These two non-Jewish generals paved the way for Israel's creation.
One had no great desire to be a soldier, and the other was almost killed by railroad workers in Africa before arriving to the Middle East. Plus an honorary mention.
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Known as “The First Aliyah,” the influx of Jewish immigrants into the Land of Israel began in 1882 — some 25,000 from Russia and Rumania, and another 2,500 from Yemen. (A minority presence of Jews has been attested for almost all of the Common Era, since the Second Temple’s destruction.)
These “First Aliyah” immigrants founded agricultural settlements with financial support from Jewish philanthropists in Western Europe, namely Baron Abraham Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild, a French Jew.
In 1885, the Great Synagogue of Rishon LeZion was founded, just a few kilometers south of present-day Tel Aviv. And by the end of the 19th century, Jews were a growing minority in the area.
In 1904, “The Second Aliyah” saw an additional 35,000 Jews arrive, mostly from the Russian Empire, and some more from Yemen. Among them was David Ben-Gurion, the State of Israel’s eventual first prime minister.
In 1921, Golda Meir (who went on to become Israel’s first and only female prime minister) arrived on the scene. And that same year, Albert Einstein attended a fundraiser to establish the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Yet, there are two non-Jewish generals who paved the way for the State of Israel’s creation in 1948. Let’s take a look at each one:
Commander of the ‘First Jewish Fighting Force in Nearly Two Millennia’
Born in 1867 in Ireland, John Henry Patterson joined the British Army at the age of 17, and would serve until well into his fifties.
In 1898, he oversaw the building of a railroad bridge in what is today Kenya. At the start of the project, two lions attacked and ate people in the area. The superstitious workers believed the lions to be evil spirits, and blamed the incidents on Patterson’s arrival. Over a period of nine months, the two male lions killed up to 140 people.
After months of unsuccessfully tracking the beasts, Patterson’s workers were ready to kill him, until he finally located, shot, and killed both lions. This story has inspired at least three movies, the most recent of which was “The Ghost and the Darkness” starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer. The two lions were stuffed and are on display at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History.
Years later, during World War I, Patterson commanded the Zion Mule Corps, and later the 38th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (also known as the Jewish Legion), which would eventually lay the foundation for the Israel Defense Forces. The Zion Mule Corps, which served with distinction in the Gallipoli Campaign, has been described as “the first Jewish fighting force in nearly two millennia.”
During his time in command of the Jewish Legion, Patterson was forced to deal with extensive, ongoing antisemitism toward his men from many of his superiors (as well as peers and subordinates), and more than once threatened to resign his commission to bring the inappropriate treatment of his men under scrutiny.
Much of the admiration and respect of his men (and modern-day supporters) is due to the fact that he essentially sacrificed any opportunity for promotion (and his military career in general) in his efforts to ensure his men were treated fairly.
After his military career, Patterson continued his support for Zionism, remaining a strong advocate of justice for the Jewish People as an active member of the Bergson Group, as well as a promoter of a Jewish army to fight the Nazis and to stop the Holocaust. He was a member of the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe.
Patterson was close friends with many Zionist leaders, among them Ze’ev Jabotinsky and Benzion Netanyahu, the father of Israel’s current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
In fact, Benzion named his first son Yonatan (Hebrew for Jonathan) after Patterson, and Patterson attended Yonatan’s circumcision, giving him a silver cup engraved with the words “To my beloved godson Yonatan, from Lt.-Col. John Henry Patterson.”
Viscount Allenby of Megiddo
Edmund Allenby, born in 1861 in the United Kingdom, had no great desire to be a soldier, and tried to enter the Indian Civil Service, but failed the entry exam.
After stints in South Africa and France, Allenby arrived in Ottoman-controlled Palestine in 1917. Following three failed attempts at conquering Gaza, he defeated the Ottomans in Beersheva later that year, and then conquered Jerusalem. Before entering the latter city, he dismounted his horse in front of Jaffa Gate, and walked in on foot as a sign of respect.
Allenby received Christian, Jewish, and Muslim community leaders in Jerusalem and worked with them to ensure that religious sites of all three faiths were respected. But, the Holy Land was struck by severe famine during World War I. People literally starved to death. Jerusalem, in particular, suffered so much that Jewish women were forced into prostitution to feed themselves and their families.
And in Tel Aviv, Djemal Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Greater Syria, ordered the evacuation of Jaffa and Tel Aviv. The order, however, was forced only on Jews, and the 7,000 or so residents became exiles in their own land.
The military campaign over the Holy Land was over following the Battle of Megiddo in 1918, which essentially marked the end of World War I. Only nine days after this battle was an armistice declared. The Ottoman Empire officially surrendered, thus ending 400 years of Ottoman rule and earning Allenby the title “Viscount Allenby of Megiddo.”
Allenby and the British soldiers were received by the Jews with great joy. He was called “Allenby the Maccabi,” and 400 Jewish children of Jerusalem threw flowers at him as he walked into the city.
The British journalist Mark Urban argued that Allenby is one of the most important British generals to have lived, writing that during World War I, the British government made all sorts of plans for the Middle East — such as the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916 and the Balfour Declaration of 1917 — but as long as the Ottoman Empire continued to hold much of the Near East, these plans meant nothing.
By defeating the Ottomans in 1918, Allenby effectively created the modern Middle East. For, if the Ottoman Empire had continued in its pre-war frontiers after the war — before Allenby arrived in Egypt, the British had not advanced very far — it is likely that the countries of Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq would not exist today.
Honorable Mention: Warder Cresson
The American Consul Warder Cresson, a convert to Judaism, developed Jewish settlements near Jerusalem in 1850.
Cresson was tried and condemned for lunacy in a suit filed by his wife and son, who asserted that only a lunatic would convert to Judaism from Christianity.
True story.
Definitely enjoyed this! Patterson is such an iconic figure. The Tsavo story is one of my all time favorites; I was unaware of his connections to the founding of Israel. Thanks Joshua!
Great history lesson. Thanks!