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Harbin, Heilongjiang PROVINCE, China |
HARBIN
MEMORIES FROM YAACOV LIBERMAN
Publisher: Gefen Publishing House, Ltd. 6 Hatzvi Street, Jerusalem 94386,
Israel
The Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell Street, Berkeley, CA 94705 USA
Permission to print granted by Gefen Publishing House, Ltd., on April 10,
2007.
The book also includes chapters on the author's experiences in Shanghai,
Tientsin and other cities in Asia, as well as additional chapters on Harbin.
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 3
1929. BETAR AND REVISIONISM TAKE HOLD
In the 1920s and 1930s world attention was focused on the new
Europe, on the emergence of Fascism in Germany
and Italy, on the specter of international Communism and on Japan's aggressive
policy in Manchuria
and South China.
Anti-Semitism in
Whether in Europe
or in Palestine,
or even in faraway China, young Jews were enraged by the injustices inflicted on
their people, and by their passive acceptance. Suddenly, with heads held high,
proud and resolute, Jewish youth everywhere began to speak of Jewish Statehood,
self-defense, honor and justice, of equality and independence!
In Harbin the young Jewish community was no different. Here, too, young people
decided to organize. They, too, vowed to learn the art of self-defense, and
they, too, aspired to steep themselves in the historical past of their people.
Defensive sports, athletics and team games were zealously pursued. One group of
Jewish students, under the capable leadership of Genna Mordohovitch (Zvi
Meroni), organized themselves
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under the name of Ha-shomer-ha-tzair. According to Mordohovitch, the exact date
of inception was May 18, 1929. Ha-shomer-ha-tzair is a name actually taken from
a leftist Zionist youth organization that existed at the time in Palestine and
Europe
and that was beginning to have an impact on Jewish youth in pre-revolutionary
Russia. It took several years for members of Harbin's Ha-shomer-ha-tzair to
realize that ideologically speaking they had very little in common with an
organization that had been founded to promote Socialism among young Zionists
everywhere.
The true architects and founders of this first branch of Jabotinsky's
Youth Movement in
By a happy coincidence, Alexander Yakovlevich Gurvitch had recently
arrived in Harbin. Russian-born and German educated, Gurvitch spoke both German
and Russian fluently. In Europe
he had been an active member of Jabotinsky's Revisionist Party and was
privileged to meet and work with the great leader before leaving for China in
1929.
Alexander Yakovlevich helped to establish Betar and to disband the
Ha-shomer-ha-tzair organization. He ably conveyed Jabotinsky's ideas and
teachings to the nationalistically minded youths of Harbin, and together with
them he succeeded in raising the banners of Betar and the Revisionist Party in
the city of Harbin. Gurvitch became the first president of the Revisionist
movement in China. In future years he would serve as the
netziv
(leader) of Betar in China and would forever be revered as one of its
founders.
Thus, a new chapter was opened in the history of the Jewish community in
China - a history in which many of us played out our various parts and which
helped mold our lives from beginning to end. As we glance back with nostalgia
and pride to those days, we recall how young girls and boys willingly forsook
entertainment, luxury and a carefree existence for daily self-discipline.
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It is not unusual for nationalistic organizations to subscribe to lofty
ideals and barely achievable goals. But the rank and file membership of these
organizations is made up of average youngsters who join the nationalistic ranks
because it is "in style," because they liked its activities or simply because of
the attraction of the opposite sex. When, however, someone proved himself or
herself by actually showing a readiness to sacrifice everything for the sake of
the ultimate goal, that someone became a hero overnight. Songs would be sung
about their deeds. Books and plays would be written about their achievements.
In our Betar in China there were scores of such heroes who formed the
movement, led it, showed the way to others and were a living example of devotion
and sacrifice. The pioneers who helped to create the Harbin Betar, and in later
years the Betar branches in Tientsin and Shanghai, were all, without exception,
true Zionists - dreamers of a Jewish homeland and patriots of a national
rejuvenation. Jabotinsky provided the framework and eloquently spelled out for
them their own feelings and beliefs. This generation of Betar leaders, living
far away from centers of Zionism and Revisionism, nurtured themselves on
Jabotinsky's feuilletons and latest articles. Soon, they converted words and
dreams into action and reality.
Not all agree on what constituted Betar's most significant contribution
to organized Jewish life in China. Some will argue that it was the security
Betar provided with its brave stand against hooliganism and anti-Semitic
violence. Others will claim that Betar's education, physical training and social
activities contributed to the healthy upbringing of Jewish youth. Many would
agree that Betar's colorful parades on the streets of Harbin, Shanghai and
Tienstin, as well as its members' achievements in athletic competitions and team
tournaments, contributed greatly to the prestige and honor of all Jews in China.
However, there is no doubt whatsoever that Betar's most significant contribution
to Zionism was the early aliyah,
emigration to Eretz Israel of Harbin's pioneers from the ranks of Betar.
They all voluntarily had given up the comforts of living at home with their
families for a life on
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barren soil to which they were welcomed skeptically by the Mapai-controlled
Yishuv of Palestine.* They all arrived bearing certificates reluctantly handed
to them by the Jewish Agency officers, only because there was no one else
interested in filling the minimal quota allotted to the faraway communities in
China.
These courageous young men and women served as shining examples of
sacrifice and patriotism, which they all continued to display so gallantly
throughout their productive lives in Eretz Israel. Whether as pioneers in
Plugot-Avoda,** as underground heroes during the days of struggle or as members
of the Knesset (Israel's Parliament) after the birth of statehood, all but one
continued a close association with the Jabotinsky Movement.
Not only did two members of this group of "Chinese" pioneers become
members of Israel's legislative body, but Ehud Olmert, one of its sons, born in
Israel, became a prominent parliamentarian and served as Minister of Health in
Itzhak Shamir's government. Today he is mayor of Jerusalem!
Ehud's father, Mordechai, was one of the pillars of Betar in Harbin. He
had traveled a long and difficult road before reaching the halls of Israel's
Knesset. In his early career, he had studied farming and agriculture in Denmark.
After many years of pioneering work at Nahlat Jabotinsky, he became the moving
spirit behind Herut's Department of Settlements and key villages.***
Another member (actually the first) of the Knesset from China was a young
man from Harbin, Eliahu (Ilyusha) Lankin. Books have been written about the
remarkable contributions of Ilyusha to the Irgun
__________
*Mapai, or
Miphleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael, is the name of the Israel Workers' Party which
controlled the Jewish Agency.
**The Plugot Avoda was the name of the working brigades of the Betar in
***Nahlat Jabotinsky was the first permanent settlement of Betar in Eretz
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Tzevai Leumi (the National Military Organization). A prominent member of the
Irgun executive council, Lankin spent years in detention and returned heading a
large contingent of Irgun volunteers on board the famous
Altalena,* the ship that carried armaments and ammunition to Israel in 1948.
Many years later Lankin served a four-year tenure as Israeli Ambassador to South
Africa, before returning to Jerusalem
and resuming the practice of law.
In this context, Robert Bitker, too, must not be forgotten. The only
netziv
or leader of Betar in Shanghai who left for Palestine as an immigrant prior
to the rebirth of the Jewish State, Bitker was appointed by Jabotinsky to head
the Irgun underground. His appointment was made immediately after its painful
split into the Lechi, under Abraham Stern, and the Irgun, under the command of
Jabotinsky.**
Unfamiliar with Palestine, not yet fluent in Hebrew and relatively
inexperienced, he lacked the capacities required to lead this underground
movement. It soon became necessary to replace him and to smuggle him out of the
country right under the noses of British Intelligence. Bitker then resumed
command of the Shanghai Betar for a brief period before leaving to join his
family in the United States. The Irgun command was passed to David Raziel.
Others, perhaps less prominent, also made important contributions. Some
became well-known writers, educators, business owners and entrepreneurs. Their
names and their contributions toward Jewish Statehood will never be forgotten.
They have added both pride and glory to the name: a Betari from China!***
__________
*On the
Altalena, see Chapter 15.
**"Lechi" is an acronym for Lochamei Herut
***The Betarim who reached Palestine during the early thirties include: Misha
Abugoff, Daniel Berkovich, Robert Bitker, Nikka Germant, "Fish" Gershevich,
Abrasha Ifland, Israel Kabalkin, Lela Kotovitch, Yasha Krasnoff, Nema Kroll,
Sania Kroll, Eliahu Lankin, Ya'acov Lankin, Morechai Lesk, Erik Levin, Reva
Levin, Nissan Lifshitz, Reva Lifshitz, Moshe Michelovsky, Zvi Mordohovitch, Sarah
Morohovskaya, Mara Morguleff, Israel Nadel, Mordechai Olmert, Gena Raisky, Lelia
Ravikovitch, Mulik Rolband, Senia Rosen, Israel Solovei, Peter Steinberg, Grisha
Vernikoff and Bella Woogman. Some names may have been inadvertently omitted.
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Several of our pioneers have died. Among them are two of the very first, Abrasha
If land and the beloved leader of
Finally, Abram
Milichiker was deprived by fate of joining the ranks of achievers in Eretz
Israel. One of the few leaders of the Harbin Betar who rose from its ranks,
Abram, in his quiet, persistent, dedicated way, was an example to all around
him. Betar and its ideology became the very essence of his beautiful young life.
In his dedication, in his capacity for friendship, Abram had no equal. A model
Betari, up to the day of his premature death, Milichiker remained the perfect
embodiment of Jabotinsky's dream of a new generation of Jewish youth.
*
* *
As Betar grew in strength and reputation, its larger circle included loyal
friends of the organization who were prominent in the Jewish community, among
them Joseph Berkovitch and Leo Tomchinsky. With the development of the youth
movement, its political arm, the Revisionist Party expanded its varied
activities. Soon, with the financial assistance of Friends of Betar, the
movement began to publish a biweekly magazine called Ha-degel (The Flag). The regular publication of Jabotinsky's latest
articles and feuilletons guaranteed its success and a wide readership. Many
local writers, led by Shura Gershkovich, the driving force of this publication,
became steady contributors. Among them were Alexander Gurvitch, Sema Klein,
David Udovich, Leo Nadel, Michael lonis, Yana Moiseev and Rasha and Yosef
Halperin.
As a boy, I was unaware
of the historic implications of their work. On the other hand, my activities now
drew me to the young people's
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community center and recreational center. Here I met many youngsters my age and
developed friendships that lasted a lifetime. By coincidence, the Betar summer
facilities were located next door to the recreation area called the
ploshchadka
(literally, little market square.) The two properties were separated by a
long fence with many a crack between the boards, which made it extremely easy to
peer from one into the other. The
ploshchadka
space encompassed a large playground, a garden, a small shell-shaped outdoor
stage, a room for crafts activities and a roofed shelter, while the Betar area
held a small building, two dressing rooms, another roofed covering used for
boxing and physical exercises, a large glassed-in hall (used as a dressing room
for skaters in winter), a large track and volleyball and basketball courts. On
the Betar side of the fence, in large letters, a sign read: "Vzdorouom tele, zdorovyi dukh" ("A healthy spirit in a healthy
body"). Little did I know how much time in the future I would be spending on
this side of the fence.
In the meantime, my interests were completely monopolized by the
community center, its boyhood challenges and my newfound friends.
Web Page: Copyright © 2007 Irene
Clurman