Showing posts with label WWI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WWI. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Picture a Day - The Holy Land Revealed. Israel's History - a Picture a Day - Remembering the Indian Soldiers Who Helped Liberate Jerusalem 100 Years Ago

Indian Lancers guarding Turkish prisoners in Jerusalem in December 1917

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)

Remembering the Indian Soldiers Who Helped Liberate Jerusalem 100 Years Ago

Posted: 08 Aug 2017
A version of this article appeared in the Jerusalem Post on July 5, 2017

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)
Remembering the Indian Soldiers Who Helped Liberate Jerusalem 100 Years Ago


Welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and thank you for the sacrifices made by your country’s soldiers who saved the Jews of the Land of Israel 100 years ago and eventually led to the Jewish state’s creation.

An idyllic fenced park is located in the middle of the Talpiot neighborhood in Jerusalem, just a four-minute Waze-directed detour from Hebron Road. This cemetery, which I visited for the first time last week, is the burial site for 79 Indian soldiers who died here fighting for the liberation of Jerusalem in 1917. Another cemetery for the Indian soldiers is in Haifa.


Cemetery in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem for fallen Indian soldiers

More than one million Indian troops fought with the British Army in WWI, at the Western front in Europe, in Africa, Mesopotamia, and the Middle East. On the Sinai-Palestine front, 95,000 Indian combatants served; approximately 10 percent were killed. In the 1914-1918 period, they fought the Turkish-German armies at Gallipoli, the Suez Canal, through the Sinai and Palestine and finally Damascus, with crucial battles in Gaza, Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, Nablus and Megiddo.

The Indian soldiers joined other troops in the Sinai-Palestine campaign from Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies, as well as the Jewish Legion. These auxiliary forces relieved British troops badly needed on the Western front in Europe.

The Indian troops served in the cavalry, camel corps, infantry and logistics units. A large number were Muslims, and the Turks attempted to weaken their resolve with religious appeals. Except for a few cases, the Turkish propaganda failed. The importance of Muslim soldiers was understood by the British commander Edmund Allenby. After capturing Jerusalem, he cabled to London, “The Mosque of Omar and the area round it has been placed under Moslem control, and a Military cordon, composed of Indian Mahomedan officers and soldiers, has been established round the Mosque. Guards have been established at Bethlehem and on Rachel’s Tomb. The Tomb of Hebron has been placed under exclusive Moslem control.”

Allenby’s respect for the Indian soldiers can be seen in his receiving their salute as they marched past him outside of Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem on December 11, 1917, when Allenby entered the city.


General Allenby on his horse saluting the Indian troops outside of Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate on December 11, 1917 (Library of Congress)

The war ended in 1918, but British and Indian troops remained to police the British Mandate and put down Arab disturbances. Their photographs can be found in the Library of Congress’ American Colony collection, the British Imperial War Museum and other archives.


Muslim Indian soldiers (on the right) guarding the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount. On the left is believed to be a contingent of Algerian soldiers from the French army. (Library of Congress, 1917)

After capturing Jerusalem and Gaza, the British Army, supported by Indian and ANZAC troops, advanced to the north, eventually taking Damascus on October 1, 1928. A key battle was at Megiddo in September 1918, in what may have been the last great cavalry charge in military history.


Indian lancers charging Turkish lines in the Megiddo Valley, September 20, 1918. Painting by Thomas Cantrell Dugwell. (UK Imperial War Museums)

Later this year, a large Australian delegation will visit Israel to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the gallant ANZAC capture of Beersheba, which opened the way for the liberation of Jerusalem weeks later.

The author is a former Israeli diplomat. He is author of American Interests in the Holy Land Viewed in Early Photographs and the forthcoming World War I in the Holy Land Viewed in Early Photographs.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Israel's History - a Picture a Day - For Tu B'Shvat (Jewish New Year for Trees), a Picture of Jewish Soldiers in the British Army, WWI

Original caption: "A group from the 39th Battalion with workers and children from
Ben-Shemen. 15th (of Shvat)." The sign quotes from Leviticus: "When you come to the Land,
you shall plant...”

