Zionist Biography:
Aaron Aaronsohn: Agronomist, Spy, Zionist
Aaron Aaronsohn (1876-1919) was a member of the remarkable Aaronsohn family who were early chalutzim in Eretz Yisrael, and he became the leading agronomist in the country. His work was of great importance in the development of agriculture there, but if indeed he is remembered, it is not for this but for his role in espionage work in Palestine carried out for the British Army, his general supportive role to the British in their fight to wrest Palestine from Turkey, and for his subsequent pro-Zionist work. The successful British campaign against Turkey was helped materially by his unparalleled knowledge of Palestine.
He was born in Romania, and went on aliyah in 1882 with his parents, who were among the founders of Zikhron Ya'akov, a settlement close to Haifa. Aaron was a bright lad and, at the age of thirteen, was brought to Baron de Rothschild's attention. When he was seventeen he was sent to agricultural school in France, where he impressed his teachers. He spent two years there before returning home as an agronomist in the newly founded colony of Metullah, situated near Haifa at almost the most northern point of the country. He took part in a number of expeditions and showed so much tremendous energy that the Turks nicknamed him Shaitan (Arabic for "devil"). And then in 1906, his name became important in agronomy circles for his discovery in the Galilee of Tritticum dicoccoides (Wild Emmer wheat), a weather–resistant variety. Over the next few years, he became an authority on agricultural science, and this resulted in 1909 in an invitation to visit the United States from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was offered, but refused, the chair of agriculture at Berkeley, California. Judge Brandeis and Henrietta Szold were among the many he impressed, and his contacts enabled him to obtain funds to establish an experimental station in Palestine. Dr. David Fairchild of the U.S. Department of Agriculture wrote, "I soon discovered I was in the presence of an extraordinary man." In 1910, a research station was set up at Atlit, a few miles south of Haifa at the foot of Mount Carmel where Arab laborers were employed. Aaronsohn, at this time, pressed for all the Jewish settlements to use Arab as well as Jewish labor, a controversial view, as other chalutzim wanted no reliance on the Arab population. Later, he pressed for complete separation between Jew and Arab, as he became contemptuous of the Arab masses and their leaders because of their lack of a sense of justice and of human rights. In opposition to the local view that the yishuv's future was bound up with Turkey, he became convinced that, for Zionism to succeed, Palestine should be placed under British protection. He saw the success of Zionism as being in the interests of the British. He opposed the policies of the yishuv leadership, who were happy to be part of the Ottomon Empire. The local view was expressed by two of its leaders, David Ben-Gurion and Yitzchak Ben-Zvi, who had pledged themselves to the Turks. They fully support- ed the linkage to Turkey, and they had, in fact, written to the Turkish commander of the military in Palestine, Djemal Pasha, to express the strength of their ties with the Ottoman Empire "which has given our people shelter for. hundreds of years." They asked for permission to organize a Jewish military unit for local defense.
Aaronsohn became a figure of some stature in American agricultural circles. In 1914, he was a member of a committee responsible for the distribution of financial aid sent from America to the yishuv to help relief operations. His authority locally was also high; he was in regular contact with the Turkish authorities on agricultural matters and was successful in fighting a serious plague of locusts in the region in 1915-16, which gave him much prestige with the Turkish authorities. They appointed him chief-inspector of a group charged to combat this plague; they also tried to enlist his services for agricultural development, which he rejected because of his conviction, as a result of all his dealings with them, that the only way to ensure proper Zionist development of. Eretz Yisrael was for the country to rid itself of Turkish rule. Through his agricultural work, he became a confidant of Djemal Pasha, but his close study of this despot convinced him that Djemal would have had no hesitation in destroying Zionism if it suited him.
