Bar Giora
In the last quarter of the 19th century, when the first Jewish
agricultural settlements came into being (see First Aliyah), the
Jewish settlers had to cope with border friction, disputes over water
rights and intrusions on their crops and property. Their choice was
either to fight for their rights or to be left to the mercy of their
neighbors. As a result, individuals and groups of young people
organized to fight for these elementary rights. This was the period of
the first shomrim - watchmen - typical of whom was Abraham Shapira.
After some time, guard duty in most of the settlements became the task
of local Arab strong men, who undertook to protect the Jewish settlers
by sending their men to guard Jewish life and property.
The immigrants of the Second Aliyah were critical of the early
settlers and well aware of the dangers involved in employing
non-Jewish watchmen. On the initiative of Yisrael Shohat, about ten
of them, including Yitzhak Ben Zvi and Alexander Zeid, met in Jaffa
in 1907 and founded a secret society called Bar-Giora (named after
Simeon Bar Giora, the Jewish military leader in the war against Rome,
(66-70 C.E.), with the aim of winning the right to work and guard the
settlements as well as developing Jewish settlement in new areas. The
members of Bar Giora were given responsibility for the protection of
Sejera (Ilaniyah) and, in 1908, of Mesha (Kefar Tavor). In 1909, Bar
Giora merged with the new defense body - Hashomer.
Sources: The Pedagogic
Center, The Department for Jewish Zionist Education, The Jewish Agency for
Israel, (c) 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, Director: Dr. Motti Friedman, Webmaster:
Esther Carciente |