[Page 351]

Illustration no. 30: Report of Dr. N. Goldman, Geneva, regarding a conversation with the Romanian Foreign Minister Comnene in the matter of permits for halutzim training

[Page 352]

Illustration no. 31: Letter from Dr. N. Goldman, Geneva to Eliyahu Dobkin on negotiations with the Deputy Forein Minister of Romania for halutzim training permits

[Page 353]

5678/1918
Agricultural training groups organized by Tzeirei Zion from Kishinev and National Youth from Soroca (majority came from Ataki and Mogilev) in Dumbraveni

5679/1919
Agricultural training locations established in Faleshti, Capreshti and Calarashi

5680/1920
Nissan: Special Committee of the Popular Zionist Tzeirei–Zion faction in Kishinev for immigration
Iyar: Discussions on founding an independent Halutz organization at the First Zionist Congress in Kishinev
Elul: Decision of the executive of Tzeirei Zion in Jassy to establish the He–Halutz organization
Establishment of the training farms in Orgheiev and Bender
Summer: Arrival of first refugee group from the Ukraine
August 5, 1920: Approval of the Bylaws of the He–Halutz Organization and legal recognition by the Kishinev tribunal
He–Halutz Houses founded in Kishinev, Orgheiev, Soroca, Bricheva, etc.

5680/ 1921
Tishrei: Meeting of the He–Halutz Council with the participation of Yitzchak Kaspi and Chaim Shorer from Ha–Poel Ha–Tzair. Election of the First Executive Committee (provisional)
First group of halutzim from Russia, Ukraine and some from Bessarabia immigrated to Eretz Israel
Small groups from Orgheiev, Ataki, Akkerman, Bender, Faleshti, Capreshti, etc. immigrated

5681/1921
January: He–Halutz House opens in Galatz
Dr. Landman, Secretary of the Zionist Federation of London comes to Kishinev to organize the immigration of halutzim
Training farm established in Capreshti
First Congress of the He–Halutz held in Kishinev on 26–28 Sivan 5681 (2–4 July, 1921) with the participation of Yitzchak Kaspi and Chaim Shorer
Unification of the Chernovitz and Kishinev Centres into one Romanian Centre with the headquarters in Kishinev

5682/1922
First Council held in Kishinev on 24–28 Shvat (24–26 February 1922). Establishment of He–Halutz Week on Passover for fundraising and for assisting the He–Halutz and the Friends of He–Halutz

[Page 354]

Training farms established in Kishinev, Leova and Rogojeni
Training workshops established in Galatz, Edinetz, Chernovitz, Calarashi, Kishinev

5683/1922
Second Congress of He–Halutz held in Kishinev on 1–6 Kislev 5683 (21–26 November) with the participation of Zeev Feinshtein (Nesher–Shefer) from the Histadrut (Labour Federation) Executive

5683/1923
He–Halutz delegation (Joseph Barpal, Leib Glantz, Dov Tabachnik and Yitzchak Rosenberg) participated at the Second International He–Halutz Congress in Berlin – 24–29 Adar (11–16 March)
Dov Tabachnik participated at the International Plenum Council of He–Halutz on August 1923 in Berlin

5684/1923
Second Congress (Kishinev?) 20–23 Kislev (28 November – 1 December). Two members of the executive were approved for Aliyah: Nachman Cohen (Tardion) and Yacov Reznik. They were replaced by Dov Perlmuter and Dov Aizirer.

5684/1924
Spring: Expansion of the farm in Rogojeni to 91 hectares and closure of the farm in Leova and Capreshti
May – June: Second Congress held in Kishinev?

