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Eliezer Shoshany (Hebrew: אליעזר שושני) (15 December 1905 - 8 December 1987) was a public figure during the Jewish settlement time in Israel. He was among the pioneers that fought for "Hebrew Working" in the settlements, an active member of the "Haganah", and among the founders of Kfar Yeushua (Joshua village).
He acted as the secretery of the "Unification of Groups and Kibbutzes" movement during the years 1956-1958, and in 1967 he accepted the role of secretary to the "Kibbutz Movement Alliance".
Family background and childhood edit
Shoshany was born in Bryansk, Russia, the ninth child of Phayge-Menuha and Gdaliyahu the Cohen Rozenrut.
Bryansk was an industrial city situated on the banks of the Desna River, in the Oryol guberniya that is in the European part of Russia, about 350 Km south west of Moscow.
At those times Bryansk was outside the Pale of Settlement. The family's "father" was Seadia Eitan, from Ukrain, had special rights from his service in the army of the Tsar Nicholas II (he was among the Jewish Cantonist), that allowed him to live in Bryansk. Gdaliyahu Rozenrut, born in Poland, was recruited to the Tsar's army, and served as a seamster. While staying with his unit near Bryansk he met Phayge-Menuha and they married in secret, since it was forbidden for soldiers to marry, when he was released from his service their marriage became official.
Shushany moved to Israel in 1912, with his family (his parents, grandmother, and a few of his brothers), in the ship "Alexander". The family settled in Neve Tzedek. In the year 1914 World War I started, and caused a shortage of food and other basic commodities, due to being severed from the countries that provided them to Israel. On April 1917 the Jewish residents of Jaffa and Tel-Aviv were banished from their homes and move to settlements in the Judea and the Galilee areas. Among the banished was also Eliezer's family, the Rozenruts, that started their journey to Sajra with the young children (Davsha, Aaron, and Eliezer) and the grandma Maala (whom Hebrewtized her name to Amlia). The older sons: Menakhem, Saadya, Yossef, and the doughtier Bela, stayed behind to gourd the property of the banished and were among "The 13" who stayed in Tel-Aviv.
On the eve of Passover, after two days of carriage travel, the family arrived at Sajra and were invited to the Taflitzki's Seder. At the end of passover they moved to live in the house of the widow Hagera Sara Nichayev. They stayed with her for about a eighteen months, and she shared with them the little she had. Shoshany and his brothers studied at "The Little School" in Sajra with the local children. The grandma Amlia died at the summer end and was buried at Sajra. In the year 1918 after the armies of General Allenby concurred Israel, the family returned to Tel-Aviv. Shoshany returned to his studies in the Gimnasia with the financial aid of his brother Saadya (he payed for his tuition). The family later changed their name from Rozenrut to, first Shoshan Adom (the literal translation of their family name to Hewbrew [Red Rose]) and later to Shoshany.
Pioneer Amongst Pioneers edit
In 1923, Shoshany graduated from the Gimnasia with excellence, and declined his brother's tempting offer to sponsor his studies in one of the European universities, deciding instead to go in to work. He started as an apprentice at Mikveh Israel and joined the Hagana organization. In the years 1925-1927 Shoshany moved a lot, and worked all over Israel. First he worked with The Markenhof group , that settled the lands that are now kibbutz Mizra, then moved to Rehovot where he worked in picking Oranges. From there he moved to a farm on the Shorek river where he mainly worked in preparing fields for the winter planting, with the aid of two mules and a plow. His next stop was Petah Tikva, hoeing citrus groves, a physically intensive job that few persisted in. Next he moved to Binyamina where he worked for the farmer Cohenovich in his fruit tree orchards. In 1927 Joshua Village was established in the Jezreel Valley, and Eliezer joined it after a few months, believing that in the village he will be able to accomplish the principles he followed: Settlement, Self Employment, and Mutual Assistance.
Eliezer along with his fellow members worked in infrastructure layout: Paving an access road to the town, laying out water pipes ,and constructing public buildings. On top of this work he also needed to developed his private plot: 100 dunam of raw undeveloped land. All his possessions where a horse, a plough, and five beehives.
Young Family Man edit
In 1931 Eliezer married Dvora Solentzki - the first kindergarten teacher in Joshua Village. Eliezer and Dvora moved to Hadera, to live in his sister's place. From there they moved to Kibbutz Ginegar and got accepted as members. In 1933 their first son was born and named Raphael. During that time Shoshany developed a world view that was akin to the one held by The United Kibbutz, and Dvora could find a place as a Kindergartner teacher in Ginegar, so the young couple moved out of the Kibbutz and returned to Hadera, where they lived for a few years. In the first year Eliezer found a successful living as a fence contractor, and after another year he was elected as the secretary of the Workers' council of Hadera, but he could find satisfaction in it and thus returned to work on fences.
Even though the couple have attained an acceptable standard of living, they felt that it is not complete (since they still lived in Shoshany's sister) and decided to return to a Kibbutz.In 1937 with the encouragement of their friends, Haim Gvati and his wife, that lived in Kibbutz Gvat, they applied and got accepted as members of that Kibbutz. Eliezer was participating at that time in the areal commanders training for the "Haganah", and would only come home for short visits. Dvora gave birth to their daughter Norit about a month after they joined the kibbutz, and needed to make some hard compromises to enable Eliezer's continued activity in the security field and the company. When Eliezer finished his training he finally settled down in the kibbutz and immediately took the position of area commander, and consolidating the potato production of the area. Four years later their daughter Yehudit was born and four years after that their youngest daughter, Michal.
Activity in the "Haganah" and the Palmach edit
Gvat was used as an area base for the core of the "Haganah". Shoshany was responsible for the defense of the place as well as the training and weapon stashes in the area. Work and security became part of his life ruteans. In the day he worked, and at night he cleaned and preserved the weapons, that tended to rust due to the high humidity in the stashes. Shoshany became a well recognized member of the "Haganah" and he was charged with gathering intelligence in the north for Hashi (the intelligence service of the "Haganah"). To that end he formed connections with the officers of the British police force, especially the commanders of Natzrat's and Afula's police.
In 1944 he was appointed by Levi Eshkol as treasurer of the Palmach, and became a member of the Palmach staff. His position was First Managerial Officer. Eliezer worked to find sources to fund the the trsining and other activities of the Palmach. He also served as Adjudicator in field court and as a mediator in disputes and a legal guardian for the younger fighters. In addition to the above, Eliezer also served as treasurer to the