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)


Posted: 08 Feb 2017 

Tu B'Shvat, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat, is a date assigned thousands of years ago in the Mishna for the purposes of determining the age of a tree and its tithing requirements.  

Indeed, the date usually coincides with the first blossoms on the almond trees in Israel. 

Today, Tu B'Shvat is commemorated as a combination of Arbor Day, environment-protection day, a kibbutz agricultural holiday, and, of course, a day for school outings and plantings.

The above picture of Jewish soldiers of the British Army who fought in Palestine in World War I was taken on Tu B'Shvatin 1919.  One Legionnaire, Leon Cheifetz from Montreal who enlisted before the age of 18,  assembled an album with dozens of pictures and biographies of many of the Canadians who fought with him. 
Posted: 08 Feb 2017 09:11 AM PST
In 1901, the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet LeYisrael) was formed to develop the Land of Israel.  The Turks ruled Palestine, and the Jewish leadership sought a way to buy land for the Jewish people. Hundreds of thousands of acres of land were purchased, and to reclaim barren land, more than 250 million trees were planted. 


Metal worker making collection boxes for the Jewish
National Fund (Seidon collection, circa 1925)

For more than 100 years, Jewish families around the world kept a blue metal charity box in their homes to collect pennies to buy trees in the Holy Land.  School children would bring to school dimes to buy leaf stickers in order to pay for a tree.

A photographic collection sent to this author by Dr. Othniel Seiden of Denver -- theCigarbox Collection -- was featured here in 2013. Among the pictures was this one of the production of the Jewish National Fund's pushkes.
Posted: 08 Feb 2017 08:33 AM PST
Reforested hills along the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem, near Bab el-Wad, or Sha'ar HaGuy (circa 1930)
Reposting Tu B'Shvat features from February 1912.

The Jewish National Fund was established in 1901 to purchase and develop land in the Holy Land.

Planting trees on the barren hills on the way to Jerusalem (circa 1930)












A government tree nursery on Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem (circa 1930)
One major activity of the JNF, or in Hebrew the Keren Kayemet LeYisrael, was the planting of trees on Jewish-owned land in Palestine. Many a Jewish home had the iconic JNF blue charity box, or pushke, in order to buy trees.  In its history, the JNF is responsible for planting almost a quarter of a billion trees.

The photographers of the American Colony recorded the JNF's efforts.
"Afforestation sponsored by Keren Kayemeth" (circa 1935)

Reforested hillside along the road to Jerusalem. "Demonstrating
reforestation possibilities" (circa 1930)
The day chosen for school children and volunteers to go out to the fields and barren hilltops to plant trees was Tu B'Shvat, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat, a date assigned thousands of years ago in the Mishna for the purposes of determining the age of a tree and its tithing requirements. 

Indeed, the date usually coincides with the first blossoms on the almond trees in Israel. 




Today, Tu B'Shvat is commemorated as a combination of Arbor Day, environment-protection day, a kibbutz agricultural holiday, and, of course, a day for school outings and plantings.

Postscript

Ceremony of planting the King's tree (1935) at Nahalal
In 1935, the Jews of Britain and the JNF established a "Jubilee Forest" near Nazareth.  According to the Jewish Telegraph Agency's account at the time, an "oriental cypress tree presented by King George V of England to the Jubilee Forest in the hills of Nazareth will be formally planted by High Commissioner Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope on December 19."

"The Jubilee Forest is British Jewry's mark of loyalty and devotion to the throne, expressed on the occasion of the royal couple's twenty-fifth jubilee. It will cover a large area of desolate and barren land on the hills of Nazareth which in ancient times were famed for their forest beauty. The forest constitutes the most important effort in reforestation of the Holy Land."