5685/1924
Tishrei: Information campaign by Joseph Baratz at training locations in Kishinev, Chernovitz, Novoselitza, Beltz, Rogojeni, Soroca
Fall: Purchase of the Bilicheni Farm. Closure of the farm in Rogojeni

5685/1925
January: Shimshon Shechter took over the management of He–Halutz from Joseph Barpal (made Aliyah)
Congress of the Zionist Youth held in Kishinev on 8 January. Brit Ha–Noar (the Youth Union) established
Publication of Alim (Leaves), an internal publication; Published every 2–3 months; The last issues consulted by the author – no. 31 July 1930 and no.7 of May 1933
Dov Tabachnik, one of the founders of the Halutz movement in Bessarabia, hachshara trainer and member of the central committee immigrated on 11 February with Group 23
April: Opening of the farm in Jassy
August: Leib Glantz participated at the Fourth International He–Halutz Congress in Vienna

5686/1925
Fourth He–Halutz Congress is held in Bilicheni on 4–8 Tishrei (22–29 September 1925) with the participation of Sh. Givoni (Kfar Giladi), Lenkovsky (Kibbutz Shomer Ha–Tzair), I. Frumkin (Degania Bet) and Sh. Shapira and Yitzchak Nusenboim (Ben Aharon) from the He–Halutz executive. Also participated delegates from A.T. S. (Association of Zionist Youth) from Romania, Maccabi Kishinev, Ha–Techiyah

[Page 355]

Publication of Ha–Noar (Youth), monthly, edited by Sh. Givoni; Only 4 issues published; Joseph Barpal immigrated

5686/1926
Third Council meeting in Jassy on 16 Shvat (31 January) with the participation of Frumkin (Degania Bet)
Y. Nusenboim, I. Frumkin, and Sh. Schechter participated at the Third International Congress of He–Halutz in Danzig
Y. Nusenmboim elected to the Congress Secretariat
First Maccabi Branch training location opened near Kishinev
Fourth Council held in Bilicheni on 12–13 July

5687/1926
Fifth Council met in Jassy 14–15 Heshvan (22–23 October) with the participation of I. Frumkin and M. Tartakov (from Eretz Israel)

5687/1927
Y. Nusenboim (Ben Aharon) was approved for Aliyah together with the group Kibbutz Gimel of the Shomer Ha–Tzair, Romania.
A meeting of specialists took place in Jassy on 12–13 Adar I (14–15 February) in order to improve the technology at the Jassy and Bilicheni farms. Participated: I. Frumkin and M. Tartakov from Eretz Israel
Sixth Council (Plenary meeting) held on 8–9 March to approve budgets for Bilicheni and Jassy farms
Frumkin returned to Eretz Israel. D. Perlmuter and A. Zemura immigrated
May: Eliezer Kaplan visited the Jassy farm

5688/1927
November: Dr. Chaim Weitzmann visited the Jassy farm

5688/1928
Fifth Congress is held in Jassy on 7–10 Shvat (28 January – 1 February) with the participation of M. Tartakov, Zeev Feinshtein (Shefer) and Chaim Shorer
Recognition of Gordonia and He–Halutz Ha–Tzair
The Farm in Bilicheni closed due to the cholera epidemic. A new farm is open nearby and named Massada
Special Council is held in Jassy 14–15 Adar (6–7 March) to deal with items not discussed at the last regular council – financing the Massada farm, continuation of work at the Jassy farm and approval of the budget
Festivals for the Lag B'Omer holiday (26 May) sponsored by the Keren Kayemet take place in Kishinev, on the Massada farm (near Beltz). Organized trips by youth and school students on 26 May and a large assembly organized in Beltz

5629/1928
The Seventh Council met in Jassy on 2–4 Tevet (15–17 December) with the participation of I. Fernson and Akiva Goldshtein (Goshen)

[Page 356]

Candidates for immigration with permits from the winter Schedule met at the end of the meeting
Specialists meeting on 26 December: with the director of the Bilicheni farm, Agronomist Tenenhoiser, the director of the Jassy farm, Agronomist Yitzchak Bronfman, Agronomist Chaim Feigin from ORT and Akiva Goldshtein and members of Friends of He–Halutz

5689/1929
January 17: 57 male and 51 female halutzim from Group 33 from Poland and Galicia immigrated, this being the first group to break the immigration blockade
First Halutzim Seminar opened in Kishinev, 28 Adar I. Participants from all factions attended for three weeks and participated at 67 lectures and 18 discussions
Beitar joined He–Halutz – its members went to Hachshara
Eighth Council took place at Massada on 15–16 Av, with the participation of Akiva Goldshtein (Goshen) and Zeev Meshi
Halutzim from Shomer Ha–Tzair met during the Eight Council in order to start up Kibbutz Aliyah Aleph from Romania (now Shaar Ha–Amakim)
The brochure “In die Blutiege Teg” (In these bloody days) is published by Tzeirei Zion and He–Halutz

