The Jews of Palestine after the British Pushed out the Turks and Germans in 1917-1918

The Jews of Palestine after the British Pushed out the Turks and Germans in 1917-1918

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 

Turkish troops in the Jezreel Valley preparing to move against the British at the Suez Canal in 1914 (Library of Congress)



Recruiting poster for Jewish soldiers, 1918 (Library of Congress)

World War I, the "war to end all wars," included major battles in the Middle East that raged from the Suez Canal to Damascus.  The orders of battle and the casualties on both sides compared in scope to the better-known war on the Western Front in Europe.  Israel Daily Picture has featured in the past manyphotographs taken on both sides of the Eastern Front by the American Colony Photographic Department.

We have also featured photos and essays on the Jewish soldiers from Britain, Australia, the United States and Canada in the Jewish Legion.

Understandably, the British Imperial War Museums contain thousands of photographs from battles around the world, and we have featured several of the pictures from the IWM, as well as from the Australian and New Zealand Army sites.

Israeli tour guides, Tamar HaYardeni and Yishai Solomon, recently pointed us to the numerous photographs of the Jewish inhabitants of Palestine who the British soldiers met and photographed.

Recruits for the 40th (Palestine) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers in Jerusalem,  1,000 were recruited. Summer 1918. (Imperial War Museums)

Within months of capturing Jerusalem in December 1917, the British Army launched a recruitment drive in Palestine itself.  The IWM photos here show recruits from Jerusalem and Jaffa on their way to an army training camp in mid-1918.

It appears that many of the recruits were Jewish -- Orthodox men in Jerusalem and secular men in Jaffa.

Recruits in Jerusalem, 1918 (Imperial War Museums)

Assembling recruits for the 40th (Palestinian) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, at Jaffa, before their departure to  Helmieh for training. Summer 1918 (Imperial War Museums)

What Is Your Favorite Photo Essay? Here Are Ours (Israel's Picture A Day)

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

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What Is Your Favorite Photo Essay? Here Are Ours Posted: 17 Jun 2013 09:22 PM PDT With more than 300 photo essays published, and in preparation for a book, we would like to know which are your favorite photos and essays.   Write your favorites in the comment section below Here are some of our favorites over the last two years: Rabbi Kook * Rabbi Kook, Chief Rabbi of Palestine, meets President Coolidge in the White House in 1924. The Emperor arrives * The Jews of Jerusalem welcome the GermanEmperor in 1898. Expulsion 1929 * The expulsion of the Jews of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1929, 1936, and 1948. First pictures of the Kotel * The first pictures of the Western Wall in the 1850s. German General * The German general who saved the Jews of Palestine from massacre in 1917. Surrender of Jerusalem * The surrender of Jerusalem to British sergeants in World War I. Enter your favorite photo essay in the comment section below Why are these children marching? * The mysterious picture of Jewish children marching - where, why, and when? Rachel's Tomb * First photographs of Rachel's Tomb, Tomb of the Patriarchs and Tomb of Joseph. From Jew to Christian preacher * The first Jewish Tomb of Joseph photographer in Jerusalem. Why did he and his photographs disappear? Contents of the Cigarbox * The "Cigarbox collection" of photos returns to the Land of Israel. Australian light cavalry * The Australians capture Be'er Sheva in 1917. Old Yemenite Jew * The arrival of Yemenite Jews in the 1800s-- "The Gadites" Under Al Aqsa mosque * The secret photos taken under the Temple Mt in Jerusalem. Jaffa Gate * The gates of Jerusalem's Old City. Hebron synagogue * Photos after the 1929 massacre in Hebron. Doctor and elderly Jews * The Christian doctor in Tiberias who treated and photographed Jewish patients. Yemin Moshe * The first Jewish communities outside of Jerusalem, and the new Jewish settlements in the Galilee. Jerusalem child * The little children of the Land of Israel. "Ruth" 100 years ago * The Book of Ruth Re-enacted. Picture A Day website

The New Old Train Station in Jerusalem

The New Old Train Station in Jerusalem

Welcoming party at the Jerusalem train station (Library of Congress, date given as 1898-1946)
A new cultural and entertainment center just opened in Jerusalem and it's called the "First Station." With a farmers' market, restaurants, crafts stores and a children's play center, the First Station promises to be a busy hub for Jerusalem activity.

Just like it was when it first opened in 1892, more than 120 years ago, when the first train from Jaffa pulled into Jerusalem's new train station.

Open seven days a week, the new attraction presents a different fair every day. View the First Station's website here.

The Jerusalem train station has been a frequent feature of the Israel Daily Picture, with pictures of the arrival of the German emperor in 1898 and the transfer of a high-ranking British prisoner of war, Col. Coventry in 1916, captured in Sinai during World War I.



British POW Col. Coventry driven from railroad station
by Turkish army (1916)


The German emperor arrives (1898)


Railroad station (circa 1910)



Another view of station (1900)

The mystery picture above of a dignitary's arrival is dated by the Library of Congress as between 1898 and 1946, the years the American Colony photographers were active in Palestine. But numerous clues helps to pin down the dates.


Enlarged poster


Why is an antelope among the soldiers?

The railroad to Jerusalem was halted during World War I and not reopened until October 1920, so the arrival ceremony with a British honor guard could not have taken place before that date.

Posters on the station wall advertise the White Star Cruise Line that ceased operation in 1936 when it was taken over by the Cunard Line. We can date the picture between 1920 and 1936.

There's also one more curious feature seen when the photo is enlarged. Among the rifles and bayonets on the right of the photo appear two animal horns sticking up. The decorated horns belong to "Bobby," an antelope, the regimental mascot of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

According to the Fusiliers Association of Great Britain, "The mascot was looked after by two handlers chosen from the battalion, they would make sure that he was fed and watered and exercised. When on parade they kept him under control by means of two white ropes attached to his collar which was also white, and was emblazoned with a large silver badge. On his back he wore a coat of royal blue, embroidered with the regimental crest, and his horns were tipped with silver cones."

Posted by Our Mission at 7:57 AM


Labels: antelope, Colonel Coventry, German Emperor, Jerusalem, Railroad, Royal Fusiliers, train station, White Star cruise line