Next, the trees of Eretz Yisrael
"The tree shipped by King George was removed from Windsor Great Park in London, where it was the only one of its kind. It is the first ever to have been shipped from England to Palestine."


Next feature: 100 year old pictures of the trees of the Land of Israel

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Bill Hamon: "God's World War III" - THE ELIJAH LIST

Bill Hamon: "God's World War III"



THE ELIJAH LIST  Feb 3, 2016

Steve ShultzFrom the desk of Steve Shultz:
Most of us have "fought" battles with satan only when it was necessary.
In our attempt to live in peace, we have often left satan alone. But that has changed, now that God has declared WORLD WAR III in the Church.
This is an "offensive" war, not one in which we only defend ourselves. To put it another way, if we are Believers then we are IN THIS WAR. No longer do we get to leave the fighting to others.
Read through this article once or twice, and then be sure to watch the video by Dr. Hamon, which we've included a video link to his "Word of the Lord" below...they both go together.
Hey! Now one last thing. The "What is God Saying for 2016?" conference has JUST ended and NOW YOU CAN ORDER THE CDs, DVDs OR MP3 DOWNLOAD.
Friends, this truly, truly, truly was the best conference yet and I've NEVER EVER heard so many positive words coming forth from God's prophets. Our speakers were: Chuck Pierce, Jane Hamon, Dutch Sheets, and Dr. Alveda King (niece to Martin Luther King, Jr).
Here is the link to purchase the full message sets in DVD, CD, or MP3 audio formats:
Enjoy! And thanks for forwarding this to your friends! They cansubscribe just below...
Order the Download
Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News 
http://www.elijahlist.com
P.S. – Oh, and a Quick Note to our readers: To have daily, encouraging prophetic emails from The Elijah List sent to your inbox, just CLICK HERE or go to: http://elijahlist.com/subscribe
PLUS: HEY! Please EXPLORE our more than 4,000 Christian Prophetic books, CDs, and gifts at: elijahshopper.com.
HR


One of the most important things for Christians to know is God's times and seasons in which we live. We must know God's present-day purpose and what Christ Jesus seeks to accomplish in and through His Church in order to be co-laborers with Christ. There is a difference between working for Christ and working with Christ Jesus. Many ministers of past restoration movements faithfully preach the Biblical truths that were restored, including those of their own restoration movement.
God is still restoring and doing new things in His Church. There are still Scriptural truths to be restored and divine purposes that must be fulfilled before Jesus can return from Heaven (Acts 3:21; Hebrews 10:13).
The First and Second World Wars
The Church has now entered God's WWIII. For God to have a third world war, He had to have a first and second. 
God's WWI was fought to produce the First reformation of the Church. God sent His Commander-in-Chief of the armies of Heaven to earth as a human baby. 
He grew to a man, and at the age of 30, Jesus launched His campaign.
The war was to destroy the works of the devil and provide redemption for mankind. 
Jesus fought His first battle with the devil at the temptation in the wilderness. Father God then anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power, as He went about destroying the works of the devils by healing people of their devilish afflictions and casting satan's demons out of people.
Jesus' winning battle was on the Cross where He provided redemption for mankind, and then by His resurrection from the dead, He took the keys of death and Hell from the devil. Jesus then birthed His Church and gave His Church power and authority over the devil and all his demons. Thereby WWI was won.(Photo via eyesright)
God's WWII began in 1517 at the beginning of the 2nd Reformation, which was for the purpose of restoring all truth and ministries back to being active in the Church. 
The first shot was fired when God's General Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the door of his Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
It took many battle-restoration movements over 490 years to retake all the truths and ministries that the devil had captured during the 1000 year Dark Age of the Church. Most of them were restored back into the Church by the end of 2007. 
Thereby God's WWII was won and the Second Reformation of the Church was fulfilled.
Now, God's World War III
Now God's WWIII was declared in 2008 when the 3rd and Final Church Reformation was birthed in the Church. God's warriors and army officers have been intensely tested, trained and equipped for the last seven years for the launching of God's offensive warfare in 2016.
Israel's 7-day march around Jericho typifies these 7 years. The Restoration Movements during the 2nd Reformation are illustrated by Israel's experiences during their journey from Egypt to Canaan. The First being the Protestant Movement that brought the Church out of its Egyptian bondage of religious dead works, the Sixth being the Charismatic movement that brought the Church to its Jordan River, and the Seventh being the Prophetic-Apostolic Movement that crossed the Church over its Jordan River into its Canaan Land.
Israel's inheritance was the land of Canaan. Their challenge was to make the kingdoms of Canaan the Kingdom of Israel. The inheritance of the Church is the Earth. Our challenge is to make the kingdoms of this world the Kingdom of God (Revelation 5:10; 11:15). 
When all this is accomplished, God's WWIII will be won and "The 3rd and Final Church Reformation" will be fulfilled.