5690/1929
“Palestinian Branch” of Maccabi decided to direct the training of their members towards He–Halutz (26–27 October)
Preparation groups of He–Halutz are set up to attract the national youth and to prepare them physically and emotionally for work and family life
Aharon Cohen leads the Aliyah group of Shomer Ha–Tzair

5690/1930
Nineth Council took place in Jassy on 17–18 Shvat (15–16 February) with the participation with Zeev Bloch, Moshe Shoshani and Dov Shafrir from Eretz Israel
Gordonia members met in Jassy during the Nineth Council in order to set up the Kibbutz Aliyah Aleph from Romania

5691/1930
A delegation of 13 members (7 from Besarabia and 6 from the rest of Romania) participated at the Labour Congress in Berlin (27 September– 1 October)
A delegation of 4 members participated at the International Ha–Halutz Congress in Berlin (Heshvan – 2–5 October)

5691/1931
The Sixth Congress of He–Halutz took place in Chernovitz, 7–11 Shvat (25–29 January) with the participation of Zeev Bloch and Dov Shafrir
Beitar decided to leave He–Halutz ; Shimshon Shechter immigrated after serving 7 years as Executive Director of He–Halutz
Poalei Zion established an agricultural training group near Orgheiev
The Tenth Council met in Jassy^[1]

[Page 357]

on 12–13 (29–30 August) with the participation of Dov Frank and Dov Shafrir
Joseph Finkelshtein and Ben–Zion Harar from the Executive Committee received approval for immigration; they were replaced by Niusya Fridel (Natan Peled) and Chaim (Munchik) Fuks

5692/1932
Eleventh Council^[2] met in Kishinev on 7–8 Sivan 5692 (11–12 June) with the participation of Dov Frank and Peretz Salpeter
The Hedquarters of He–Halutz is moved to Bucharest (1 September)

5693/1933
Spring: The largest number of youth joined the hachshara: General He–Halutz had 46 training locations that accommodated 1,532 members (about 33 memebrs for each location)
According to the survey of 15 July 1933, the membership numbered 8,200 people

5694/1934
Ha–Shomer Ha–Tzair and Gordonia sign an agreement of equality (paritetic) in the He–Halutz movement
January: The Seventh Congress took place in Kishinev with the participation of Secretary of International He–Halutz, Z. Feinshtein (Shefer) and representatives from Eretz Israel – I. Givoni, B. Gafni, M. Horvitz. A. Cohen, Z. Meshi and M. Shadmi
Ha–Oved (the Worker) organization was established
Publication of the monthly journal “Leket” (Collection of articles from the Hebrew and Yiddish press). Last issue consulted by the author was issue 8 from September 1934

5965/1935
An agreement was signed by the factions regarding the distribution of permits. A new publication “Information Bulletin” was published to replace “Leket”
Ha–Oved held the first Council in Beltz (27 April) with the participation of 76 delegates from 42 branches
Beitar protested the method of permits distribution by storming the offices of Gordonia in Chernovitz and Bucharest and Ha–Shomer Ha–Tzair offices in Jassy
Training farms established near Jassy, Massada, near the Youth Orphanage in Kishinev, Galatz near the Community Centre, in Bucharest at Floreasca, in Hatzeg and in Zastawna in Bucovina
The survey of August shows 2,397 members on 45 locations about 53 people per location. The number of halutzim reached 10,000
The other factions of He–Halutz (General Zionists, Tzeirei Mizrachi, Jewish State, Agudat Israel) numbered 1,707 members in 63 locations (27 people per location)

[Page 358]

Organization of the Urban branches for the summer

5696/1935
The winter training session numbers 27 groups (18 in the previous year)
Urban ranches reached 60 centres

5696/1936
The Twelfth Council took place on 11–12 Tevet (6–8 January) in Bucharest
Beitar stopped participating in training