All members of the Aaronsohn family had bitter experiences of the manner in which Jewish settlers were treated, and they detested Turkish rule. Conditions for Christians, as well as Jews, hardened as Germany began to dominate Turkey - much Jewish-owned property was seized. With the outbreak of hostilities in the region, four of the Aaronsohn siblings, Aaron, Alexander, Sarah, and Rivka, saw their opportunities for positive action against Turkish rule, and they decided to take action. Joined by Avshalom Feinberg, a co-worker at Atlit, they established an organization called the Gideonites, committed to fight the Turks. The Gideonites decided to try to throw their lot in with the British, whom they now saw as being pro-Zionist. They were opposed to the policies of other Jewish groups such as Ha-Shomer (the Watchman), and they were convinced that an Allied victory in the war was essential if the yishuv was to make progress; they began to work hard to convince the Allies that they could be of special assistance to them. The Atlit station eventually became the home of espionage and Aaron, who became known as Jaseoz (the Spy) by settlers who disagreed with his activities, built up superbly efficient intelligence network, where daring exploits became the norm. The yishuv leadership and Shomer dissociated themselves from this, believing yishuv was thereby being endangered. But a brilliant operation that supplied incredibly detailed information to the British had been created. It helped General Allenby, the British commander, in his campaign in Palestine in 1917 as well as to victory at Megiddo in September 1918, to his entry into Damascus in early October, and finally to the capture of Aleppo at the end of the month that forced Turkey to seek peace. The Aaronsohns, however, paid a bitter price - the tragic death of Sarah.
Feinberg, who was murdered by Bedouins in December 1916, can, in fact, claim responsibility for the germ of the concept of the espionage ring. In January 1915, he was arrested and accused of having made contact with British Navy ships moored off Haifa Bay. Upon his release, he presented Aaron with a plan for the British Army in Egypt to be supplied with anti-Turkish intelligence information. It was first decided that Alexander should try to make contact with the British in Egypt. Eventually, with help from a United States cruiser Des Moines, he reached Alexandria in August 1915, but his efforts to get the British to accept proposals for local Palestinian help were unsuccessful. Aaron then sent Feinberg to Cairo to join Alexander, and he did manage to convince the British that an efficient system for passing key intelligence to them could be set up. In November 1915, the British agreed on an espionage operation centered on Atlit. Feinberg returned to Palestine to work on this operation, but, at that point, it received scant attention and support from the British. Alexander went on to the United States and became active as a lecturer; his book, With the Turks in Palestine, which disclosed a great deal about the oppressive rule of the Turks, was translated into six languages and used by the British as propaganda in neutral and enemy countries. Rivka joined her brother in the U.S. to appeal for funds. Alexander later returned to Cairo, where he worked with the British.
Aaron, meanwhile, was engaged on agricultural business but, receiving information that the Turks were planning another attempt to seize the Suez Canal, he decided it was time to go to London to reactivate British interest. By subterfuge, he reached London in October 1916, via Germany and Denmark. He went to Constantinople, where he convinced the authorities that he had a scheme for producing oil from the sesame plant but needed to go to an experimental station in Sweden to finalize his research. When he arrived in Germany, he took passage on a boat ostensibly to America via Denmark. The ship docked in Scotland, and, having arranged with the British beforehand, he was "arrested" and taken off the vessel and whisked off to Scotland Yard in London, where the Head of the Criminal Investigation Branch (C.I.D.) interviewed him to ascertain his credentials. The latter afterwards described the impression Aaron first gave him as "one of the most romantic incidents of the war." During a five-week stay in London, he put before the General Staff in the War Office a plan for a detailed intelligence network between Palestinian Jews and the British. He made it clear to them that his motivation was simple – all he wanted was for Britain to help liberate Palestine and release its Jewry from Turkish rule. British military intelligence questioned him at length, and he provided them with key information on Turkish military activities (much of which had been rejected when given in Egypt by his brother), but Aaron convinced the British that his group was in an exceptional position to supply information on the political and military weaknesses of the Turks that would allow the development of a successful plan for combat in the Middle East. He and his group were seen as being suitable and reliable agents for British intelligence, and the plan originally agreed to by the British in Cairo was revived. He was lucky in his timing, because the British government now had much concern about the situation in the Near East. With the British now fully on board, the organization to gather data on Turkish military activities was expanded and was called NILI, an acronym of a verse from 1 Samuel (15:29) – Netzach Yisrael Lo Yeshaker – that translated as "the eternity [or the Eternal One] of Israel will not lie." This acronym was chosen when the British officer with whom contact was established at Atlit asked for a password. One of the group, a man called Liova Schneersohn (a relative of the Lubavitcher rabbi perhaps?) opened a Bible to what turned out to be the page of the First Book of Samuel that contains this verse.
