Na'aman Belkind (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: נעמן בלקינד; December 16, 1888 - December 16, 1917) was a member of

Nili NILI () was a Jewish espionage network which assisted the United Kingdom in its fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem between 1915 and 1917, during World War I. NILI was centered in Zikhron Ya'akov, with branches ...

, a ring of

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish

spies Spies most commonly refers to people who engage in spying, espionage or clandestine operations. Spies or The Spies may also refer to: Arts and media Films * ''Spies'' (1928 film), English title for ''Spione'', a 1928 German film by Fritz Lan ...

working for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Belkind was caught by the Ottmans in September 1917 and was sentenced to death. He was hanged in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

with Yosef Lishansky. Their execution marked the fall of the Nili movement.

Early life

Belkind was born in

Gedera Gedera, or less commonly known as Gdera (), is a town in the southern part of the Shfela region in the Central District of Israel founded in 1884. It is south of Rehovot. In , it had a population of . History Gedera is in the Book of C ...

to Penina and Shimshon Belkind who were part of the

Bilu Bilu may refer to: People * Bilú (footballer, 1900-1965), Virgílio Pinto de Oliveira, Brazilian football manager and former centre-back * Asher Bilu (born 1936), Australian artist * Bilú (footballer, born 1974), Luciano Lopes de Souza, Brazi ...

movement and among the founders of

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

. He's father, Shimshon Belkind were a Bilu pioneer. He's also the nephew of Bilu founder

Israel Belkind Israel Belkind (, ; 1861–1929) was a Jewish educator, author, writer, historian and founder of the Bilu movement. A pioneer of the First Aliyah, Belkind founded the ''Biluim'', a group of Jewish idealists aspiring to settle in the Land of Isra ...

, and the nephew of Sonia Belkind, the first female gynecologist in the land of Israel. Belkind studied at the first Hebrew school of Gedera, and later attended the

Alliance Israélite Universelle The Alliance israélite universelle (AIU; ; ) is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 with the purpose of safeguarding human rights for Jews around the world. It promotes the ideals of Jewish self-defense and self-suffi ...

school in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Nili activities and death

Belkind was among the first Jews to enlist in the Ottoman army. However, upon the Ottoman alliance with the Germans during World War I, he recognized that the empire was likely to face defeat. Subsequently, he joined his cousin

Avshalom Feinberg Avshalom Feinberg (, 23 October 1889 – 20 January 1917) was one of the leaders of Nili, a Jewish spy network in Ottoman Palestine, Palestine that helped the United Kingdom, British fight the Ottoman Empire during World War I. He was killed duri ...

, and was one of the first Nili members. In January 1917, Avshalom Feinberg and Yosef Lishansky went to a mission to meet with the British in

, In the mission they were attacked by two Ottoman soldiers and a gang of

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

. Lishansky survived the attack and managed to reach a

patrol while Feinberg was killed. In September 1917, Following the attack, Belkind doubted the reports about Feinberg's death and went to Egypt to investigate himself. Caught by Beduin in the Sinai, he was handed over to the Ottomans and brought to Damascus. He was charged with spying and tortured in jail. While Belkind was in jail, the Ottomans found out about a cell in Zikhron Yaakov and caught most of Nili activists. In October 1917, He was hanged in Damascus with Yosef Lishansky who was caught in Zikhron Yaakov. On October 24, 1919, the body of Belknd was brought to Israel and buried in Rishon LeZion. Belkind had a wife and a one year old baby at the time of his death. 60 years after his death the Nili Ribbon was given to his family.

Legacy

In 1982 he was featured in the stamp set "Martyrs of the Struggle for Israel's Independence". Full list:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belkind, Na'aman 1888 births 1917 deaths Executed spies Jews from Ottoman Palestine Ashkenazi Jews from Ottoman Palestine World War I spies for the United Kingdom 19th-century Jews from the Ottoman Empire Torture victims Zionist activists People from Gedera People executed by the Ottoman Empire by hanging