Mendel Portugali
Encyclopedia
Mendel Portugali was one of the leading figures in the Second Aliya and a founder of the Hashomer
movement.
, Bessarabia
, then part of the Russian Empire
, actual Republic of Moldova.
As a boy he studied in a cheder
. In 1899 he attended a school of commerce in Kishinev. Although a good student, he was expelled two years later for his ties with a revolutionary group. On his return home, Mendel decided he wanted to be a tradesman
, but his parents were bitterly opposed to the idea, which they considered beneath the family's dignity.
He spent his time trying to get the Moldovans to rise up against what he perceived to be an oppressive regime, but they refused to see him as anything but yet another Jewish revolutionary inciting them against the Tsar
. They beat and then arrested him. His house was searched, seditious literature was found and Mendel was sentenced to three years of hard labour in Siberia. He served two of them, before being issued a pardon on the occasion of the birth of Nicholas II's heir, Tsarevich Aleksei.
Mendel joined Poalei Zion, worked as a math teacher and learnt farming from his Moldavian neighbours.
When the pogroms of 1905 broke out, Mendel and Israel Giladi were involved in defending the Jewish community of Kalarash. During the fighting, he was wounded in the back. Mendel and his brother had to escape across the border, because the police had a warrant for their arrest.
He made his way to Israel, his family joining him later.
Mendel was one of the founders of "Bar-Giora
" and Hashomer
. He exerted a restraining influence on some of the rasher members. In Sejera
bad-blood broke out between the members of the collective and one of the managers, who had replaced the Jewish labourers with Fellaheen. Several of the workers and watchmen wanted to beat up the manager for that. Mendel prevented them, suggesting that going on strike was a better option all round.
He served as one of the three Hashomer chairmen. As such, he was busy recruiting new members and also hiring temporary watchmen during harvests. Although associated with guarding for most of his life, Mendel felt a closer affinity with working the land.
In 1917, whilst on duty, he dropped his gun, which went off, fatally wounding him. He lingered on for a few days in great agony but without complaint, before passing away on January 13, 1917.
Mendel is buried alongside his wife, Tova, in the Kfar Giladi
cemetery.
Hashomer
Hashomer was a Jewish defense organization in Palestine founded out of Bar-Giora in April 1909. It ceased to operate after the founding of the Haganah in 1920. The purpose of Hashomer was to provide guard services for Jewish settlements in the Yishuv, freeing Jewish communities from dependence...
movement.
Biography
Mendel Portugali was born in 1888, in CălărașiCalarasi, Moldova
Călăraşi was founded 1848. Long ago, the word "călăraşi" meant "horsemen". The name of Călăraşi was inspired by a legend. In this legend, it is said that once when Ştefan cel Mare fought the Ottomans, he ordered a regiment of horsemen to stand guard...
, Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
, then part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, actual Republic of Moldova.
As a boy he studied in a cheder
Cheder
A Cheder is a traditional elementary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language.-History:...
. In 1899 he attended a school of commerce in Kishinev. Although a good student, he was expelled two years later for his ties with a revolutionary group. On his return home, Mendel decided he wanted to be a tradesman
Tradesman
This article is about the skilled manual worker meaning of the term; for other uses see Tradesperson .A tradesman is a skilled manual worker in a particular trade or craft. Economically and socially, a tradesman's status is considered between a laborer and a professional, with a high degree of both...
, but his parents were bitterly opposed to the idea, which they considered beneath the family's dignity.
He spent his time trying to get the Moldovans to rise up against what he perceived to be an oppressive regime, but they refused to see him as anything but yet another Jewish revolutionary inciting them against the Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
. They beat and then arrested him. His house was searched, seditious literature was found and Mendel was sentenced to three years of hard labour in Siberia. He served two of them, before being issued a pardon on the occasion of the birth of Nicholas II's heir, Tsarevich Aleksei.
Mendel joined Poalei Zion, worked as a math teacher and learnt farming from his Moldavian neighbours.
When the pogroms of 1905 broke out, Mendel and Israel Giladi were involved in defending the Jewish community of Kalarash. During the fighting, he was wounded in the back. Mendel and his brother had to escape across the border, because the police had a warrant for their arrest.
He made his way to Israel, his family joining him later.
Mendel was one of the founders of "Bar-Giora
Bar-Giora
Bar-Giora was a Jewish self-defense organization of the Second Aliyah, the precursor of Hashomer.- History :On September 28, 1907, a group of Poalei Zion members gathered at Yitzhak Ben-Zvi's unfurnished apartment in Jaffa apartment formed Bar-Giora, a Jewish self-defense organization named for...
" and Hashomer
Hashomer
Hashomer was a Jewish defense organization in Palestine founded out of Bar-Giora in April 1909. It ceased to operate after the founding of the Haganah in 1920. The purpose of Hashomer was to provide guard services for Jewish settlements in the Yishuv, freeing Jewish communities from dependence...
. He exerted a restraining influence on some of the rasher members. In Sejera
Ilaniya
- Bibliography : * ed. Yuval Elazari - Map's Concise Gazetteer of Israel Today MAP - Mapping and Publishing, Tel Aviv, 2003...
bad-blood broke out between the members of the collective and one of the managers, who had replaced the Jewish labourers with Fellaheen. Several of the workers and watchmen wanted to beat up the manager for that. Mendel prevented them, suggesting that going on strike was a better option all round.
He served as one of the three Hashomer chairmen. As such, he was busy recruiting new members and also hiring temporary watchmen during harvests. Although associated with guarding for most of his life, Mendel felt a closer affinity with working the land.
In 1917, whilst on duty, he dropped his gun, which went off, fatally wounding him. He lingered on for a few days in great agony but without complaint, before passing away on January 13, 1917.
Mendel is buried alongside his wife, Tova, in the Kfar Giladi
Kfar Giladi
-External links:* * Jewish Agency for Israel*...
cemetery.
Sources
"Anshei Hashomer Bechayeihem Ubemotam" (Hashomer members in life and death) Gershon Gera.External links
- Portugali at www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org