The Battle of Tel Hai was fought on 1 March 1920 between Arab irregulars and a Jewish defensive paramilitary force protecting the village of

Tel Hai Tel Hai ( he, תֵּל חַי [] "Hill of Life") is a name of the former Jewish settlement in northern Galilee, the site of an early battle between Jews and Arabs heralding the growing civil conflict, and of a monument, tourist attraction, and a c ...

in Northern Galilee. In the course of the event, a Shiite Arab militia, accompanied by Bedouin from a nearby village, attacked the Jewish agricultural locality of Tel Hai. In the aftermath of the battle eight Jews and five Arabs were killed.

Joseph Trumpeldor Joseph Vladimirovich (Volfovich) Trumpeldor (21 November 1880 – 1 March 1920, he, יוֹסֵף טְרוּמְפֶּלְדוֹר , russian: Иосиф Владимирович (Вольфович) Трумпельдор ) was an early Zionist ...

, the commander of Jewish defenders of

, was shot in the hand and stomach, and died while being evacuated to

Kfar Giladi Kfar Giladi ( he, כְּפַר גִּלְעָדִי, ''lit.'' Giladi Village, ar, كفار جلعادي) is a kibbutz in the Galilee Panhandle of northern Israel. Located south of Metula on the Naftali Mountains above the Hula Valley and alon ...

that evening. Tel Hai was eventually abandoned by the Jews and burned by the Arab militia. The event is perceived by some scholars as part of the

Franco-Syrian War The Franco-Syrian War took place during 1920 between the Hashemite rulers of the newly established Arab Kingdom of Syria and France. During a series of engagements, which climaxed in the Battle of Maysalun, French forces defeated the forces of t ...

and by some as an outbreak of violence, in the later developing

Sectarian conflict in Mandatory Palestine The intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine was the civil, political and armed struggle between Palestinian Arabs and Jewish Yishuv during the British rule in Mandatory Palestine, beginning from the violent spillover of the Franco-Syrian ...

Background

Tel Hai had been intermittently inhabited since 1905 and was permanently settled as a border outpost in 1918, following the defeat of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The area was subsequently subject to intermittent border adjustments between the British and the French. The Franco-Syrian War took place in early 1920 between Syrian Arab nationalists, under the Hashemite King, and France. Gangs ''('isabat)'' of clan-based border peasants, combining politics and banditry, were active in the area of the loosely defined border between the soon to be established Mandatory Palestine,

French Mandate of Lebanon The State of Greater Lebanon ( ar, دولة لبنان الكبير, Dawlat Lubnān al-Kabīr; french: État du Grand Liban), informally known as French Lebanon, was a state declared on 1 September 1920, which became the Lebanese Republic ( ar, ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Joseph Trumpeldor had served as an officer in the Russian Army during the

Russian-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

of 1905, being one of the few Russian Jews to gain a commission under the Tsar. He had also commanded a Jewish auxiliary unit fighting together with the British Army during the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War. As such, he was a well experienced military man, whom the Zionist movement could send to command the threatened outpost.

Timeline

Franco-Syrian War

At the beginning of the Franco-Syrian War, the

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 mounta ...

was populated by several semi-nomadic Bedouin Arab tribes, the largest residing in Halasa, and four tiny Jewish settlements, including

Metula Metula ( he, מְטֻלָּה) is a town in the Northern District of Israel. Metula is located next to the northern border with Lebanon. In it had a population of . Metula is the northernmost town in Israel. History Bronze and Iron Age Metu ...

, Kfar Giladi, Tel Hai and Hamra. While the Arab villages and Bedouin allied with the

Arab Kingdom of Syria 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, No ...

, the Jewish residents chose to remain neutral during the Arab conflict with the French. Early in the war, a Kfar Giladi resident was killed by armed Bedouin, greatly increasing tension in the region. Jewish villages were regularly pillaged by the pro-Syrian Bedouin on the pretext of searching for French spies and soldiers. In one incident, Trumpeldor and other Jews were stripped of their clothes as a public insult by an Arab Bedouin militia.