ElijahList Prophetic Resources

I have written a book covering the First, Second and Third Reformation, called Prophetic Scriptures Yet To Be Fulfilled. It mostly covers the Church demonstrating and establishing God's Kingdom. The book I am writing now on God's WWIII covers the warfare, our weapons of warfare and how to use them. The new book will also cover the final battle that will decisively win the war as described in Revelation 19.
The Army of the Lord
We have entered an offensive warfare that will not end until Jesus personally leads His army of saints in the final battle. This is now the time that saints must know their weapons of war and how to use them. Pastors and all fivefold ministers must now function as drill sergeants and generals and diligently train the saints to be soldiers who know how to fight as warriors in the army of our Commander-In-Chief, Jesus Christ our Lord.
We must make sure we are fully dressed in our Protective Defensive Armor: Our helmet of Salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, and combat boots of the Gospel. The shield of faith is mainly defensive but can be used offensively.
Our Offensive Weapons: Sword of the Spirit, In the Name of Jesus, high praises, shout of faith, praying in tongues, prophetic acts and praying and making apostolic decrees. I have led numerous nations in warfare with the Church's greatest corporate weapon – the shout of faith – which explodes demons in the spirit realm like an atomic bomb exploding in the natural. Many ministers have testified of major changes and a shift in the nation. A few years ago Cindy Jacobs prophesied, "Dr. Bill, Jesus is commissioning you to be a 5-Star General in the Army of the Lord."
Someone gave me some documents stating that 5-Star Generals are only commissioned during a time of war. I lead churches in warfare as a 5-Star General more than as a 5-Fold minister. The reason Prophets are motivated to warfare is because of what God said to Prophet Jeremiah:
"I have set you (prophet) over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down (evil demonic principalities). Then plant and build the Kingdom of God" (Jeremiah 1:10). We absolutely do have weapons of warfare that are mighty in pulling down strongholds of satan (2 Corinthians 10:4: Ephesians 6:12). (Photo via Wikimedia)
I write in my new book, "The next great move of God is the manifest Army of the Lord. It will produce the most manifestations of God's power and glory ever recorded in church history." It will continue until the glory of the Lord fills the earth as the waters cover the sea (Numbers 14:21; Habakkuk 2:14). Jesus is calling forth tried and proven ministers to fulfill His timely present purpose and co-labor with Him to win His WWIII.
Ministers let us now prepare Christian soldiers as men and women of valor and mighty warriors, like David's 30 mighty men, Gideon's 300 and Joshua's conquering army. These special forces of saints will fight along with Jesus, the Commander-in-Chief of His army of angels in Heaven and His warrior saints on earth, until His World War III is won. Be assured that Jesus, with His victorious overcomer warriors, will win this war and triumphant valiantly. Jesus and His overcomer warriors will then rule and reign over everything! (Revelation 2:26-27; 5:10; 21:7; Daniel 7:14, 18, 22, 27.)
Watch Bishop Bill Hamon's 2016 Word of the Lord!
Click on video screen below or just click here.
Dr. Bill Hamon, Founder
Christian International Ministries Network

