to liberate Israel for the Jews and to lead there the democratic-socialist regime of the Russian Revolution. Meanwhile, together with the writer [https://encyclopedia.yivo.org/article/1043 Shlomo Zanvil Rapoport] (author of ''The Dybbuk''), he tried to create a Jewish socialist-national party in Russia, which would serve as a public rearguard for his Zionist-socialist tendencies in relation to Israel and to rebuild the life of the Jews in Russia and transform them from merchants into workers on a voluntary basis. However, the new Russian government was not strong enough to be able to give a major military boost on the Caucasus front, because it also had a war at home against army groups led by royalist generals, who said they would march on the capital and restore the Tsarist regime. Trumpeldor volunteered to lead a battalion against the royalist army in order to save the revolution. However, the royalist army did not come, and instead of a revolution, new revolutions came to Russia, which brought the Bolsheviks to power in the two capitals, Moscow and Petrograd, who were not prepared to continue the war against the enemies from outside. Anti-Semitic agitation and riots against Jews began throughout Russia. Then Trumpeldor organized the liberated Jewish soldiers for a defensive war on the home front against the rioters, and as for the Land of Israel — it must be conquered not by arms but by work, and to this end he founded [[HaḤalutz]] and convened his All-Russian Conference in Petrograd (which was soon to change its name to Leningrad), where the ideological and practical foundation for HaḤalutz operation was laid, and later he continued propaganda and work for the HaḤalutz also in the Ukraine, where General Denikin, the martyr, still ruled. An ally of the Western powers. | ||
=== Challenges Under Bolshevik Rule === | === Challenges Under Bolshevik Rule === | ||
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And now, alarming rumors arrived from the Upper Galilee about Arab attacks on Jewish settlements in the territory that had been handed over to the French occupation army according to the Sykes-Picot Agreement, and the Arabs were rebelling there against the French and were also attacking Jews in raids, robberies and murders. Trumpeldor immediately postponed his departure to Russia and went to the Tel Ḥai and Gil‘adi villages to lead the defense of Jewish honor and the land of Israel with few forces against many. In contrast to the opinions heard in the settlement that it was not worth risking lives, he strengthened the opinion of the far-sighted regarding the necessity of preserving the land and honor at all costs, without shying away from necessary sacrifices. | And now, alarming rumors arrived from the Upper Galilee about Arab attacks on Jewish settlements in the territory that had been handed over to the French occupation army according to the Sykes-Picot Agreement, and the Arabs were rebelling there against the French and were also attacking Jews in raids, robberies and murders. Trumpeldor immediately postponed his departure to Russia and went to the Tel Ḥai and Gil‘adi villages to lead the defense of Jewish honor and the land of Israel with few forces against many. In contrast to the opinions heard in the settlement that it was not worth risking lives, he strengthened the opinion of the far-sighted regarding the necessity of preserving the land and honor at all costs, without shying away from necessary sacrifices. | ||
For about two and a half months he led the defense in the north of the country against Bedouin gangs, soldiers of the “Sharif” army (of Emir Faisal the Hashemite, who reigned over Syria with the help of the English and against the will of the French) and local volunteers who defeated the French army and expelled it. The institutions in Jerusalem hesitated to send help. Despite that, reinforcements came from the south without their help, albeit insufficient. Under difficult conditions, the defenders of the north maintained their non-interference in the conflict between the Arabs and the French, and in the meantime went out to work in the fields under their own armed guard, and were more than once attacked by attacking Bedouins (In such attacks, Shneur Shpushnik and later Aharon Shar were killed, and the huts of the Ḥamra group were destroyed and set on fire | For about two and a half months he led the defense in the north of the country against Bedouin gangs, soldiers of the “Sharif” army (of Emir Faisal the Hashemite, who reigned over Syria with the help of the English and against the will of the French) and local volunteers who defeated the French army and expelled it. The institutions in Jerusalem hesitated to send help. Despite that, reinforcements came from the south without their help, albeit insufficient. Under difficult conditions, the defenders of the north maintained their non-interference in the conflict between the Arabs and the French, and in the meantime went out to work in the fields under their own armed guard, and were more than once attacked by attacking Bedouins (In such attacks, Shneur Shpushnik and later Aharon Shar were killed, and the huts of the Ḥamra group were destroyed and set on fire.) Amidst this constant tension and the feeling of loneliness and helplessness, the people of Tel Ḥai and Kfar Giladi continued their work and defense, and Trumpeldor’s diary entries were sent to the Ayelet HaShaḥar village and from there to Tel Aviv and published, as official diaries of the Defense of the Galilee, in the newspapers of the two labor parties, ''Hapo‘el Hatza‘ir'' and ''Qontras'', evoking much anxiety in the community and little willingness to help. | ||
=== Final Battle and Death === | === Final Battle and Death === | ||