Yosef Trumpeldor
(1860 - 1945)
Yosef Trumpeldor, one of the greatest Jewish heroes of modern history, was born in the Caucasus, Russia, in 1880. Even though his father was conscripted into the Nicolai army, where he served for 25 years, he maintained his Jewishness and influenced Joseph in the spirit of Judaism. Yosef knew that he was a Jew. He was proud of it. After attending the gymnasium school, he studied dentistry. Yosef Trumpeldor became interested in Zionism after the first Zionist Congress, when he learned of Herzl.
In 1902, when the Russo-Japanese war broke out, Trumpeldor volunteered for service in the Russian army. He explained that, even though the Jews were persecuted in Russia, he felt obliged to fulfill his duties as a citizen; and what was more important, he wanted to prove by his action that the charge of "Jewish cowardice" was false. During the defense of Port Arthur, he volunteered for service in the "shock" troops, which bore the brunt of the Japanese attacks. His name was soon the pride of the regiment. Once the commanding officer expressed the hope that, as he had no Jews in his section, there would be no cowards or traitors. Trumpeldor immediately stepped out of line and announced: "I am a Jew, sir."
During a fierce battle in 1904, Trumpeldor was hit in his left arm by a piece of shrapnel. The arm was amputated. On leaving hospital, he wrote to his commander, requesting permission to return to the front: "True, I have now but one arm, but this is the right one, capable of handling a sword or rifle", he stated. Trumpeldor was promoted to a non-commissioned rank. He displayed such outstanding heroism in action that he received all four of the highest decorations for bravery - the only Jew in the Russian Empire to be so honored. He was taken prisoner when Port Arthur fell, and spent a year in a Japanese prison where he organized 500 Jews into a Zionist society.
In 1906, when the war was over, Trumpeldor was introduced to the Czarina, and by royal order he was promoted to the rank of officer - the first Jewish officer in the Russian Army. But he was more interested in preparing a group of Chalutzim (pioneers) to go to the Land of Israel.
He defined a Chalutz as:
"Everything. A worker and a fighter, a builder and a soldier. One who sacrifices everything for his country and expects no reward for his efforts. A son of his people. The vanguard of suffering millions. He belongs to no class; he represents no class. He is prepared to perform every kind of work and becomes the right man on the right job wherever he is sent."
In 1912 he went with the first group of Chalutzim to Eretz Yisrael. He worked in Dagania for some time before visiting the 13th World Zionist Congress in Vienna, returning to Dagania via Russia. When the World War I broke out in 1914, he was deported by the Turkish Government. In Alexandria, Egypt, he met Vladimir Jabotinsky, who enthralled Trumpeldor with the idea of forming the Jewish Legion. The offer to form a Jewish Legion was rejected by the British; but the Zion Mule Corps, in which Trumpeldor was a captain, was formed. Although Jabotinsky opposed the formation of the Mule corps, he conceded in later years that Trumpeldor was right accepting his commission in this unit.
At the head of the Corps was Colonel Patterson. But in 1916, Trumpeldor took over complete command of the unit. He was always the first to face danger. Calmly, and with a deep sense of his great responsibility, he led the Jewish soldiers into the thick of the battle at Gallipoli. Colonel Patterson related: "During all the time of that terrible war, this gentle Captain showed an unparalleled valor and unflinching determination. By his devotion to duty he set an example to all. When bullets were showering upon us, I warned him to take heed, but Trumpeldor, with his charming, simple smile, answered: "Never mind (ein davar). I am all right."
Meanwhile, Jabotinsky had succeeded in convincing the British War Office of the need of having a Jewish Legion. Trumpeldor's request to join it on its formation was turned down by the military command. In 1917, he returned to Russia with the hope of founding a Jewish Legion there. While he was in Russia, however, the Revolution broke out and nothing could be done. As the Jews were again in danger of pogroms, he quickly organized a self-defense unit in Petrograd.
In the meantime the Bolshevists had come into power and the self-defense unit was dissolved. Trumpeldor did not rest. he negotiated with many groups and finally founded the "Hechalutz". It is important to note what Trumpeldor told Jabotinsky was his conception of a Chalutz:
"What is a Chalutz? Is he a worker only? No! The definition includes much more. The Chalutzim should be workers, but that is not all. We shall need people who will be "everything" - everything that Eretz Yisrael needs. A worker has his labor interests, a soldier his 'esprit de corps', a doctor and an engineer, their special inclinations. A generation of iron-men; iron from which you can forge everything the national machinery needs. You need a wheel? Here I am. A nail, a screw, a block? - here take me. You need a man to till the soil? - I'm ready. A soldier? I am here. Policeman, doctor, lawyer, artist, teacher, water-carrier? Here I am. I have no form, I have no psychology. I have no personal feeling, no name. I am a servant of Zion. Ready to do everything, not bound to do anything. I have only one aim - Creation."
In August, 1919, Trumpeldor set out on his third and last journey to Palestine. The war was over. There seemed to be fresh hope for the Jewish people's age-old hope for the re-establishment of Palestine as a National Home. But trouble was brewing in the Land of Israel. On January 22nd, 1919, Jabotinsky wrote to Weizman, then president of the World Zionist Organization: "Not a day passes but some inciting speech is heard, concluding with a call to the Arab sword. The action of the Government proclaims openly and clearly that the Balfour Declaration need not be fulfilled...Forgive the bitterness of my letter; but I did not participate, in my youth, in self-defense organizations in order that I might now sit quietly and complacently watch while Arabs...get rid of us if they will only give us a hard enough blow." Weizmann did nothing, except declare that Britain was on the side of the Jews.
Meanwhile, information reached Trumpeldor that The Arabs were preparing to attack the Jewish settlements in Upper Galilee in the North of Eretz Israel. The British had evacuated the area and the French had not yet taken over. Bedouins were daily ambushing and plundering the Jewish colonies. The situation was critical. Joseph Trumpeldor became the leader of the Haganah. He appealed for reinforcements, but his appeals were not answered. He warned the Jewish leaders that Metulah was on the verge of destruction, and that Kfar Giladi and Tel Chai faced a terrible fate.
On the morning of the Eleventh of Adar 5680 (1st March, 1920) a band of several hundred Arabs made its first attack on the colony of Tel Chai. A fierce battle developed. At the height of the fighting Trumpeldor exposed himself by attempting to close the gates of the colony. He was fatally shot. When his comrades found him, he smiled and said "Ein Davar (never mind), I only want a bandage." He then calmly directed the bandaging of his wound. "These are my last moments. Tell our comrades to defend the honor of our people until the last." Trumpeldor said, as he still directed the battle outside. When a doctor arrived, there was no more hope. His last words were: "Ein Davar, tov lamut be-ad artsenu." (Never mind, it is good to die for our Land).
The memory of Trumpeldor is very dear to every Betari who proudly bears his name. In his honor is erected a monument - a roaring lion. Beneath that lion in Tel Chai is buried his earthly remains, but his spirit lives on in Betar - Brit Yosef Trumpeldor.
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