5697/1936
Agreement signed by Shomer Ha–Tzair, Gordonia and the Halutz Union of Poalei Zion to cooperate within He–Halutz organizations

5697/1937
The Eighth Congress took place in Kishinev of 20–24 February with the participation of L. Greenblat, A.R. Meier, I. Margalit, I. Finkelshein I. Klavir, M. Rolel and A. Shemi
Publication of “Shorashim” (Roots), a monthly for culture with a Yiddish supplement
The Thirteenth Council took place in Bucharest on 4–5 Tamuz (13–14 June)

5698/1938
The Romanian dictatorial government orders to close He–Halutz and all the training locations
The hachshara continued in the summer under the name of Immigration Hachshara
Summer camps were opened with Romanian government instructors

5699/1939
Aliyah Bet organized in Romanian ports

5699/1939
The illegal immigration (Aliyah Bet) is growing through the Romanian ports on the Danube and the Black Sea

5700/1939
Illegal Immigration is halted because of the start of WWII (1September 1939)

5700/1940
The illegal immigration continues in very difficult conditions during the war

Footnotes:

1. The numbering of the Council was not mentioned in any of the materials the author consulted Return
2. In some documents it was number 9 – which is not correct, because the Council on Shvat 5690 was the nineth. On Elul 5691 there was another Council which was not numbered Return

[Page 365]

And now: again “they will travel and camp and stop”. At this time, in a typical colony in Jewish Bessarabia. The days of “Prashovka”^[2] in the the tobacco plantations with the two local Hebrew teachers were not for nought. Some places accepted pioneers/halutzim as workers. Behind the colony, on the slope of the hill, stood an abandoned clay house. It was close to falling down. This is where we reside now. At first, the two miserable rooms became stubborn and did not want to have 40 people occupy them. Since there was no choice, they acquiesced! Hurray! Tomorrow, we go out to work. Our hearts are full, really full. As said before, we are outside the village. The fields are bountiful, and the summer skies are bright. Around us is a wide“Tulika”^[3]. Eighty arms join in a dance. Convoys of locals are drawn to us. Wonder, embarrassment, caring, admiration ensue.

Harvest is over, the summer is gone, and we are stuck in the colony. We have been forgotten by the central office in Kishinev. In the meantime, there is no work. Even Rabbi Shlomo the Pioneer (this is how the elderly Chassid from Tulna was nicknamed, due to his belief in us), has no advice for us. Every day he runs from one businessman to another and asks and demands. He returns with a lowered head.

Our account with the local baker, a hard-working but poor Jew, was discontinued by us some weeks ago. Instead of bread on our menu, we eat mamaliga. Now, the supply of corn meal is gone and even our sugar substitute is no longer available.

The same poor man appears suddenly one day at our door. He begins, in a stutter, to speak about this and that. He then adds -you are not children. How does one decide on a mouthful? And why? You know a coin… is round. You are righteous and… perhaps, in these days, manna comes to you from heaven. In short, fellows, I am old,

[Page 366]

at least by a few years and if I say that you should come to pick up bread, you should take a bag and come to my bakery!

These moonlit nights we spend on the green hill, arguing about the Arab question. Mendel, a former Hebrew teacher, is the leader of the militarists among us. He speaks about “avenging the spilled blood of our people!”. Not only that, but, in general, if we want to be a people like others. Judea fell in fire and water, and it will rise again in the same way. Bentchik, tall and wide-shouldered, replies. His face is red, and he vocalizes. There is a dangerous mistake here. Each one of us wishes to break the habit and renew his life based on moral principles. This is true of the life of our nation, as well. There is a need for defense, but our purpose is to have a culture of peace. This is how they orate and argue until weariness attacks all of us. Then begin the songs. Slowly, slowly we go over the entire repertoire until we reach the song written to a Ukrainian melody. It is filled with longing:

There, in the desert, there are Bedouins.
They ride wild horses.
Their profession is robbery and thievery.
They all forgot that it is not appropriate for a people,
There, in the Galilee, a discovery of the Almighty:
They sow with tears and reap with happiness.