Email: click here
Website: www.christianinternational.com
Dr. Bill Hamon is the founder of Christian International Ministries, a premier prophetic ministry for over 45 years. A prophet for 60 years, he has prophesied to more than 50,000 people and provided training for over 250,000 in prophetic ministry. He has authored nine major books, specializing in the restoration of the Church and what to expect next on God's agenda. 
Dr. Bill Hamon is respected by church leaders around the world as a senior leader of the prophetic/apostolic company God is raising up in these last days. He serves as bishop to over 3,000 ministers and churches and CI's headquarters on five continents. Bill resides in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, along with his three children, eleven grandchildren, and fourteen great-grandchildren. "Mom" Hamon's legacy lives on through their family and the work that continues at Christian International Ministries.

To subscribe to The Elijah List go to:http://elijahlist.com/subscribe

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Israel's History - a Picture a Day "WWI: The Soldiers of Australia Meet the Jews of Jerusalem, 1918"

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)


Posted: 07 Aug 2015

As the British-commanded ANZAC troops moved north after the battle of Be'er Sheva they were greeted as liberators by the Jews of Palestine. New Zealanders were hosted by the Jews of Rishon LeZion, and Australians entered Jerusalem with General Allenby at the end of December 1917.


The picture to the left was taken by Bugler J. F. Smith of the 7th Light Horse. "Enlisted 11 October, 1914. Home on ANZAC Furlough in October, 1918."


Australian soldiers at the Western Wall
These pictures of Jews of Jaffa and holy sites were taken by "R. F. Ingham, 1st L."

Jewish Children at Simon's Well in Jaffa  (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales)

Jewish School in Jaffa  (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales)


Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem (Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales)
The Armenian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. In the background is the Jewish Quarter with the prominent domes of the Tiferet Yisrael and the Hurva synagogues
(Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales)

The Jaffa Gate of the Old City and the Turkish
clock tower.  Who are the group of men in front?
 (New South Wales Museum)

Thursday, April 2, 2015

WWI: Were Jewish Soldiers in the British Army Permitted to Celebrate Passover in Jerusalem in 1918?

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)


WWI: Were Jewish Soldiers in the British Army Permitted to Celebrate Passover in Jerusalem in 1918?

Posted: 01 Apr 2015

Individual Jewish soldiers served in the ranks of the armies of Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand and were involved in the 1917 battles in locations such as Be'er Sheva and Rishon LeZion. Another large group of Jews served in the British army's Jewish Legion, commanded by Col. John Henry Patterson and involved in combat after arriving in Palestine in 1918. According to Patterson's memoirs, 2,000 soldiers were under his command.

Patterson bitterly complained that his soldiers were forbidden from celebrating Passover in Jerusalem in 1918 and 1919, yet the pictures below show Jewish soldiers in Jerusalem on the holiday. How can the contradiction be explained?



Jewish soldiers from various British units celebrating Passover in Jerusalem, 1918. The various headgear suggests the soldiers were from many army units, including ANZAC and Scottish, and not necessarily from the Jewish Legion.. (Harvard Library/Central Zionist Archives)

In Patterson's own words, the new sovereign of Palestine -- the British army -- continued the Ottomans' anti-Semitic practices against the Jews. Patterson's fury could barely be contained when his Jewish soldiers suffered from vicious anti-Semitism within the army and from British commanders.


Col. John Henry Patterson

Palestine has become the theatre of an undisguised anti-Semitic policy. Elementary equality of rights is denied the Jewish inhabitants; the Holy City, where the Jews are by far the largest community, has been handed over to a militantly anti-Semitic municipality; violence against Jews is tolerated, and whole districts are closed to them by threats of such violence under the very eyes of the authorities; high officials, guilty of acts which any Court would qualify as instigation to anti-Jewish pogroms, not only go unpunished, but retain their official positions. 

