37 Facts About Yosef Lishansky

Yosef Lishansky was a Jewish spy for the British in Ottoman Palestine.

Yosef Lishansky was wanted by the Ottomans for his activities and was betrayed by HaShomer when he sought refuge with them.

Yosef Lishansky escaped capture several times, but was eventually caught and sentenced to death in Damascus.

Yosef Lishansky was born to Edel and Yaakov Tuvia in a town in the Kyiv Governorate in the southwest of the Russian Empire.

Yosef Lishansky immigrated with his father to Land of Israel, probably in 1896.

One day, Yosef Lishansky's father traveled to Jerusalem and never returned, and his fate remains unknown.

Yosef Lishansky excelled in studies and was sent to study at a seminary in Jerusalem, but his studies were interrupted after about two years due to lack of funding.

Yosef Lishansky traveled to Egypt, where he managed a farm.

Yosef Lishansky engaged in private security work, and in 1912 he tried to join the HaShomer organization.

Yosef Lishansky was assigned to guard in Rishon LeZion, then in Ben Shemen, and finally in Menachamiya.

The policy of HaShomer was to avoid killing Arabs as much as possible to prevent getting entangled in a blood feud, and Yosef Lishansky was accused of killing the rioter without sufficient justification.

Yosef Lishansky was hidden in a safe place for a short time, fearing blood revenge.

Yosef Lishansky, chosen as the leader of the organization, was sent to negotiate with the southern settlements to gain guarding contracts.

Yosef Lishansky was busy organizing guarding and its operations until he left for Egypt on behalf of Nili in January 1917.

Yosef Lishansky joined Nili at its early stages when the espionage organization needed an operative in the Negev.

In 1916 there was almost no activity in Nili, except for attempts by its founders to establish contact with the British, so Yosef Lishansky continued to invest his main efforts in HaMagen's activities and did not carry out tasks for Nili.

Yosef Lishansky set out with Lishansky, who lived in the south and was familiar with the Negev and the desert.

Feinberg was killed, and Yosef Lishansky was wounded and later picked up by an Australian patrol of the British army.

Yosef Lishansky was transferred to a hotel in Port Said and later taken to a hospital in Cairo.

Five days after the encounter, Aharon Aharonson, who was in Egypt, learned that Yosef Lishansky was wounded in Port Said.

Yosef Lishansky met and spoke with him, learning of Feinberg's death.

Thorough research indicates that Yosef Lishansky likely met Sarah Aharonson only once, briefly, before the journey to Egypt, ruling out any romantic connection between them.

Yosef Lishansky's experience managing HaMagen and his deep familiarity with the country helped him maintain continuous contact with the operatives.

Yosef Lishansky copied the reports received from the agents in his handwriting and sent them to Egypt using the British connection ship.

Yosef Lishansky managed and supervised the transfer of funds from Egypt.

In Egypt, Yosef Lishansky was trained in sabotage, with the goal of blowing up bridges in the country.

Nili members learned of the Turks' arrival beforehand, and Yosef Lishansky managed to escape, carrying a pistol, some money, a loaf of bread, and a little water.

Yosef Lishansky was captured again by Arabs from whom he tried to steal a camel and was handed over to the Turks.

Yosef Lishansky sought to escape from his cell through bribery, but Meir Dizengoff refused to transfer the necessary money, despite having received large sums from Nili and despite Lishansky's refusal to testify saving him from punishment.

On one occasion, Yosef Lishansky asked Dr Moshe Naiman, a fellow Nili member imprisoned with him, for poison to take his own life.

At the central square, Yosef Lishansky delivered an anti-Ottoman speech in Arabic to the Arab audience.

Belkind and Yosef Lishansky spoke and recited the Viddui before their death with the envoy of the Hakham Bashi of Damascus, Hakham Nataniel HaCohen Trab Masalton, who was a Hebrew teacher at the city's "Alliance" school.

Yosef Lishansky was described as an adventurer and an exceptional rider, and it was said that the Arabs he interacted with respected and feared him.

Yosef Lishansky had a poetic soul; he wrote Hebrew poems, and even if they were immature poems, they showed his inclination toward poetry.

Later, the "Public Committee for the Rehabilitation of Yosef Lishansky" was established, led by Yosef Nedava, with members including Uri Zvi Greenberg, Rehavam Ze'evi, and Shlomo Ben Elkanah.

Months after the political upheaval in Israel and as a result of it, the committee began a public campaign, which eventually led to Yosef Lishansky's remains being transferred to Mount Herzl in a state military ceremony with official representatives of the State of Israel.

In 1997 the book "Chase" by Ephraim Rahman was published, describing Yosef Lishansky's twenty-day escape from the Turks and his execution.