If not for a crucial lunchtime intervention by General Edmund Allenby, who apparently had his mouth full, half of Jerusalem could have come under French control. In fact, had Allenby remained silent, there might never have been a British Mandate in Palestine, not to mention a State of Israel…
“Your rabbi was taken as a hostage”: Accounts of Russian Tactics in WWI
Hostage-taking and forced migration were just two methods used by Russian forces in Ukraine and Poland a century ago
This Jewish War Hero Protested the Nazis… Then Helped Defeat Them
A decorated German soldier in World War I, Richard Stern opposed Nazism from within. After fleeing, he joined the US Army at age 43, and soon became a hero there, as well…
Djemal Pasha’s Revenge on the People of Jerusalem
In the midst of WWI, residents of Jerusalem witnessed a horrific spectacle: the hanging of five local citizens by the Ottoman authorities. A photograph of the scene has since become a Jerusalem legend linking Christians, Jews and Muslims.
Two-Gun Cohen: Artful Dodger Turned Chinese Legend and Hero of Israel
“He was like a character out of a book. He was like something somebody wrote.”
Four Fateful Weeks in the Life of Sigmund Becker
From medical school to the battlefield, he wound up in Siberia and China before America
Sukkot During World War I: Open Roofs and ‘Mysterious’ Ditches
Photo taken by an Austrian soldier provides a rare glimpse
When the Mayor of Jerusalem Begged the British: Let Me Surrender!
With the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Jerusalem, the mayor’s delegation set out to surrender to the British. Over and over, the mayor attempted to hand over his surrender, but his efforts were met with confusion and rejection.
Looking Back at the Jewish Soldiers of the Great War
A century after World War I, people are still surprised to learn the extent of Jewish participation in the military.
World War I
Some 100,000 Jewish soldiers fought in the ranks of the German army, approximately 12,000 of whom died on the battlefield