The Hebrew language is officially disregarded and humiliated; anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism is the fashionable attitude among officials who take their cue from superior authority; and honest attempts to come to an agreement with Arabs are being frustrated by such means as penalising those Arab notables who betray pro-Jewish feeling. 

The Jewish soldier is treated as an outcast. The hard and honest work of our battalions is recompensed by scorn and slander, which, starting from centres of high authority, have now reached the rank and file, and envenomed the relations between Jewish and English soldiers. When there is a danger of anti-Jewish excesses, Jewish soldiers are removed from the threatened areas and employed on fatigues, and not even granted the right to defend their own flesh and blood.

Discrimination against Jews was, however, still shown in other quarters. Early in April 1918 the men were considerably upset on the receipt of orders from G.H.Q. that no Jewish soldier would be allowed to enter Jerusalem during the Passover; the order ran thus: "The walled city (of Jerusalem) is placed out of bounds to all Jewish soldiers from the 14th to the 22nd April, inclusive."



The caption reads: "Jewish Legion soldier (sic) during Passover in Jerusalem." Clearly, this is not Jerusalem. The library description of the photo also includes "Judean Hills region," a more likely setting. (Harvard Library/Central Zionist Archives)

I cannot conceive a greater act of provocation to Jewish soldiers than this, or a greater insult. The days during which they were prohibited from entering Jerusalem were the days of the Passover. Think of it! Jewish soldiers for the first time in their lives in Palestine and barred from the Temple Wall of Jerusalem during Passover! Only a Jew can really understand what it meant to these men, and the great strain it put on their discipline and loyalty.

How provocative and insulting this order was will be better understood when it is realized that the majority of the population of Jerusalem is Jewish, and, therefore, there could have been no possible reason for excluding Jewish troops belonging to a British unit, while other British troops were freely admitted, more especially as the conduct of the Jewish soldiers was, at all times, exemplary.


Jewish soldiers at Passover Seder, Jerusalem, 1919 The photo is signed by Ya'akov Ben-Dov who moved to Palestine in 1907 from Kiev. He was drafted into the Ottoman army during World War I and served as a photographer in Jerusalem. Ben-Dov filmed Allenby's entry into Jerusalem in 1917. (Harvard Library/Central Zionist Archives)

Not since the days of the Emperor Hadrian had such a humiliating decree been issued. However, to make up somewhat for the action of the authorities, I made arrangements for the Passover to be observed at Rafa with all the joy and ceremony usually attending that great Feast of the Jewish People. At considerable cost we provided unleavened bread, as well as meat and wine—all strictly "Kosher." 

As we were nearly 2,000 strong at this time, the catering for the feast had to be most carefully gone into, and Lieut. Jabotinsky, Lieut. Lazarus, and the Rev. L. A. Falk did yeoman service in providing for all needs. It was a wonderful sight when we all sat down together and sang the Hagadah on the edge of the Sinai desert. 

Passover was selected to insult their deepest religious feelings, by barring them access to the Wailing Wall during that week. No Jewish detachment is allowed to be stationed in Jerusalem or any of the other Holy Cities of Jewry.

.


Jewish soldiers -- their headgear and uniforms suggests they are from from various units -- celebrating Passover at the British Jewish Soldiers Home in Jerusalem, 1919 (Harvard Library/Central Zionist Archives)

The Feast of the Passover was celebrated during our stay at Helmieh. Thus history was repeating itself in the Land of Bondage in a Jewish Military Camp, after a lapse of over 3,000 years from the date of the original feast.

I had considerable trouble with the authorities in the matter of providing unleavened bread. However, we surmounted all difficulties, and had an exceedingly jovial first night, helped thereto by the excellent Palestinian wine which we received from Mr. Gluskin, the head of the celebrated wine press of Richon-le-Zion, near Jaffa. The unleavened bread for the battalion, during the eight days of the Feast, cost somewhat more than the ordinary ration would have done, so I requested that the excess should be paid for out of Army Funds. This was refused by the local command in Egypt, so I went to the H.Q. Office, where I saw a Jewish Staff Officer, and told him I had come to get this matter adjusted.

