Minorities in the British Empire's Campaign for Palestine, 1916-1919

“Odds and Sods”: Minorities in the British Empire’s Campaign for Palestine, 1916-1919 By Julian Thiesfeldt Saltman A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Anthony Adamthwaite, Chair Professor James Vernon Professor John Efron Professor Ron Hassner Fall 2013 1 Abstract “Odds and Sods”: Minorities in the British Empire’s Campaign for Palestine, 1916-1919 by Julian Thiesfeldt Saltman Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Berkeley Professor Anthony Adamthwaite, Chair This dissertation examines the role of minority soldiers in Britain’s Army during the campaign for Palestine in the First World War. It compares the experiences of two distinct, yet parallel, groups—three battalions of black, British West Indians (the British West Indies Regiment) and three battalions of Jewish soldiers (the “Jewish Legion”). Past scholarship has mostly ignored the history of these men, and what does exist has tended to conflate or subsume the specific experiences of the men in Egypt and Palestine within the broader histories of their specific minority groups, generally those that occurred on the Western Front. This work diverges from these past understandings, arguing that a comparative assessment of minority soldiers within the Palestine theater of war yields a new understanding of how Britain fought the First World War, as well as how wartime experience differed significantly amongst various minority groups. The first main part of this project assesses the specific military experiences of West Indian and Jewish soldiers in Palestine, tracing their recruitment, training, and military roles. By outlining how the British government and military maintained hierarchies of ethno-racial identity, as well as how minority soldiers conceived their own identities, these chapters are able to dispute narratives of homogenous military service. Specifically, West Indians in Palestine viewed themselves as elevated in class and culture not only from other “non-European” colonial soldiers, but also from other West Indian military units, including units of their own regiment stationed in Europe. Similarly, the identity of the Jewish battalions—often viewed historically as distinctly Zionist—was heavily contested by assimilated British Jews, leading to a more diverse military experience than often assumed. Both chapters demonstrate that West Indians and Jews played key roles in the front lines, and suggest that they represented a distinct tier of imperial soldiering, one precariously situated above explicitly colonial units. The second part of this dissertation explores frameworks of imperial conditioning, offering detailed examinations of military justice and forced athletic training inside the West Indian and Jewish battalions. First, it examines how West Indian and Jewish soldiers encountered military justice, with a specific focus on how their minority identities influenced the application of military law. These chapters conclude that military law was applied in both a punitive and nuanced manner—allowing prejudice and stereotype to affect the sentencing of minority soldiers, but also providing an effective counter through a mechanical system of 2 appeals, remission, and commutation. The final portion of this section argues that frequent athletic competition amongst soldiers in the EEF was more than a leisure activity or form of military training, but was an indirect means of inculcating potentially disruptive soldiers with a set of British values and norms that would make them amenable to postwar imperial governance. This was a direct reaction to the political radicalism unleashed by the war—namely Bolshevism and the rise of pan-nationalisms inside the British Empire. This dissertation uses military service records, the application of military justice, and a set of wartime and postwar conditioning policies to reveal the ways in which the British Empire was forced to broaden its definitions of who in its empire could serve, what expectations their service would create, where they could bear arms, and how this would affect the postwar empire. i To Mama and Papa ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements iii A Note on Terminology v Abbreviations vi Prologue 1 Introduction 2 PART I Chapter 1 : 19 “Their one aim and object was to go to the Front”: The British West Indies Regiment in Palestine, 1916-1918 Chapter 2 : 70 “A Jewish Legion?” The Jewish Battalions in Palestine, 1918-1919 PART II Chapter 3 : 117 “The Full and Just Penalty?” Military Justice and the British West Indies Regiment Chapter 4 : 140 “In the army, held by iron chains”: The Jewish Battalions and Military Justice Chapter 5 : 173 ““Time Wasted in Waste Places”: Athletics and Imperial Conditioning in the War for Empire Conclusion 201 Bibliography 205 iii Acknowledgements Any large work is often the sum of its parts, and this project is no different, not least in the quantity and quality of those who have offered their support and