Aaron was then sent to Cairo in November of 1916 to assist in the planning of the invasion of Palestine where he converted a number of key British officers there to his cause, and the NILI operation was accepted by the British as one of real importance. Aaron Aaronsohn eventually became a valuable colleague of some senior and influential British officials in the region, among them Mark Sykes of Sykes-Picot fame; Wyndham Deedes, later Chief Secretary to the High Commissioner Herbert Samuel; Richard Meinertzhagen, Director of Military Intelligence; and William Ormsby-Gore. All these men were won over to his ideas. Ormsby-Gore later became British Colonial Secreatry and was one of the few government ministers of his time to show sympathy towards Zionism. He admired Aaronsohn greatly and accepted many of Aaron's concepts and observations, relying on him for much information on the strategic situation in Turkish Palestine. Sykes, too, was impressed by Aaron – liking his "forthright patriotism" – and Aaron's confidence in the success of Zionism appealed to him. It has been claimed that Sykes's conversion to Zionism was almost entirely due to Aaron's influence. Meinertzhagen had been an anti-Semite until he met Aaronsohn, but he was so impressed during many talks on Palestine that he changed his mind and became an ardent Zionist. He described Aaron as a man who "feared nothing and had an immense intellect." In his book Middle East diary, published in 1959, he wrote that he was not at liberty to divulge many of NILI's exploits as it would "publicize methods best kept secret." David Ben-Gurion, however has been dismissive of NILI. Writing some fifty years afterwards, he claimed that its work provoked the Turks to take severe measure against the yishuv and that conditions then became desperate there. But Ben-Gurion's view of NILI's contribution seems to be a lone one. Leopold Amery, a senior diplomat and later a major politician in the years before the Second World War, referred to Aaronsohn as a "real Palestinian," saying that "if all the Jews in their own country turn out as sturdy, frank-looking fellows as he, Zionism will certainly be justified."
In Cairo, Aaron was able to maintain a link with his Zikhron Ya'akov collegues who fed him information on Turkish military activities, and his value to the British was such that Whilehall was advised by Cairo to let him act as the Executive Officer of a Committee to assess the interests of the Allies in Palestine and further the cause of Zionism" in addition to his intelligence responsibilities. He also co- authored a military guide entitled Palestine Handbook as well as writing some reports that appeared in the highly confidential Arab Bulletin, an organ of the Arab Bureau in Cairo. Disappointed at the lack of British military action in the region, he developed a plan for a quick assault on Palestine, consisting of a landing in Haifa Bay, the seizure of the Mount Carmel ridges and the Valley of Esdraelon, to be followed by a swift attack on Jerusalem. He told the British that Jerusalem "was fully protected from the south and west but not from the north that had almost always been the route of attack in history. He told them that "Palestine is a ripe fruit. A good shake-up and it will fall into your hands." But the British were hesitant after the Gallipoli fiasco, and nothing came of his proposal. Notwithstanding, he persisted and then proposed the idea of capturing Beersheba by surprise by outflanking Gaza. He was responsible for getting the British to understand how disordered and chaotic Turkish Palestine had become, and his exceptional knowledge of the country became a crucial factor in helping to form the tactics used by Allenby in his campaign that led to the capture of Beersheba in October 1917, followed two months later by Jerusalem.
