March 12, 1915
Alexandria Refugees Resolve to Form a Jewish Legion
Historical context
On March 12, 1915, Jewish refugees in Alexandria signed a resolution to form a Jewish legion and offer it to Britain.
Archive record
Read the event, then follow its documented sources and archive threads.
- Date
- March 12, 1915
- Verified sources
- 2
- Archive threads
- 6
On this day, about 200 Jewish refugees from Palestine met in Alexandria. The Jewish Virtual Library records that about 180 signed a short Hebrew resolution to form a Jewish legion and offer it to Britain for use in Palestine. Ze’ev Jabotinsky and Joseph Trumpeldor had brought the plan.
Britain would not enlist foreign nationals as combat troops and offered a mule-transport unit on another front. Trumpeldor accepted. That unit became the Zion Mule Corps and served at Gallipoli. Jabotinsky rejected the mule corps. The battalions later called the Jewish Legion were raised after this meeting.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- The Zion Muleteers of Gallipoli · Jewish Virtual Library · Jewish Virtual Library View source
- Jewish Legion · Jewish Virtual Library · Jewish Virtual Library View source
Share this history
Support the work
If this history matters to you, you can support Jewish Original.