Finally, we are back in Kishinev, in Pioneer House, 20 Benderskaya. It is a special house, with various meanings. It is true that all the local branches of Hechalutz in the villages turn to it. It is also true, in the same building, there is a Romanian office that enlists soldiers. Chalutzim who arrived at 20 Benderskaya, were assured they would receive a British Laisser Passer, ship passage fare and then- on we go to Zion!

It is necessary to wait in this center…

Again, we need to earn a living. At 20 Benderskaya, it means timber cutting outside of Kishinev. At dawn, the trumpet is sounded in the nearby recruitment center. It is a sign also for those who live in the Pioneer House, upstairs and downstairs (there are beds on all floors), to get up and go to work. In the middle of the room stands the foreman, holding a list, and sending rows of workers to the courtyards.

The saw is long and, without thinking, one puts it on his shoulder. Another has an ax shoved in his belt while a third watches and is in charge. He quickly leads the group and checks his list and the gate numbers. He stops for a minute, peers into the yard, puts on

[Page 367]

a sour face and moves on. He looks here and is happy: Yes! We enter and look at the pile of timber covered in snow. Before we even estimate the pile, the owner comes out, enveloped in a fur coat and covered in ice. He looks at us and says: Ay, ay, Jewish lumberjacks, look up! In the same breath he begins to bargain: “30 Lei? Ay, ay, a little too much. The uncircumcised take less”. Finally, he feels sorry for us and agrees to 25. We start working.

The long evenings at 20 Benderskaya are very pleasant. There are queries from branches in Britcheva, Kalarash, Orgeyev, Markulesht, Kapresht, Tilinesht and others. We reply in detail. Here, we no longer spend nights on the floor- only wooden boards await us. It is like the Garden of Eden. There are books and newspapers and even electricity. There is more happiness on Shabbat evenings. We even have a heating stove. Then begins the time for the argument of arguments: what is happening between Hapoel Hatzair and Achdut Ha'avoda? A heavy battle and an argument going back and forth.

Twice- on these freezing evenings- it happened that in the middle of a speech, suddenly all eyes turn to the door and ear-splitting shouts greet the comers:

-Here, “a little hope!”

At the entrance we see the summer coat and the famous “Shliapkala”^[4] of Itzikel, the Aliyah instructor. Usually, day and night, he would be found in cars filled with Moldovans on a train from Kishinev to Bucharest, from Bucharest to Galatz, to Constantza, to Czernowitz. He would return to find “combinations” and funds for Aliyah. Sometimes, he would come to us to arrange various matters.

The young men swarm like bees and with bated breath they ask:

-Itzikel, when?

And Itzikel shrinks and his forehead shows the wrinkles. His voice is sad and persuasive:

-This is a difficult time, but there is a little hope…

This is why everyone calls Itzikel- little hope.

It became a daily custom, well-known: anyone who did not see the Hakafot (circling) on Simchat Torah in Pioneer Hose, has not seen real happiness.

This year the happiness was doubled: the first harvest of our farm in Kishinev. There were many guests this time. The top Zionists and the local teachers came. The walls of our house were decorated with sayings of Gordon and Brener. Behind the screen there was a display of the fruits of the work of the agricultural group. Our cultural director was inspired to improvise of “you showed”-button and flower. Baruch'l became, for an instant, the sexton of the synagogue with all its exact directives. He was ready at his stand.

[Page 368]

Then the member of the House begins his speech. He talks about Torah and labor. Up to now we were known as talkers only. From now on we want a voice as well as work.

Behind him, the cultural director hums his “you improvised” and Baruch'l watches the audience, straightens up and announces the Hakafot:

Champion's turn… honor the cabbage!
Champion's turn…honor the beet!
Champion's turn…honor the pumpkin!

It was a productive year in the farm in Kishinev. It was located far from town and from people- hidden between green hills, between fruit orchards. Around twenty young men and women had undertaken to wait, patiently, for the opportunity to make Aliyah. They devoted themselves to the small farm with all their being. Ort was also involved in the development of the farm. That tall mustachioed Christian, Ivan Vasilievitch, became a part of the group. He spoke about the day when the group will make Aliyah- he, too, would do so. He knows all the pioneers and will probably find work in Palestine. The farm was a thing of beauty. On Shabbat and Holidays, members of 20 Benderskaya came in numbers. Also, many of the young people studying in Kishinev and the Zionists joined them. Groups would stretch out on the slopes of the vineyards. The sound of their singing could be heard for miles.