He said that, as a matter of fact, he had decided against us himself. I told him that I considered his judgment unfair, because the battalion was a Jewish Battalion, and the Army Council had already promised Kosher food whenever it was possible to obtain it, and it would have been a deadly insult to have forced ordinary bread upon the men during Passover. 

I therefore said that I would appeal against his decision to a higher authority. He replied, "This will do you no good, for you will get the same reply from G.H.Q." He was mistaken, for I found the Gentile, on this particular occasion, more sympathetic than the Jew, and the extra amount was paid by order of the Q.M.G., Sir Walter Campbell.

It is apparent that while Jewish soldiers from other units in the British army were permitted to attend seder in Jerusalem, the formal Jewish Legion was not, perhaps because of the army's desire to restrict a distinctly Jewish, nationalistic corps in its midst. 


Pictures from the German Army March in 1917 Are Matched by a Reader to Today's Jaffa Road

Posted: 01 Apr 2015

Bravo to Simon, a reader of Israel Daily Picture, who provided these contemporary pictures showing the exact locations where German soldiers marched in Jerusalem during World War I.

Simon even recreated the exact photo angles.

Stay tuned. More mystery pictures from World War I will be appearing here.



German soldiers marching in Jerusalem on Good Friday, Passover Eve, 1917 on Jaffa Road


The exact spot on Jaffa Road 98 years later, the same doorways, balconies.



German soldiers marching in Jerusalem on Good Friday, Passover Eve, 1917 in front of the Fast Hostel, where the Dan Pearl Hotel is located today.


The 1917 buildings have been replaced, but this is the spot where the German army marched.


Simon wrote, "It's fascinating how in one picture the scene is little changed, apart from the modern shop signs and the light rail tracks down the street, but in the other picture nothing from 1917 is still there in 2015 -- even most of the street itself has been replaced by an underpass."

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

WWI - The Ottoman-German Attack on the Suez Canal -- 1915

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)


Posted: 23 Mar 2015 
The opening shot of World War I in the Middle East was fired along the Suez Canal when the German-led Ottoman army attacked British positions along the Suez Canal in January 1915.  The Canal was essential for keeping the ties open between Britain and its colonies, such as India.  In fact, Indian troops were stationed along the Canal when the attack began.

Over the next three years, the war would rage across the Sinai Peninsula, north to Gaza and Be'er Sheva, through Jerusalem and the Dead Sea area, and to Amman and Damascus.

The Ottoman Imperial Archives provides German illustrations and photograph of the Ottoman attack.  The photographs also show Turkish mobilization in Jerusalem, Be'er Sheva and the Sinai.

German painting of Bedouin fighters against English troops at the Suez Canal (Ottoman Imperial Archives)
Turkish Camel Corps in Be'er Sheva (Ottoman Imperial
Archives, 1915
)
German commander of the Suez attack,
Gen. Kress von Kressenstein (Library
of Congress
)















Turkish troops leaving Jerusalem, passing through the
Jaffa Gate (Ottoman Imperial Archives, 1914)








Druze prince from Lebanon mobilized for the
battle at the Suez Canal (Ottoman
Imperial Archives
)











Illustration of Turkish guns firing at British planes over
the Suez Canal (Ottoman Imperial Archives)

















German captions: From the battle of our Turkish allies on the Suez Canal Turkish encampment in the Egyptian desert.
(Ottoman Imperial Archives)
















Turkish artillery on the march to the Suez Canal (Ottoman Imperial Archives)

British and Indian troops in Suez Canal trenches (Q15566, Imperial War Museum - UK)

Click on pictures to enlarge, click on caption to view the original pictures.