wisdom throughout the course of this project. This dissertation began when I enrolled in a research seminar on Jews in the First World War during my first year of graduate school. A broad interest in the British Empire in the Middle East quickly crystallized into my initial research on the Jewish Legion, which led me to discover the British West Indies Regiment. The contours of this project began to take shape, and a trio of advisors in the History department provided the encouragement, support, and counsel to guide it to its current form. My foremost thanks go to Anthony Adamthwaite, whose affability and intellect helped persuade me to come to Berkeley. His support for this project never wavered, even as I bounced from one idea to another. His sage advice on all parts of academic life—whether it be writing a chapter, constructing a conference paper, publishing, teaching, or finding a job—was essential. James Vernon was also critical to the development of this project, and always quick to offer both support and indispensable feedback on various drafts. John Efron’s initial encouragement to examine the Jewish Legion within a wider context was what sparked this project, and his assistance with the canon of Anglo-Jewish history was most welcome. In the political science department, Ron Hassner has been everything one could hope for in an outside reader. I also owe much to the entire History department at Berkeley, specifically Margaret Anderson, Geoff Koziol, Thomas Laqueur, Thomas Metcalf, and Tyler Stovall, all of whom influenced my professional development through their courses and feedback on my work. To the late Susanna Barrows, I owe a tremendous debt, for she helped me conceptualize what exactly it meant to be a historian and scholar. To the often unsung administrative staff of the department— especially Mabel Lee and Hilja New—I express my deep gratitude, because I literally would not have made it through the program without you. In addition to the faculty at Berkeley, I was also fortunate to be surrounded by a tremendous cadre of graduate students. I am particularly appreciative of those who read or helped me conceptualize this project, and wish to thank Riyad Koya, Radhika Natarajan, Alex Toledano, and Sarah Zimmerman for all their help. A host of others were influential in many other ways, specifically—Rachel Bernard, Joe Bohling, Kate Bollinger, Desmond Fitz-Gibbon, Knightcarl Raymond, Arjun Subrahmanyan, Chris Shaw, Jesse Torgerson, and Ben Urwand. This intellectual support was made possible by the financial support I received from several sources at Berkeley. The Institute for European Studies supported my early years of graduate school, as well as my pre-dissertation research. The Institute for International Studies provided welcome financial support for writing, as did the UC-Berkeley Graduate Division, which also supported much of my dissertation research. Funds from the Helen Diller Family Trust enabled my trip to the YIVO and AJHS archives in New York City. All of these entities have my sincere thanks for allowing me to pursue this research. Outside of Berkeley, I wish to thank John Mitcham, Michelle Moyd, Andrew Muldoon, and Carole Summers for their feedback on my work at various conferences. Richard Fogarty and Andrew Jarboe, my two editors for a forthcoming publication, have provided fantastic editing and truly helped in the development of this entire work. The McKee’s—Martin, Dorothy, Rebecca, and Charlotte—not only housed me during my trips to London, but became my surrogate family there. The staff of archives around the world—specifically the National iv Archives of the UK, the Imperial War Museum, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, the British Library, the Jabotinsky Institute, YIVO, and the American Jewish Historical Society— made this project possible by providing me with the material needed to write it. The digital collections of the National Archives of both Australia and New Zealand, Moving Here, and the Library of Congress, gave me access to information from the comfort of my own desk. Abiel Acosta, David Hoftiezer, Susan Napier, and Jon Webster never ceased to remind me to get back to said comfortable desk. My sister, Annika, was always a source of encouragement. A special thanks to Margaret Darrow and Kenneth Shewmaker who long ago were the ones who launched me into the world of the British archives. A very lovely lady named Katy found herself suddenly part of this project many years ago. She has stood by me throughout the ups and downs, and even decided it would be a good idea to marry me. She has been more instrumental to this project than she will ever know, and my acknowledgement of her here does little to encompass what she means to me. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge my parents. They have been an unrelenting source of encouragement and support, fueling my interest in history as a little boy with trips to bookstores, museums, and new places.

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