LAWRENCE OF ARABIA VS. NILI: THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE ON FIRE

NOTE: The bibliography of "Lawrence of Arabia vs. Nili" lecture is now available in this document here. 

Had the Ottoman Empire allied itself with Great Britain, France, Russia and Italy during World War I, there might not be a Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestinian Authority or an Israel today. But it aligned with the side that lost the conflict, and as one historian put it...the victors "carved up the carcass of the Turks."

Helping the British were two unlikely characters: T. E. Lawrence and Aaron Aaronsohn. Lawrence was a colonel who served the Arab Bureau intelligence unit of the British Army in Egypt, and was tasked with The Arab Revolt. Aaronsohn was a world leader in agronomy (especially famous for his work with wheat and locusts). During the war, he lived in Turkish-controlled Palestine and, believing a British victory would be better for the Zionist cause, created the Jewish Palestinian spy ring, Nili.  With his sister Sarah and several others, he provided the British with important information that would help General Allenby as his troops moved from Egypt up the coast to Jerusalem. 

Upon registration, you will first receive a confirmation email, and an hour before the event, a reminder email which will include the Zoom link. If you don't see these emails, please check your spam/junk folders to retrieve it. We suggest adding "notifications@wixevents.com" to your contacts or safe senders list. 

Sponsors: Contra Costa JCC in partnership with Cong. B'nai Shalom.