47 Facts About Joseph Trumpeldor

Joseph Trumpeldor was killed while defending the settlement of Tel Hai in 1920 and subsequently became a Jewish national hero.

Joseph Trumpeldor's father, Vladimir Wolf, was born in the city of Parczew in Congress Poland, the son of Rabbi Shmuel Asher.

Joseph Trumpeldor was raised by his father with Jewish national pride, loyalty to Judaism, to the Tsar, the Russian army, and their homeland Russia.

Joseph Trumpeldor was born in Pyatigorsk in the Caucasus on 1 Tevet 5641, and grew up in the city of Rostov-on-Don.

Joseph Trumpeldor took exams to enter a real gymnasium, passed successfully, but was not accepted due to the Numerus Clausus, which limited the number of Jews allowed to enroll.

Later, when writing about his youth, Joseph Trumpeldor referred to the persecution and antisemitism he faced in Russia due to his Jewish identity:.

Joseph Trumpeldor was influenced by the teachings of Herzl and the historic event of the First Zionist Congress.

Joseph Trumpeldor was initially assigned to the 76th Infantry Regiment of the Kuban, based in the city of Tulchyn.

Early in his military service, Joseph Trumpeldor began developing his ideas about settling in Eretz Yisrael.

Joseph Trumpeldor volunteered for the regiment's Special Forces unit, tasked with the most dangerous missions.

On January 2,1905, following Russia's defeat at the Battle of Port Arthur, Joseph Trumpeldor was captured and taken to a Prisoner of War camp in Takayama, Japan.

Joseph Trumpeldor spent about a year in Japanese captivity, and thanks to his personality, he became the leader of the Jewish prisoners.

Joseph Trumpeldor established a Loan fund, workshops, schools, a library, a theater troupe, and even arranged for religious needs, requesting the Japanese to assist in baking matzah, acquiring a Torah scroll, and tallitot, and writing greeting cards for Rosh Hashanah.

Joseph Trumpeldor founded a Zionist association called "Bnei Zion Captives in Japan".

Joseph Trumpeldor raised funds for Zionist causes, such as the Jewish National Fund, building a Hebrew school in Jaffa, a library in Jerusalem, and planting a forest in Herzl's memory.

Joseph Trumpeldor helped establish a Zionist association within the small Jewish community in Japan.

Joseph Trumpeldor published a Zionist weekly in Yiddish and Russian called "Der Yiddisher Leben", of which he was the editor and author of most articles.

In captivity, Joseph Trumpeldor began developing his social-national ideas regarding the establishment of cooperative settlements in Eretz Yisrael.

Joseph Trumpeldor planned to immigrate to Israel with ten carefully selected individuals to establish a new settlement.

Joseph Trumpeldor was widely admired by prisoners, both Jewish and non-Jewish.

Joseph Trumpeldor's friends reported that thousands came to bid him farewell at the POW camp, carrying him on their shoulders and cheering:.

Joseph Trumpeldor performed heroic acts in Gallipoli and was even injured in the shoulder by a rifle bullet.

In November 1915, Joseph Trumpeldor was appointed acting commander of the corps, but a month later, the British decided to disband it.

Fira, 22 years old and 13 years younger than Joseph Trumpeldor, quickly became his beloved and fiancee, and he shared all his secrets and emotions with her for several years, writing her numerous letters during the war that described his experiences.

In October 1916, after abandoning his efforts to rebuild the corps, Joseph Trumpeldor traveled to London to assist Ze'ev Jabotinsky in establishing a Jewish fighting unit.

In December 1916,120 men from the remnants of the Zion Mule Corps arrived in London, whom Joseph Trumpeldor managed to persuade to enlist in the British army.

In June 1917, Joseph Trumpeldor returned to Russia to work there on behalf of Zionism and the Land of Israel.

In light of the growing danger of a Bolshevik uprising and the expected pogroms against Jews that might follow, Joseph Trumpeldor turned his efforts to organizing Jewish self-defense, as a first and urgent task.

Joseph Trumpeldor continued his activities in organizing Jewish self-defense units in Southern Russia under the Yevsektsiya, which was anti-Zionist.

At the beginning of 1918, Joseph Trumpeldor became actively involved in the movement.

Joseph Trumpeldor worked intensively on drafting practical plans for establishing communes in the Land of Israel, forming a pioneering military organization, a labor union, and facilitating immigration.

Joseph Trumpeldor organized "training" in Petrograd for agricultural workers, set up a loan fund, a club, and a shared residence.

Joseph Trumpeldor then went to the Crimea and organized HeHalutz activities there as well.

On his way to the Land of Israel, Joseph Trumpeldor stopped in Istanbul.

Joseph Trumpeldor met the Russian deserter, Captain Aryeh Bayevsky, and the two became friends.

In Israel, his fiancee, Fira Rozov, awaited him, but upon his arrival, their relationship ended, likely due to a connection Joseph Trumpeldor formed in Crimea with another young woman, Emma Tsipkin.

Joseph Trumpeldor assisted in preparations for the arrival of "HeHalutz" members from Russia and Turkey.

Joseph Trumpeldor contributed to the planning of the establishment of a Hebrew Navy in the Land of Israel and the purchase of a Halutz Ship for training the movement's pioneers from the Caucasus in Seafaring and to engage in Labor Conquest at Sea.

Joseph Trumpeldor participated in a plan for establishing fishing villages along the coast with pioneers trained by Subbotniks brought from the Astrakhan region in the Caucasus.

Joseph Trumpeldor viewed with distaste the party disputes between Ahdut HaAvoda and Hapoel Hatzair, writing:.

Joseph Trumpeldor aspired to unite all workers under one party so that they could fight together for workers' rights in the Land of Israel.

Joseph Trumpeldor issued a "call" on the matter, which gained significant attention but did not succeed in convincing HaPoel HaTzair to unite with Achdut HaAvoda.

David Ben-Gurion asked Joseph Trumpeldor to organize the defense of the settlements and report on the situation.

Joseph Trumpeldor arrived at Tel Hai at the end of December 1919.

Joseph Trumpeldor ordered water, washed his hand, pushed his intestines back into his abdomen, and was bandaged.

Joseph Trumpeldor's death defending Tel Hai immediately became a symbol of Jewish resistance, in contrast to being slaughtered in pogroms without resistance.

Joseph Trumpeldor is buried in the cemetery of Kfar Giladi, near the graves of the Hashomer members, in a mass grave, along with the seven other fighters who were killed at Tel Hai.