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Josef Trumpeldor

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The Resume

    (November 21, 1880-March 1, 1920)
    Born in Pyatigorsk, Russia
    Yosef Trumpeldor
    Israeli national hero, early Zionist leader
    Key organizer of both the Jewish Legion and the Zion Mule Corps
    Decorated for his heroism in the Russo-Japanese War (1904)
    Lost his arm in during the Siege of Port Arthur
    Died defending the settlement of Tel Hai from the Shiites, in 1920
    Last words were reportedly 'Tov lamut be'ad artzaynu,' or 'It is good to die for our country'
    Memorial day, on the 11th day of Adar, is officially noted in the Israeli calendar

Why he might be annoying:

    He originally trained to be a dentist.
    His surname sounds like a popular character from the Harry Potter series.
    He is more revered in Israeli history for his final heroic last words than for his own (heroic) actions.
    There is continued dispute as to whether these were really his last words at all, with the most common assertion being that the statement was apocryphal. After all, he only spoke broken Hebrew.
    One popular counter-version to the legend - which may have originated as a joke - suggested that his last words were actually a curse in his native tongue of Russian, expressing frustration with his bad luck at receiving a fatal wound to the stomach.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His dying words became a motto for Zionist settlers as well as Jews worldwide (including on their own deathbeds).
    The Rabbi Josef Telmushkin called him 'the Nathan Hale of Jewish history.'
    He worked closely with Zionist icon Ze'ev Jabotinsky.
    He spent a brief period as a Japanese POW.
    He spent 100 days recovering in a military hospital after losing his arm to a piece of shrapnel, but still opted to return to duty after recovering.
    When his superiors attempted to talk him out of returning because of his handicap, he calmly responded 'but I still have another arm to give to the motherland.'
    He received four decorations for bravery for his heroism in the Russo-Japanese War, including the highest honor of the Cross of St. George, making him the most decorated Jewish soldier in the Russian Empire.
    He was also the first Jew in the army to receive an officer's commission, in 1906, a remarkable feat given the deep strain of anti-Semitism within the Russian Imperial Army.
    He was also wounded while fighting in the Battle of Gallipoli, during World War I.
    After the war, he helped organize Jewish self-defense against Arab attacks in the region.
    He helped arrange transports for European Jews seeking to emigrate to Jerusalem.
    He was part of a group of Jewish settlers who were attacked in the Tel-Hai settlement in Northern Israel. He was shot in the hand and stomach, and died while being evacuated to Kfar Giladi that same evening.
    The town of Kiryat Shmona ('City of Eight') is named after Trumpeldor and the seven others who died defending Tel Hai.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 236 Votes: 62.71% Annoying