Jewish Legions

In We Are Coming, Unafraid: The Jewish Legions and the Promised Land in the First World War, Michael Keren tells the little-known story of three all-Jewish battalions formed in the British army as part of the Allies’ Middle East campaign during WW1. Many of the soldiers, ranging widely in educational level, social class, and combat experience, were displaced immigrants or children of immigrants. Together they coalesced as “the liberators of the Promised Land”, forging a new kind of soldier identity with unique Jewish features as well as an evolving sense of nationalism.

Michael Keren was born in Jerusalem and has taught at Tel Aviv University and many universities across the world. He was awarded a Canada Research Chair in Communication, Culture and Civil Society at the University of Calgary in 2002 and has written several books.