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CONSTANTINOPLE'S LITTLE-KNOWN RIFT WITH ITS REPS IN OTTOMAN PALESTINE
Ha'aretz, Israel
June 26 2014
Djemal Pasha, the governor of Syria, recommended that all Jewish
immigration be outlawed and that the Jews be expelled from Palestine.
By Nir Hasson
On October 1, 1917, a company of Turkish soldiers surrounded Zichron
Yaakov. The Ottoman government had just discovered the existence of
the Nili underground group, which was created to help the British take
over Ottoman Palestine. Some of the underground members, including
Sarah Aaronsohn, were captured, jailed and tortured, while some others
managed to escape. The most famous among those who got away was Yosef
Lishansky, one of the founders of the group. The soldiers surrounding
Zichron Yaakov were there in attempts to convince the townspeople to
give him up.
Numerous historical sources in Hebrew recall the speech made by the
Turkish governor. He threatened to do to the Jews what was done to
the Armenians (the Armenian genocide was at its zenith at the time.) A
telegraph recently uncovered in the Turkish prime ministerial archive
reinforces these accounts. Sent by the Turkish interior minister, Nazar
Talaat, to the governor of Beirut, who also oversaw Zichron Yaakov,
the telegraph read: "In the village of Zamrin (Zichron Yaakov,) in
the Haifa district, the Kamikam (governor) told the people that if
they do not hand over the spy Lishansky, their fate will be like the
Armenians, as I am involved in the deaths of the Armenians."
Although Turkey has staunchly denied the Armenian genocide during the
decades that have passed, the telegram indicates that it was a known
secret and a legitimate threat throughout the empire at the time. In
the response, which like all telegrams back then was encoded, the
interior minister asked the governor to investigate claims that the
Nili members were tortured.
"Head of the village in question, Albert, and residents Nisan Rothman,
Fishel Aaronsohn, Hans and Fishel's daughter Sarah, were brutally
beaten and tortured," read the telegram. "The Aharonson girl committed
suicide after the beating. An investigation must be conducted as soon
as possible and results must be sent.|
The telegraph has been published as part of research conducted by Dr.
Yuval Ben-Bassat of Haifa University and an article about it will
be published in a special World War I centennial issue of Zmanim,
a journal published by Tel Aviv and Haifa universities.
Ben-Bassat has spent much of the past decade researching the hundreds
of thousands of Ottoman documents in the Turkish prime ministerial
archive, which has been largely untouched by historians. "Our history
has always been written from either the Zionist or the Arab-Palestinian
angle," says Ben-Bassat. "Only a few historians have looked at the
Ottoman angle. We should remember there was an empire here."
In an earlier study, Ben-Bassat uncovered petitions sent by Arabs
in Palestine to the Sultan, dealing mainly with their fears of the
Zionist yishuv. His latest study focuses on the telegraphs between
Constantinople (today Istanbul) and Palestine during World War I.
Among other things, the documents reveal significant disagreements
between the Turkish government in Palestine, and the government in
the imperial capital.
The leadership in Palestine, led by Ahmed Djemal Pasha, who was
governor in Syria, commander of the fleet and one three rulers of
the empre in its final years, dealt mostly with preparing to withhold
British invasion from the south and combating both real and imaginary
spy threats. Constantinople, on the other hand, saw the larger picture,
including the empire's relations with the rest of the world.
The empire was rather sensitive to international criticism of human
rights violations in Palestine.
For example, one of the most important issues to come up was the
question of expelling Jews from Tel Aviv. The expulsion was meant
in theory to prevent harm from coming to civilians, but it actually
stemmed from fear of a "fifth column" that would assist the British.
The expulsion was a humanitarian nightmare for Tel Aviv residents. The
central government was worried about their fate and the public
relations damage that would ensue. "Please inform us as to where
they were sent, how they were housed and what kind of medical care
they were provided," wrote the interior minister to the Jerusalem
district commander. In another telegraph, Djemal Pasha writes about
"evil rumors circulating in Europe," regarding the fate of the Jews
expelled from Tel Aviv, and asked that the Spanish consul investigate
the affair in order to compile a neutral report.
"Differences in opinion and knowledge between Djemal Pasha and the
government in Istanbul were very substantial," says Ben-Bassat. "They
approach him again and again to ask if those expelled could be
returned; they ask him about the damage done to the empire's image. On
the other hand, it seems that Pasha did not see the big picture."
The exchange of words sheds light on Djemal Pasha, who was a key
figure in Palestine at the time. Both the Zionists and the Arabs
remember him as a powerful and cruel leader, who violently put down
any anti-Turkish nationalism. In one document, he lists six steps
that the empire should take to thwart Zionism. "(The Zionists) are
a huge disaster for Palestine. They have built an independent court
in Jaffa, and are working to expand their autonomy," wrote Pasha.
Pasha suggested completely outlawing Jewish immigration, even if the
immigrant were to take on Ottoman citizenship. He also recommended
preventing the Jewish yishuv from growing, prohibiting foreigners
(most likely representatives of Baron Rothschild) from involvement in
running the Jewish settlements and forbidding foreign citizens from
creating secret organizations. His last suggestion was, in effect,
to expel all the Jews from Palestine.
"Among the cursed Zionists, only 30-40 Russian Jews asked to receive
Ottoman citizenship. I believe that their request should be rejected
and they be expelled. With regards to the rest of the Jews, I believe
they should all be sent away. I'm asking for your permission, so as
not to act against the decisions of the central government."
