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Birth of a Fighting Force for Zionism

(Jewish Chronicle-UK) Colin Shindler - One hundred years ago in August 1917, the London Gazette published an official announcement that "a Jewish regiment" had been established. Its formation marked the success of attempts by Chaim Weizmann and Vladimir Jabotinsky to symbolize the rebirth of a Jewish nation. They understood that the presence of a Jewish army at the end of World War I would be a bargaining-counter in the diplomatic tussle to secure a state of the Jews. In 1915, the Jews were permitted to form a Zion Mule Corps which saw service at Gallipoli. In 1917, Lt.-Col. John Patterson, an Irish Protestant who had commanded the Zion Mule Corps, was appointed to head the 38th battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. Someone with a considerable knowledge of the Hebrew Bible, he viewed himself as a latter-day Yoav - the biblical figure who had been appointed by King David to command his army. Jews from the UK eventually comprised almost one-third of the five battalions of the Royal Fusiliers - now known to history as the Jewish Legion. Dr. Colin Shindler is Emeritus Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.
2017-08-18 00:00:00
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