A letter to Henry Morgenthau
The First World War was a difficult time for the Yishuv. At the beginning of the War, Turkey remained neutral and did not take an active part in it. Germany pressured Turkey to join the Central Powers, and succeeded in October 1914. At this point, the Ottoman Empire’s treatment of the Jews changed.
The letter below was sent from the Central Zionist Office to Henry Morgenthau, the American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, in November 2014 – just after the Ottoman Empire had entered the war. This intriguing letter outlines the main concerns of the Jews in Palestine in light of the new situation they had entered:
- What will happen to the Jews that have Russian citizenship (since Russia is now an enemy of Turkey)?
- How will the Jews in Palestine manage financially if they won’t be able to export their crops to Europe or to
receive money from Europe and Russia?
- What will happen if the war reaches Palestine?
America remained neutral at the beginning of the First World War, which is why she had an ambassador in Istanbul. After Morgenthau heard about the state of the Yishuv, he saw to it that the Jews in America and the US government immediately send financial assistance to Palestine. The financial aid from America helped the Yishuv for a while.
The concerns of the Jews expressed in the letter actualized as the war continued. Jews with foreign citizenship were forced to take on Ottoman citizenship or to leave the country (see: “The Tel Aviv deportation”). The Ottomans placed restrictions on the Jews and they suffered from a severe shortage of food and clothing. This situation continued until the British conquered Palestine in 1918.