The first Hebrew battalion in the British army - The Eretz israeli Regiment

The first Hebrew battalion in the British army - The Eretz israeli Regiment

An important collection of photographs documenting the first Jewish battalion in the British army - the Israeli-regiment, the first battalion that later led to the establishment of the Jewish Brigade. An album containing 158 rare and important historical photographs documenting the battalion's activities, which was in fact the first nucleus of the participation of Jewish soldiers in the British army. The photos were taken in the first place to serve as a souvenir to the soldiers themselves in the album before us, and a great deal of thought was made in the professional photography angles, in the selection of the photographs to be used as a souvenir, and in the arrangement of the album.

In the photographs (especially in the first part of the album): field activities, training, meticulous and professional group photos, sports activities, military parades, shooting training, and more. The second part of the album accompanies the soldiers in the various cities of Israel outside the operational activities, apparently after their release.

The Palestine Regiment, that established in August 1942, was a British Army infantry regiment that operated during World War II and comprised of volunteers from Mandatory Palestine. The original purpose was for the regiment to be distributed to half of Jewish soldiers and half Arabs, but in fact the number of Jewish volunteers was much greater than three times the number of Arabs. The leadership of the Yishuv has not ceased since the beginning of the war to demand the establishment of a Hebrew soldiers and to place them as combatants in the front, instead of their employment as an auxiliary in Buffs. At the time of the operational need that arose from the advance of Rommel's army, the British also came to recognize the need to establish war-fighting units. The decision was made at the meeting of the War Cabinet in London on August 5, 1942. It was decided to allow the Jews of Israel to take part in the war as part of a regimental brigade. Initially the British aimed to swallow the Jewish uniqueness of the regiment, and indeed it was for some time, but due to the opposition of the Jewish soldiers to the blurring of Jewish symbols, the British leadership eventually surrendered, and decided to comply with their demands, train them for combat operations and establish a Jewish division with symbols - "The Jewish Brigade."

Album: 28x20 cm. Cloth binding, with leather clasp to close. Average size photos: 9x7 cm. Very good overall condition.