Through his intimate knowledge of the land, Aaronsohn was able to show the British troops where water could be located underground. This helped Allenby's strategy significantly because, previously, water was being carried by rail from Egypt. In fact, after Aaronsohn's death, Allenby acknowledged his contribution in paying tribute to the man. He wrote that "Aaron Aaronsohn's death deprived me of a valued friend and of a staff officer impossible to replace… His death is a loss to the British Empire and to Zionism, but the work he has done can never die." One senior soldier, Brigadier Walter Gribbon, is on record as saying that Aaron was responsible for saving 30,000 British lives. Ormsby-Gore wrote of all the Aaronsohns that "they were... the most valuable nucleus of our intelligence service in Palestine during the War…Nothing we can do for [them] ... will repay the work they have done and what they have suffered for us."
Throughout 1917, NILI was regularly in contact with British intelligence by providing extensive information. Every month when there was no moon, a naval sloop from Port Said would take Alexander Aaronsohn to the coast near Atlit to pick up reports from his sister, Sarah. Occasionally, carrier pigeons were used, but this eventually resulted in tragedy. A brilliant organization was forged, allowing Allenby to plan and execute his offensive in full knowledge of Turkish plans. Aaron was NILI's supreme head, but operations were directed by his sister Sarah and by Yosef Lishansky, who had been a watchman in a settlement in the south of the country. There were twenty-one active members who collected intelligence data. In all, there were over a hundred who worked on NILI's behalf, with some serving in the Turkish army and some engaged in road construction and on water supplies. A senior officer on Allenby's staff has written that it was "very largely the daring work of young spies which enabled Allenby to accomplish his undertaking so effectively."
Sarah went to see her brother in Egypt in April 1917, and both he and the British pleaded with her not to return to Palestine. She refused to listen and returned to Palestine where she took part in a number of daring exploits until tragedy struck. The Turks caught some of the pigeons from Atlit, and this confirmed suspicions that there was an espionage network. Na'aman Belkind, a member of NILI, was captured and gave the Turks information on NILI that led in October 1917 to the settlement at Zikhron Ya'akov being surrounded. Many NILI members, including Sarah, were arrested. Lishansky managed to escape but was caught by Bedouins near Rishon le-Zion and handed over to the Turks. With Belkind, he was put to death. Sarah's father was beaten unconscious, and she herself was tortured for four days before she took her own life by shooting herself in the mouth with a pistol she had previously hidden. She suffered a lingering death, and she left a letter that said, "...tell them about our martyrdom ... we have died as warriors ...we have striven, we have paved a road of right and happiness for the Nation." This Jewish heroine preceded another national one, Hannah Senesh, who was executed in 1944 by the Nazis while on a mission also to help her people.
Virtually all NILI activists were captured and subjected to prolonged torture. But, although NILI was destroyed, Aaron Aaronsohn was still very active politically, and he became a key player in world Zionist politics. In Cairo, he organized the "Special Committee for the Relief of Jews in Palestine" to enable transfer of funds from Europe and the United States to the yishuv; his work as executive officer of the Committee was not, however, easy. He was seen as an awkward man, and Chaim Weizmann's letters show the two of them did not always see eye to eye. Aaron was also valued by the Zionists in Europe, and he was present at a meeting between Weizmann and other Zionists with Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour prior to Balfour's declaration on the future of Zionism.
Weizmann and Nachum Sokolow arranged for him to go to the United States in the hope that he could persuade the Americans to become enthusiastic about the Allied cause in the Middle East, as well as to raise funds for long- term loans to yishuv farmers, and to obtain American participation in the Zionist Commission that was being set up. He was also expected to discuss further plans for the social, economic, and political rehabilitation of Palestine. This was an important mission, and Weizmann wrote in advance to Judge Brandeis that Aaronsohn, who went with his full confidence, was "most loyal, friendly and efficient." Weizmann was, however, not quite honest in what he wrote to Brandeis. The curious thing is that Aaronsohn was given this role despite the fact that his philosophy on Zionism differed widely from that of Weizmann's and most other leading figures. To him, Jews in the West were really "anti-Zionists," because they believed Zionism would only succeed if supported by governments that adopted pro-Zionist policies, and he dismissed partition of the country, insisting that the boundaries of a meaningful Zionist state should be pushed as far north and as far northeast as possible. Accordingly, he became increasingly isolated from the mainstream, but he claimed that his views were supported by a number of non-Jews in Britain whom, he believed, were closer to him in spirit and in understanding than the leading European Jews.
