Mendel Portugali (1888 – 13 January 1917) was one of the leading figures in 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, mos ...

and a founder of the Hashomer movement.

Biography

Mendel Portugali was born in 1888 in

Călărași Călărași (), the capital of Călărași County in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the banks of the Danube's Borcea branch, at about from the Bulgarian border and from Bucharest. The city is an industrial centre f ...

(Kalarash),

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(now a part of

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

). As a boy, he studied in a

cheder A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th ...

. In 1899, he attended a school of commerce in

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

(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 A tradesman, tradeswoman, or tradesperson is a skilled worker that specializes in a particular trade (occupation or field of work). Tradesmen usually have work experience, on-the-job training, and often formal vocational education in contrast to ...

, 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 ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

. 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 Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

's heir, Tsarevich Aleksei. Mendel joined

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 ...

, worked as a math teacher and learnt farming from his Moldavian neighbours. When the

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

of 1905 broke out, Mendel and Israel Giladi were involved in defending the Jewish community of Călărași. 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

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, his family joining him later. He married Tova Eylovich and had three sons, one of whom died in infancy. Mendel was one of the founders of "

Bar-Giora Bar-Giora ( he, בר גיורא) was a Jewish militia of the Second Aliyah, the precursor of Hashomer. History Bar Giora's founder, Israel Shochat made his Aliyah to Ottoman Palestine in 1904. He already had experience of underground militias ...

" and Hashomer. He exerted a restraining influence on some of the rasher members. In

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 ...

, bad-blood broke out between the members of the collective and one of the managers, who had replaced the Jewish labourers with

fellah A fellah ( ar, فَلَّاح ; feminine ; plural ''fellaheen'' or ''fellahin'', , ) is a peasant, usually a farmer or agricultural laborer in the Middle East and North Africa. The word derives from the Arabic word for "ploughman" or "tiller". ...

en. 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 was tossing his gun in the air, which went off, fatally wounding him. He lingered on for a few days in great agony but without complaint, before passing away on 13 January 1917. He is buried alongside his wife, Tova, in the

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 alo ...

cemetery.

Sources

* "Anshei Hashomer Bechayeihem Ubemotam" (Hashomer members in life and death) Gershon Gera.

External links

Mendel Portugali - A Founder of Hashomer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portugali, Mendel 1888 births 1917 deaths Ashkenazi Jews in Ottoman Palestine Firearm accident victims Moldovan Jews Bessarabian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Deaths by firearm in the Palestinian territories