One day, the group had news: a member of Deganya was coming to town and on the first day of Rosh Hashana he will visit the farm. There was great excitement about the meeting. The crowd grew in the thousands. Even a photographer came to take pictures of the happy gathering: the Deganya member surrounded by, near the stable, members of the farm with Ivan Vasilevitch spread among the cow, the horse, the chickens, the piles of pumpkins and potatoes. Around them were many guests. Again, we sat down in the vineyard, tall and intricate vines spreading shade on the circle of participants. Everyone was listening to the visitor from the Jordan Valley who was speaking about the commune in Hadera, Um-Juni…Yosef Bossel…A.D. Gordon…

However, the happiness did not last long. Already, at noon, terrible rumors began to circulate. In Beltz, the police raided the synagogue and dragged Ukrainian refugees, from prayers, to the Dniester. There, they sent them across the river. They did the same in other towns and were planning to come to Kishinev any day. The farm was surrounded by fear. They had invested so much money and hard work here. The harvesting of grapes was just beginning, but everything was going down the drain. The people themselves…Aliyah was not even possible. Where will they go?

On the second day of Rosh Hashana, those praying in the synagogues went, wearing their prayer shawls and special coats to the oppressing commander and begged him to remove the evil decree.

[Page 369]

This is how the ten days of repentance passed and there was hope he may show mercy.

However, on the eve of Yom Kippur, the lawyer of Hechalutz informed us that, during Kol Nidrei, searches will begin. He was able, with great difficulty, to get a permit for the members of the farm to leave, within a few hours, accompanied by armed guards, to the port city of Galatz.

The train cars were mostly empty. The wheels squealed and made noise. The frequent whistles of the locomotive were sharp and predatory. As darkness descended, the conductor entered our car, mumbled the usual derogatory remarks, went over to the lamp, but did not light it and left.

The train stopped at a small station. There was no one around. It felt like the the day of judgement. The homes of the Jews were spread on the slopes of the nearby mountain. They did not look stable, as if they were hanging by miracle. There was the synagogue with hundreds of flames in its windows.

Oy-oy-oy- from this Yom Kippur to the next one…

An elderly man led the prayers, hoarse and barely able to do the final long request. The clatter of the wheels continued and continued.

The Pioneer House in Galatz, a port city, was also well known. Much was written about it and many wished to be on its lists.

The House and its inhabitants were under the protection of one of the Jewish leaders of Galatz. He had influence with the police, and he had authority over all those who came to the house. He was important, but he did not have time to discover the difference between various immigrants. Some went to America and others to Palestine. They were all miserable and needed to be shown mercy and to be given funds.The previous solution-as friends told us- was something. A man decided to teach everyone the honest way: he would gather the women and ask the married ones: don't you have something to complain about your husband? He came with a barber and ordered to immediately shave all the heads- if not, there will be trouble! In the end, he had had enough of the “Bolshevik Center in Kishinev” and renamed himself as the union of pioneers. Were these not the famous pioneers whose good deeds were discussed by Aliyah organizations in Turkey for many years?

It was difficult for the pioneers to wait in Galatz. The ships were coming closer. One could hear the sirens of “Constantza.” It sailed again for Jaffa, but only had freight- horses. In those times it was difficult for the pioneers to control themselves. One by one, they left the Pioneer House and gathered in the port square. Their eyes were full of envy towards the animals on deck.

It was quiet and the hearts were beating. It seemed that each one heard the beating of his friend's heart. Sometimes, one would blurt in a semi-voice, bare-headed and stuttering:

-If only I were a horse, then I would receive a Laisser Passer!

Original Footnotes:

1. From the book Hechalutz, 3^rd Aliyah, anthology, published by the Jewish Agency, Aliyah department, edited by Moshe Basok, 1940. Return
2. Herds Return
3. Ashes Return
4. A hat with a round brim Return

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