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Bar-Giora ( he, בר גיורא) was a Jewish militia of the
Second Aliyah The Second Aliyah ( he, העלייה השנייה, ''HaAliyah HaShniya'') was an aliyah (Jewish emigration to Palestine) that took place between 1904 and 1914, during which approximately 35,000 Jews immigrated into Ottoman-ruled Palestine, most ...
, the precursor of Hashomer.


History

Bar Giora's founder, Israel Shochat made his Aliyah to
Ottoman Palestine Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and sout ...
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 Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire in about the turn of the 20th century after ...
with about 60 members. In 1907
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Yitzhak Ben-Zvi ( he, יִצְחָק בֶּן־צְבִי‎ ''Yitshak Ben-Tsvi''; 24 November 188423 April 1963) was a historian, Labor Zionist leader and the longest-serving President of Israel. Biography Born in Poltava in the Russian Empire ...
arrived from
Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administrative ...
; as leader of Russian Poale Zion he had been on the run from the
secret police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of ...
for a year. Shochat and Ben-Ziv travelled together to the 8th
World Zionist Congress The Zionist Congress was established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the supreme organ of the Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. In 1960 the names were changed to World Zionist Congress ( he, הקונגרס הציוני העו ...
in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital ...
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 Simon bar Giora (alternatively known as Simeon bar Giora or Simon ben Giora or Shimon bar Giora, arc, שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר גִּיּוֹרָא or he, שִׁמְעוֹן בֵּן גִּיּוֹרָא; died 71 CE) was the leader of one of ...
, one of the leaders of the Jewish Revolt against the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
. As a motto, they chose a line from Yaakov Cohen's poem, ''Habiryonim'': "In fire and blood did
Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sout ...
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 The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
guards in the remote colonies in
Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee ( he, הגליל העליון, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; ar, الجليل الأعلى, ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period. It originally referred to a mountai ...
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 Ilaniya ( he, אִילָנִיָּה) is a moshav in northern Israel. Also known as Sejera, after the adjacent Arab village al-Shajara, it was the first Jewish settlement in the Lower Galilee and played an important role in the Jewish settlement o ...
leaving Ben-Zvi in Jaffa as their man inside Poale Zion. Teveth, Shabtai (1987) ''Ben-Gurion. The Burning Ground. 1886-1948.'' Houghton Mifflin. . p. 54 this source says nine conspirators When Hashomer was formed on April 12, 1909, Bar-Giora was absorbed into it.
David Ben Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...
was not included and this influenced his dealings with Hashomer.


See also


Hashomer Museum
* Kfar Giladi


References

{{reflist


External links


A brief history
Zionist organizations Militant Zionist groups Organizations established in 1907 Organizations disestablished in 1909 1907 establishments in Ottoman Syria 1909 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire