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ABSTRACT
The article examines popular texts that developed in response to the canonical repertoire on Tel Hai and Trumpeldor since the 1970s. In spite of the erosion of the heroic myth, Trumpeldor’s iconic status has continued to inspire the creation of new texts in Israeli popular culture, including songs, jokes, cartoons, satirical programs, and advertisements. Drawing on symbols and motifs associated with the canonical commemoration of Tel Hai, these texts articulate humor and skepticism as well as nostalgia toward the pioneering past and use it as a venue to critically address contemporary trends in Israel life and the politics of the present.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Broides, “Hu lo met,” 283.
2. For an earlier discussion of the development of the commemoration of Tel Hai, see Zerubavel, Recovered Roots, 31-47, 84-95.
3. Sarig, “Trumpeldor ba-Galil.” See also Yiftachel and Roded, “Anu meyahadim,” 246-47. For the term “commemorative density,” see Zerubavel, Recovered Roots, 8.
4. Abba Hushi wrote the lyrics for “Ba-Galil, be-Tel Hai” [In the Galilee in Tel Hai] to a folk Polish-Ukrainian song; Ze’ev Jabotinsky, “Shir asirei Akko” [The Acre Prisoners’ Song] was first published in the newspaper Do’ar Ha-Yom, July 13, 1920; Anda Pinkerfeld-Amir, “Be-leil ahad-asar ba-Adar” [The Night of Adar 11[(1926), melody by Moshe Bik; Joshua Prushansky, “Kadru pnei ha-shamayim” [The Skies Darkened], lyrics written to a Russian folksong.
5. Trumpeldor is presented as conveying his legacy to the youth. See, for example, Tehar-Lev, Kol mi-he-harim.
6. For more on presenting Trumpeldor as the modern incarnation of past heroes, see Zerubavel, Recovered Roots, 85-88, 92. Thus, for example, Yehuda Sharet wrote “Le-yom Tel Hai,” which included excerpts about the fall of Masada, and “Shirei Bar Kokhva” [Songs of Bar Kokhba] by Bialik, through “Sridei gvura ba-gola bi-yemei ha-beyna’im” [Remnants of heroism in the Diaspora in the Middle Ages] to the fall of Trumpeldor and his friends at Tel Hai. On Sharet’s contribution to the development of the cultural memory of Tel Hai in Hebrew song and texts, see Sarig, “Trumpeldor ba-Galil.”
7. For an overview of the artistic references to the Roaring Lion monument, see Guy, Pesel ha-arieh.
8. Bartal, Kozak ve-Bedou’i; and Zerubavel, “Memory, the Rebirth of the Native.”
9. In addition to the Eastern European melodies mentioned in note 4, the song “Sapru li-ktanim ve-gam li-gdolim” [Tell the Young and the Old] is based on a Russian folksong about the Battle of Borodino; and both Nahum Nardi’s melody to the Avraham Broides’s song “Ba-Galil” and Oded Zehavi’s musical reworking of Mordechai Zeira’s original melody for “Shirat ha-Galil” [Song of the Galilee] were based on Arab folksong.
10. Trumpeldor’s prominence in the commemoration of Tel Hai is evident also in the practice of naming. A digital search reveals that more towns have a Trumpeldor Street (34) than towns that have a street named Tel Hai (19) or the Adar 11 (2). It is interesting to note that the name Kiryat Shmona for the group of the dead conforms to the mnemonic practice of collective commemorations based on the number of the fallen. For a more elaborate discussion, see Zerubavel, “Numerical Commemoration.”
11. Shapira, Land and Power. See also, Henkin. “Trumpeldor’s Command.”
12. Rozin, The Rise of the Individual.
13. Firer, Sokhnim shel ha-hinukh ha-Tziyoni, 163.
14. On the importance of the element of incompatibility in humor, see Ben-Amos, “The ‘Myth’ of Jewish Humor.” On the contemporization strategy, see Zerubavel, “The Bible Now.”
15. Freud, Jokes.
16. The ”founders’ generation” were the Zionist activists who established new Jewish settlements in Palestine at the turn of the nineteenth century and during the early decades of the twentieth century.
17. Megged, Ha-hai al ha-met, 63.
18. R. Evron, “Tov la-mut be’ad artzeynu?” [Good to Die for our Country?] Dvar Ha-Shavua, March 24, 1972, 22; M. Zore’a, “Mikhtav le-Shulamit Laskov” [Letter to Shulamit Laskov], Yediot Ahronot, May 10, 1972; T. Meroz, “Trumpeldor basar va-dam” [Trumpeldor Flesh and Blood], Haaretz, Weekend Supplement, March 20, 1970, 12.
19. For a broader discussion of the meaning of “legend” in this context, see Zerubavel, “The Historical, the Legendary, and the Incredible.”
20. Danny Kerman’s caricature appeared as an illustration in Dan Almagor’s article, “Milim ahronot al Trumpeldor” [Final words about Trumpeldor], Yediot Ahronot, April 13, 1979.
21. Meir Shalev describes village jokers who nicknamed a villager whose arm was amputated “Trumpeldor.” See Shalev, Roman russi, 306. (We should note that this sentence is missing from Hillel Halkin’s translation to English of this work: Shalev, The Blue Mountain, 293). This practice was common in a military rehabilitation ward where those missing an arm were called “Trumpeldor.” Ha-Elyon, Regel shel buba.
22. See example for the use of these composite words in Dorbanot [Biting Words] website. http://www.dorbanot.com/61290, accessed May 10, 2020.
23. Michael, Niv, and Sidon, “Yosef ha-gibor,” 162-63.
24. The article “Yado shel gibor” [A hero’s arm], on Channel 10 News, February 22, 2010, features the struggle over Trumpeldor’s artificial limb and presents an ironic perspective on its emergence as a sacred object that evokes such strong emotions by those involved in its preservation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZGXIihfWKA, accessed February 7, 2019. See also A. Ashkenazi, “Ha-krav al ha-moreshet” [The Battle over Legacy], Haaretz, December 23, 2011. https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/education/1.1599079, accessed August 2, 2021.
25. D. Almagor, “Ma be’emet amar Trumpeldor?” [What did Trumpeldor Really Say?], Yediot Ahronot, 7 Days Supplement, March 16, 1979; Almagor, “Ma be-emet amar Trumpeldor,” Yediot Ahronot, April 13, 1979. In 120 interviews that Yael Zerubavel had conducted at the end of the 1970s, around half of the adults and a quarter of school-aged students referred to the alternative version that Trumpeldor cursed in Russian. This version was again shared, unsolicited, in person, in March 2020.
26. Macabre humor appeared in the Jewish ghettos during the Holocaust, and among soldiers on the front lines of battle or veterans in rehabilitation wards. For macabre humor in the Warsaw Ghetto see Ringelblum, Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto, 22, 49, 65, 68.
27. See also Hanoch Levin’s plays, Misdar ha-nitzahon shel milhemet 11 ha-dakot [The victory Parade of the 11-Minute War] and Tango esh va-dam [Tango of fire and blood], that were later published in Levin, Ma ikhpat la-tzipor. The Cameri Theater, which performed his play Malkat ha-ambatya in 1970, was forced to discontinue it due to public pressure.
28. D. Ben-Amotz, Lo sam zayin, 28. On macabre humor in rehabilitation ward, see also Ha-Elyon, Regel shel Buba.
29. For more extensive discussion of macabre humor and the protest movements, see Zerubavel, “Patriotic Sacrifice.”
30. For a more elaborate discussion, see articles by Meir Chazan and Amir Goldstein in this issue; Halamish, “Tel Hai ba-masekhet ha-ra’ayonit”; and Lundin, “Birya, Tel Hai, ve-Gush Emunim.”
31. Ben-Gurion, “Tzav Tel Hai.”
32. See also the song Tov li-hyot be’ad artzenu [It’s Good to Live for Our Country], lyrics by Ze’ev Tene and melody by Naftali Alter, 1978. Batya Guy refers to Menashe Kadishman’s 1995 work entitled “Tov li-hyot be’ad artzenu” [It’s Good to Live for Our Country”], Pesel ha-arieh, 45.
33. Ma lamadta ba-gan ha-yom? [What Did You Learn at School Today?], original lyrics and melody by Tom Paxton; Haim Hefer composed the Hebrew lyrics. The band Shivat Ha-Minim [The Seven Species], which first performed the song, was founded in 1966 by Haim Hefer and Dahn Ben-Amotz.
34. “101 ra’ayonot mekori’im le-kishut halal ha-limud o ha-kita” [101 Original Ideas to Decorate the Classroom], Davar Aher, 153, September 9, 1986. Note that the humor in Hebrew relies on the double meaning of the term halal” as both space and a casualty.
35. For a more elaborate discussion of the film, see Talmon, Bluz la-tzabar ha-avud, 200-209.
36. The song “Amihai” was composed for the film Ha-sayarim [The Trackers] directed by Micha Shagrir (1967). Yossi Banai’s song, “Sfirat mlai” [Taking Inventory] (1974) which mentions Trumpeldor among other heroic references, similarly expresses the disillusionment from this heroic legacy.
37. Itay Landsberg Nevo (Director), Tov la-mut?! – Ha-Mitos ve-ha-metzi’ut 1921-2018 [It’s Good to Die?! – Myth and Reality, 1921-2018].
38. N. Barne’a, Ha-hayal ha-amitz Geffen [Geffen, the Brave Soldier], Yediot Ahronot, October 18, 1996. The picture can be found on the Tapuz website, http://dev.flix.co.il/Albums/p-1249960-1223900-3-1.html, accessed August 2, 2021.
