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Source: https://lennybendavid.substack.com/p/my-next-witness-to-jewish-life-in
The U.S. Navy's 1847 Expedition to the Holy Land
(Substack) Lenny Ben-David - U.S. Navy Lt. William Francis Lynch led a government-sponsored expedition to the Holy Land in 1847 and published his findings in Narrative of the United States' Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea, five years later. Lynch was also a strong adherent of "Restorationism," a precursor to Christian Zionism, believing that the Jewish people must return to the Holy Land as part of the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Lynch described the Jordan River's raging rapids, difficult terrain, unusual flora and fauna, warring Arab tribes, and suffering Christian and Jewish communities. Photography was not yet available, so Lynch and his crew relied on illustrations to accompany the expedition record. The writer, a former AIPAC official and Israeli diplomat, is a research fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.