We Are Coming, Unafraid: The Jewish Legions and the Promised Land in the First World War

"This book is highly recommended. Its approach is novel, and the source materials upon which it is based are original and have not previously been utilized. It gives voice to persons who played a role in a significant process, but who otherwise might be forgotten. In addition to military history buffs, the book will appeal to general readers interested in the emotions and experiences of the `ordinary' people of yesteryear." ---Stuart Cohen, Bar-Ilan University, Israel

"We Are Coming, Unafraid provides a much-needed alternative insight into the period of the First World War. The memoirists' comments about their own motivations for joining the Legions and their views of the contemporary politics and people of the time are uniquely enlightening." ---Glenda Abramson, University of Oxford

"This book's innovative `bottom-up' approach throws new light on the Jewish experience of the First World War, Zionism, and Palestine during the transition from Ottoman to British rule. The book's presentation of extended passages from the life writing of ordinary Jews, accompanied by historical explanation and analysis, makes the book an important resource for the teaching of modern Jewish social history." ---Derek Penslar, University of Toronto

This book tells the little-known stories of three all-Jewish battalions formed in the British army as part of the Allies' Middle East campaign, recruiting soldiers from the United States, Canada, England, and Argentina. Many of the soldiers, ranging widely in education level, social class, and combat experience, were displaced immigrants or children of such immigrants. Together, they coalesced into the all-Jewish battalions: "the liberators of the Promised Land."

The ranks of the Jewish Legions included some who would become prominent leaders, such as David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Israel's second president; however, this book focuses on the experiences of ordinary soldiers who served alongside them. Drawing on diaries, memoirs, and letters, the book follows their journey at sea through unrestricted submarine warfare; by trains and trucks through Europe, Egypt, and Palestine; and during their battlefield experiences. The authors show how these Yiddish-speaking young men forged both a new kind of soldier identity with unique Jewish features and an evolving sense of nationalism.

.cs95E872D0{text-align: left;text-indent:0pt;margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt} .cs5EFED22F{color: #000000;background-color: transparent;font-family: Times New Roman; font-size:12pt; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; } This book tells the little-known stories of Jewish soldiers who served in the Jewish Legions during World War I. Three all-Jewish battalions formed in the British army as part of the Allies' Middle East campaign, recruiting soldiers from the United States, Canada, England, and Argentina. Drawing on diaries, memoirs and letters, the book follows their journey at sea through unrestricted submarine warfare; by trains and trucks through Europe, Egypt, and Palestine; and their battlefield experiences. The authors show how these Yiddish-speaking young men forged a new kind of soldier identity with unique Jewish features, as well as an evolving sense of nationalism.

Michael Keren is professor of political science and communication and culture at the University of Calgary.

Shlomit Keren is associate professor of history and director of Israel studies at the University of Calgary.

Introduction — Leaving home — In distant lands — To the front — On bravery — Hope and disenchantment — The chaplain — An aristocrat of sorts — Memory and identity — A soldier left behind — Existential zionism.