Battle

On March 1, 1920, several hundred Shiite Arabs from the village of Jabal Amil in southern Lebanon marched to the gates of Tel Hai together with Bedouin from Halasa and their Mukhtar, Kamal Affendi. They demanded to search Tel Hai for French soldiers. One of the farmers fired a shot into the air, a signal for reinforcements from nearby Kfar Giladi, which brought ten men led by Trumpeldor, who had been posted by Hashomer to organize defense. Joseph Trumpeldor and his ten men attempted to influence the Shiites and roving village militias to go away through negotiation. Kamal Affendi was allowed to enter the village to search for French soldiers. He encountered one of the female Jewish residents named Deborah who pointed a pistol at Kamal, apparently surprised to see an armed Bedouin in the village. A shot was discharged during the struggle (unclear whether from the pistol or by another weapon) and a major firefight erupted. Trumpeldor was shot and seriously wounded, while the sides barricaded themselves in the village. Kamal Affendi asked to leave, saying it was all a misunderstanding, and the Jewish force approved the cease-fire. During the Arab retreat, one of the Jewish defenders, unaware of the agreements by his comrades and hearing-impaired by the previous firefight, shot at the Arab party, and the exchange of fire recommenced. Six Jews and five Arabs were killed in the fighting. Trumpeldor was shot in the hand and stomach and died while being evacuated to Kfar Giladi that evening. The survivors of Tel Hai found their position untenable and had no choice but to withdraw, whereupon the Arabs set fire to the village.

Aftermath

The eight Jews killed at Tel Hai (this number including two killed in a previous probing attack in January 1920) were buried in two common graves in Kfar Giladi, and both locations were abandoned for a time. On 3 March, Kfar Giladi was also attacked by a large group of Bedouin. The defenders abandoned the position and retreated to the

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

village of

Taibe Tayibe, also spelled Taibeh or Tayiba, ( ar, الطيبة, lit=the kind/benevolent, translit=aṭ-Ṭayyibah, South Levantine pronunciation: ; he, טַיִּבָּה) is an Arab city in central Israel, north east of Kfar Saba.Ayelet Hashahar, which was under British control. The Franco-Syrian War entered its last stages in July 1920, with the defeat of Hashemite loyalists in the

Battle of Maysalun The Battle of Maysalun ( ar, معركة ميسلون), also called the Battle of Maysalun Pass or the Battle of Khan Maysalun (french: Bataille de Khan Mayssaloun), was a four-hour battle fought between the forces of the Arab Kingdom of Syria an ...

. The border in the area of Upper Galilee was finally agreed between the British and the French, and this area was to be included in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

. It was thus possible for Tel Hai to be resettled in 1921, though it did not become a viable independent community and in 1926 was absorbed into the

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

of Kfar Giladi. With a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spe ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

commemorates the deaths of eight Jews, six men and two women, including Joseph Trumpeldor. The memorial is best known for an emblematic statue of a defiant lion representing Trumpeldor and his comrades. The city of

Kiryat Shemona Kiryat Shmona ( he, קִרְיַת שְׁמוֹנָה, ''lit.'' Town of the Eight) is a city in the Northern District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley near the Lebanese border. The city was named after the eight people, includi ...

, literally ''Town of the Eight'' was named after them. The man who had led the attack, Kemal Hussein, represented the Jewish National Fund which in 1939 purchased land for Kibbutz

Dafna Dafna ( he, דַּפְנָה) is a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 7 km east of Kiryat Shmona. It was founded on 3 May 1939 as a Tower and Stockade settlement, and was the first Tower and Stockade-type settlement in the n ...

Significance

Idith Zertal has written that it marked 'the dramatic initiation of the violent conflict over Palestine.'

Trumpeldor's heritage

Trumpeldor was severely wounded and died after several hours. He is traditionally credited with having said before dying "No matter, it is good to die (''tov lamut'') for our country" ("אין דבר, טוב למות בעד ארצנו") words which in Zionist and Israeli collective memory remain closely associated with the names "Trumpeldor" and "Tel Hai". A recent theory has argued that Trumpeldor's last words were, in fact, a pungent curse in his mother-tongue Russian, reflecting frustration with his bad luck, namely 'Fuck your mother' ((Yob tvoyú mat'),:ёб твою мать!'' ).Yael Zerubavel, 'The Historic, the Legendary, and the Incredible: Invented Tradition and Collective Memory in Israel,' in John R. Gillis,''Commemorations: The Politics of National Identity,'' Princeton University Press, 1994 pp. 105–126, p. 115. The words attributed to Trumpeldor, moreover, are clearly a variant of the well known saying "

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori ' is a line from the ''Odes'' (III.2.13) by the Roman lyric poet Horace. The line translates: "It is sweet and proper to die for one's country." The Latin word ''patria'' (homeland), literally meaning the country of one's fathers (in Latin, ...

" ("It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country"), derived from the ''Odes'' of the

Roman 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 lett ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

– lines with which Trumpeldor, like other educated Europeans of the time, may have been familiar.

References

External links

{{Commons
Detailed account of the battle in Hebrew