39. See “Za’am ba-Facebook al “mas ha-kvarim” [Rage on Facebook over the “Graves Tax”], Globes, May 12, 2013, https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000843664, accessed March 25, 2019. The improvisation “It’s good to die, our country is for it” appeared on a makeshift poster in a demonstration in support of cancer patients (picture by the writer, Tel Aviv, summer 2006) and in the title of the article that discusses the legitimacy of a comparison between the Israeli and Palestinian culture of bereavement. A. Abramovich, “Tov la-mut, artzeynu be’ad” [It’s good to die, our country is for it], Walla News: Opinion, February 24, 2016. https://news.walla.co.il/item/2937965#!/wallahistory, accessed January 25, 2019.
40. Kerman, “Shai Davar Aher le-kor’av,” 126.
41. The first Israeli hip hop band was Shabak Samekh. It released its third album, Canaan 2000, which expresses scathing social protest, in 2000, and that same year the band Ha-Dag Nahash released its first album featuring hip hop music. For a more detailed discussion, see Sarig, “Trumpeldor Ba-Galil”; and Dorchin, Zman emet, 57.
42. The song “Gabi and Debbie” is on Ha-Dag Nahash’s second album (2003).
43. This song, like the others on the album, was written and composed by the band members. The album went Gold after selling over 30,000 copies.
44. For a more elaborate discussion, see Zerubavel, “Transhistorical Encounters.”
45. The song “Ani maniak” [I’m An Asshole] is a remake of standup comedian Denis Leary’s song “I’m An Asshole” (1994). Gil Kopatch wrote the Hebrew lyrics in 2000.
46. The song’s title is “Od Yosef Hai” [Joseph is still alive]. Broides wrote the lyrics and Yedidya Admon composed in 1940.
47. The show was aired on May 12, 2008. The sketch can be found on the website: http://www.mako.co.il/tv-erez-nehederet/770e3d99ade16110-3dcd8020c3457110/season5?subChannelId=d7f85592032d8110VgnVCM100000290c10acRCRD%26vcmid=9796f1aa474cc110VgnVCM100000290c10acRCRD, accessed August 2, 2021.
48. The three-part sketch about Joseph Trumpeldor were aired in the second season of Halomot be-Hakitzis, in 1999-2000. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMVdCRiQAgA, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGnQd1EL800
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9s-_Ohw3I8, accessed February 8, 2019. The sketch also presents its own improvisation to Trumpeldor’s saying in the context of using drugs: “Good material for our country.”
49. The sketch “Trumpeldor yad ahat” [“The One-Armed Trumpeldor”], in the satirical program Ha-Yehudim Ba’im [The Jews Are Coming] was aired on December 12, 2014; see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SkScs8NXhk, accessed February 10, 2019.
50. “Tov la-mut be’ad ahava” [It’s Good to Die for Love], recorded by Ninet Tayeb, lyrics and melody by Erez Elgarbali, 2006.
51. See A. Frankel, Tov li-nhog be’ad artzenu: Nahagei tahanat ha-moniyot Trumpeldor hogegim [It’s Good to Drive for Our Country: Drivers from the Trumpeldor Taxi Station Are Celebrating], Channel 13 News, March 5, 2012, http://10tv.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=881565, accessed January 25, 2019.
52. Regev and Seroussi, Popular Music, 53-70; Katriel, Performing the Past, 41-44, 76-84. See also the Nostalgia Online website, part of which is dedicated to music and song, http://www.nostal.co.il/site.asp, and the website Zemereshet that seeks to save early Hebrew Songs, https://www.zemereshet.co.il/.
53. Gil Paz, “Alei giv’a / Susita: Le-tziyun yod-alef ba-Adar” [“On a hill”: To Commemorate the 11th of Adar”], Davar Rishon, https://www.davar1.co.il/113036/, March 2, 2018, accessed November 6, 2018.
54. Paz, “Alei giv’a.”
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Yael Zerubavel
Yael Zerubavel is Professor Emerita of Jewish Studies & History, and former Founding Director of the Allen and Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Study at Rutgers University. She has published extensively in the fields of memory studies and Israeli culture. Among her publications are the award-winning book, Recovered Roots: Collective Memory and the Making of Israeli National Tradition (University of Chicago Press, 1995), and Desert in the Promised Land (Stanford University Press, 2019), and she coedited with Amir Goldstein, Tel Hai, 1920-2020: Between History and Memory (Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, 2020; in Hebrew). She is the recipient of the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Association for Israel Studies.
Roni Sarig
Roni Sarig is a lecturer and researcher on Japanese studies and a writer and translator. Her research deal with memory of World War II in Japan and Israel, especially in the field of children’s literature. Her published books include the novels All the Silk Paths, and Soon the Wind will Blow (Hebrew), the children’s book The Journey that Began in Impitom (Hebrew), and translation to Hebrew of the Chinese novel by Hong Ying Daughter of the River.