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-features/1.601598
Ha'aretz, Israel
June 26 2014
Djemal Pasha, the governor of Syria, recommended that all Jewish
immigration be outlawed and that the Jews be expelled from Palestine.
By Nir Hasson
On October 1, 1917, a company of Turkish soldiers surrounded Zichron
Yaakov. The Ottoman government had just discovered the existence of
the Nili underground group, which was created to help the British take
over Ottoman Palestine. Some of the underground members, including
Sarah Aaronsohn, were captured, jailed and tortured, while some others
managed to escape. The most famous among those who got away was Yosef
Lishansky, one of the founders of the group. The soldiers surrounding
Zichron Yaakov were there in attempts to convince the townspeople to
give him up.
Numerous historical sources in Hebrew recall the speech made by the
Turkish governor. He threatened to do to the Jews what was done to
the Armenians (the Armenian genocide was at its zenith at the time.) A
telegraph recently uncovered in the Turkish prime ministerial archive
reinforces these accounts. Sent by the Turkish interior minister, Nazar
Talaat, to the governor of Beirut, who also oversaw Zichron Yaakov,
the telegraph read: "In the village of Zamrin (Zichron Yaakov,) in
the Haifa district, the Kamikam (governor) told the people that if
they do not hand over the spy Lishansky, their fate will be like the
Armenians, as I am involved in the deaths of the Armenians."
Although Turkey has staunchly denied the Armenian genocide during the
decades that have passed, the telegram indicates that it was a known
secret and a legitimate threat throughout the empire at the time. In
the response, which like all telegrams back then was encoded, the
interior minister asked the governor to investigate claims that the
Nili members were tortured.
"Head of the village in question, Albert, and residents Nisan Rothman,
Fishel Aaronsohn, Hans and Fishel's daughter Sarah, were brutally
beaten and tortured," read the telegram. "The Aharonson girl committed
suicide after the beating. An investigation must be conducted as soon
as possible and results must be sent.|
The telegraph has been published as part of research conducted by Dr.
Yuval Ben-Bassat of Haifa University and an article about it will
be published in a special World War I centennial issue of Zmanim,
a journal published by Tel Aviv and Haifa universities.
Ben-Bassat has spent much of the past decade researching the hundreds
of thousands of Ottoman documents in the Turkish prime ministerial
archive, which has been largely untouched by historians. "Our history
has always been written from either the Zionist or the Arab-Palestinian
angle," says Ben-Bassat. "Only a few historians have looked at the
Ottoman angle. We should remember there was an empire here."
In an earlier study, Ben-Bassat uncovered petitions sent by Arabs
in Palestine to the Sultan, dealing mainly with their fears of the
Zionist yishuv. His latest study focuses on the telegraphs between
Constantinople (today Istanbul) and Palestine during World War I.
Among other things, the documents reveal significant disagreements
between the Turkish government in Palestine, and the government in
the imperial capital.
The leadership in Palestine, led by Ahmed Djemal Pasha, who was
governor in Syria, commander of the fleet and one three rulers of
the empre in its final years, dealt mostly with preparing to withhold
British invasion from the south and combating both real and imaginary
spy threats. Constantinople, on the other hand, saw the larger picture,
including the empire's relations with the rest of the world.
The empire was rather sensitive to international criticism of human
rights violations in Palestine.
For example, one of the most important issues to come up was the
question of expelling Jews from Tel Aviv. The expulsion was meant
in theory to prevent harm from coming to civilians, but it actually
stemmed from fear of a "fifth column" that would assist the British.
The expulsion was a humanitarian nightmare for Tel Aviv residents. The
central government was worried about their fate and the public
relations damage that would ensue. "Please inform us as to where
they were sent, how they were housed and what kind of medical care
they were provided," wrote the interior minister to the Jerusalem
district commander. In another telegraph, Djemal Pasha writes about
"evil rumors circulating in Europe," regarding the fate of the Jews
expelled from Tel Aviv, and asked that the Spanish consul investigate
the affair in order to compile a neutral report.
"Differences in opinion and knowledge between Djemal Pasha and the
government in Istanbul were very substantial," says Ben-Bassat. "They
approach him again and again to ask if those expelled could be
returned; they ask him about the damage done to the empire's image. On
the other hand, it seems that Pasha did not see the big picture."
The exchange of words sheds light on Djemal Pasha, who was a key
figure in Palestine at the time. Both the Zionists and the Arabs
remember him as a powerful and cruel leader, who violently put down
any anti-Turkish nationalism. In one document, he lists six steps
that the empire should take to thwart Zionism. "(The Zionists) are
a huge disaster for Palestine. They have built an independent court
in Jaffa, and are working to expand their autonomy," wrote Pasha.
Pasha suggested completely outlawing Jewish immigration, even if the
immigrant were to take on Ottoman citizenship. He also recommended
preventing the Jewish yishuv from growing, prohibiting foreigners
(most likely representatives of Baron Rothschild) from involvement in
running the Jewish settlements and forbidding foreign citizens from
creating secret organizations. His last suggestion was, in effect,
to expel all the Jews from Palestine.
"Among the cursed Zionists, only 30-40 Russian Jews asked to receive
Ottoman citizenship. I believe that their request should be rejected
and they be expelled. With regards to the rest of the Jews, I believe
they should all be sent away. I'm asking for your permission, so as
not to act against the decisions of the central government."
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-features/1.601598