At one point, Aaronsohn threatened to withdraw from working with mainstream Zionists. Weizmann claimed he did not know why, but he said it did not bother him, as Aaronsohn was a man who could not abide anyone and no one could stand him. Weizmann once told his wife, Vera, that Aaronsohn had attempted to "blackmail" him, although he did not clarify what he meant by this. A few months later, however, Weizmann told her that Aaronsohn's behavior had been perfect and that he was a good comrade with whom to work. But, clearly, their relationship was a difficult one. Nevertheless, on Aaronsohn's death, Weizmann wrote to the family to say that their brother was "a great man, a heroic figure in Jewish life, and his place will never be filled."
But to the British government, Aaronsohn was a key man in carrying out propaganda on its behalf, and when it sent Weizmann to Palestine as head of the Zionist Commission, Aaron was a member of the delegation. Whitehall was concerned that Russia might be unhappy at an invasion of Palestine that would lead to British colonization, and Aaron helped to dispel this by getting Labor Socialist refugees from Russia in Egypt to support the Allies in liberating the country from the Turks. These refugees, in turn, appealed to fellow organizations in America and in Russia to support the Allied cause and thereby free the Jewish proletariat in Palestine from Turkish suppression.
Aaronsohn was present at the Paris Peace Conference, and he appeared before the Council of Four at Versailles where he played a significant role in the talks of the future of Palestine and on its boundaries, but he was always anxious to return home as soon as possible. He flew by plane from London to Paris in May 1919, but the aircraft capsized in Boulogne harbor. His body was never found. There were rumors of sabotage, but these are almost certainly unfounded. According to The London Times, he was mourned as a "strong broad-shouldered man of the best type of open-air Jew." Felix Frankfurter, the leader of the American Zionist delegation to the 1919 Peace Conference, spoke of him in glorious terms. He said: "You cannot speak too generously of his genius, of his originality, of his resourcefulness, the power of his personality to set aflame the mind and spirit of others. [He was] one of the few men whom I have ever known who really had heroic stature."
The Aaronsohn family, and Aaron in particular, made a substantial contribution to the events leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, but it is puzzling that history has not given them, especially Aaron, full credit. Why has his contribution and those of his siblings and the NILI organization not received due credit from history? The Aaronsohn home has been preserved as a national memorial and a museum, so that there is some recognition in Eretz Yisrael, but less elsewhere. Some of the standard works on the history of the period do make some references to Aaronsohn and his associates, but many important works do not, and it is difficult to understand the reasons for this. Weizmann makes only two very brief references to him in his autobiography Trial and Error, as does Nachum Sokolow in his The History of Zionism. The official history of military operations in Egypt and Palestine, furthermore, completely ignores the NILI ring. One commentator has put forward the view that all the disputes in the yishuv and in European Zionist circles troubled men's consciences that led to the desire, conscious or otherwise, to delete the Aaronsohn/NILI episode from their perspective of history. But this is too facile a view. Perhaps this enigma requires more research before a credible conclusion can be given to it.
Aaron Aaronsohn was a man of charisma and was highly respected by key British government figures, but he was a difficult man, and this led him to make enemies in Zionist circles. Perhaps his premature death at the early age of forty-three can partly explain the lack of recognition, but it does beg the question of what influence he would have had on subsequent Jewish/Zionist history had he not perished so tragically.
This article also belongs to the following subjects:
Jewish History
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1860-1948: Early Zionist Age
Jewish History
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1948-Today: Modern Zionist Age
Zionism
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Who is a Zionist?
Zionism
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Zionism Revisited
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