Bar Giora's founder, Israel Shochat made his Aliyah to Ottoman Syria (later Palestine) in 1904. He already had experience of underground militias during the Tzarist pogroms and on his arrival he came under the influence of Michael Halperin, attracted by his talk of an army of Jewish fighters. Shochat established a small group of loyal followers and in 1906 launched the local branch of Poale Zion with about 60 members. In 1907 Yitzhak Ben-Zvi arrived from Poltava; as leader of Russian Poale Zion he had been on the run from the secret police for a year. Shochat and Ben-Ziv travelled together to the 8th World Zionist Congress in The Hague and on their return established the first incarnation of Bar Giora.
On September 28, 1907, a group met in Ben-Zvi's Jaffa room: Israel Shochat, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Alexander Zeid, Mendel Portugali, Israel Giladi, Yehezkel Hankin, Yehezkel Nissanov and Moshe Givoni. They swore themselves to absolute secrecy - on pain of death ("death by snake bite" i.e. sudden execution) - and absolute allegiance to their leader, Israel Shochat. The name was chosen after Simon Bar Giora, one of the leaders of the Jewish Revolt against the Romans. As a motto, they chose a line from Yaakov Cohen's poem, Habiryonim: "In fire and blood did Judea fall; in blood and fire Judea shall rise." The group's objective was to create an underground army, preparing for armed insurrection and the creation of a Jewish State. Their tactics were to act as a command cell and organise groups that could be manipulated towards the ultimate objective. They would focus on replacing Arab guards in the remote colonies in Upper Galilee and set up their own outposts. A team of shepherds was to undertake a detailed survey of the land. The following month Shochat led an expanded group to Sejera leaving Ben-Zvi in Jaffa as their man inside Poale Zion.[2]
When Hashomer was formed on April 12, 1909, Bar-Giora was absorbed into it. David Ben Gurion was not included and this influenced his dealings with Hashomer.
^The Grandfather of the IDF - Ha'Shomer July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^Teveth, Shabtai (1987) Ben-Gurion. The Burning Ground. 1886-1948. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN978-0-395-35409-4. p. 54 this source says nine conspirators
External linksEdit
A brief history
August 24, 2023
giora, organization, this, article, about, organization, moshav, giora, giora, hebrew, בר, גיורא, jewish, militia, second, aliyah, precursor, hashomer, giorahebrew, בר, גיוראactive1907, 1909countryottoman, empire, yishuvtypeparamilitaryroledefense, jewish, set. This article is about the organization For the moshav see Bar Giora Bar Giora Hebrew בר גיורא was a Jewish militia of the Second Aliyah the precursor of Hashomer 1 Bar GioraHebrew בר גיוראActive1907 1909CountryOttoman Empire YishuvTypeParamilitaryRoleDefense of Jewish settlementsMotto s In fire and blood did Judea fall in blood and fire Judea shall rise Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksHistory Edit Hashomer 1907 Shochat in centreBar Giora s founder Israel Shochat made his Aliyah to Ottoman Syria later Palestine in 1904 He already had experience of underground militias during the Tzarist pogroms and on his arrival he came under the influence of Michael Halperin attracted by his talk of an army of Jewish fighters Shochat established a small group of loyal followers and in 1906 launched the local branch of Poale Zion with about 60 members In 1907 Yitzhak Ben Zvi arrived from Poltava as leader of Russian Poale Zion he had been on the run from the secret police for a year Shochat and Ben Ziv travelled together to the 8th World Zionist Congress in The Hague and on their return established the first incarnation of Bar Giora On September 28 1907 a group met in Ben Zvi s Jaffa room Israel Shochat Yitzhak Ben Zvi Alexander Zeid Mendel Portugali Israel Giladi Yehezkel Hankin Yehezkel Nissanov and Moshe Givoni They swore themselves to absolute secrecy on pain of death death by snake bite i e sudden execution and absolute allegiance to their leader Israel Shochat The name was chosen after Simon Bar Giora one of the leaders of the Jewish Revolt against the Romans As a motto they chose a line from Yaakov Cohen s poem Habiryonim In fire and blood did Judea fall in blood and fire Judea shall rise The group s objective was to create an underground army preparing for armed insurrection and the creation of a Jewish State Their tactics were to act as a command cell and organise groups that could be manipulated towards the ultimate objective They would focus on replacing Arab guards in the remote colonies in Upper Galilee and set up their own outposts A team of shepherds was to undertake a detailed survey of the land The following month Shochat led an expanded group to Sejera leaving Ben Zvi in Jaffa as their man inside Poale Zion 2 When Hashomer was formed on April 12 1909 Bar Giora was absorbed into it David Ben Gurion was not included and this influenced his dealings with Hashomer See also EditHashomer Museum Kfar Giladi Archived July 27 2014 at the Wayback MachineReferences Edit The Grandfather of the IDF Ha Shomer Archived July 22 2011 at the Wayback Machine Teveth Shabtai 1987 Ben Gurion The Burning Ground 1886 1948 Houghton Mifflin ISBN 978 0 395 35409 4 p 54 this source says nine conspiratorsExternal links EditA brief history Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bar Giora organization amp oldid 1165835047, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
