Dr. Herbert Torrance visits Tiberias residents The University of Dundee medical school in Scotland has posted the photos taken by two missionary doctors who established a hospital in Tiberias. Below is the university's own description:The Torrance collection, which includes thousands of photographs and color slides of Israel, Palestine and medical illnesses, has now been fully updated on our online catalogue. The photographs were taken by David Torrance and his son Herbert Torrance who established a hospital in Tiberius in 1885 which lasted for over a hundred years helping the local communities.
Jewish patient in bed (circa 1930) In recent months we posted several photo essays on the hospital, including incredible pictures dating back over 100 years.But we were intrigued by a Christian Mission -- albeit a hospital -- in the midst of the very traditional Jewish residents of Tiberias.We found an answer on a Hebrew Internet site by Avshalom Shachar called "נופים ותרבויות --Vistas and Cultures."The Jews initially banned [cherem] the hospital, and rabbis prohibited their disciples from being aided in the place because of its missionary nature. However, the outbreak of cholera in the city in 1902 caused hundreds of casualties (including the doctor's wife) and led many Jews to seek out the services of the hospital and Dr. Torrance who, despite his wife's death, continued to treat patients diligently and earned great respect.
When Dr. Torrance died in 1923, the rabbi of Tiberias eulogized him: "Tiberias was blessed with three things: the Sea of Galilee, the Tiberias hot springs, and Dr. Torrance."
Today's posting is dedicated to Dr. A.K. with wishes for a speedy recovery -- Your "Kids"
Jewish and Arab boy, bladder stone cases (1933) 
Muslim, Jew and Christian with bladder stones (1929) 
The caption on this Wikipedia photo reads "Jewish Legion soldiers at the Western Wall after British conquest, 1917." Was the
photo taken in 1917 after the British captured the city in December, in which case this was a group of Jewish soldiers from various
units, or after June 1918 when the Jewish Legion was first dispatched to Palestine?
The history of the Jewish Legion that fought in Palestine in World War I is relatively unknown.
Jewish soldiers liberating the Kotel 50 years
later (Rubinger, Government Press Office)
Many of the soldiers were recruited from the ranks of the disbanded Zion Mule Corps, Palestinian Jews exiled by the Turks in April 1917 who were recruited in Egypt, or from Diaspora Jewry recruited in Canada and the United States.
As many as 500 Jewish Legion soldiers came from North America, with some sources claiming the majority of them were from Canada. Many of them were originally from Poland or Russia.
The original caption reads "Jewish League Fort Edward Nova Scotia 1918." We
believe the photo was taken on Yom Kippur a year earlier in September 1917,
one month after the "draft" of soldiers for the Jewish Legion began in Canada.
By September 1918 the Jewish Legion was already in Palestine.
Leon Cheifetz, Legionnaire
One Legionnaire was Leon Cheifetz from Montreal who enlisted before the age of 18. Cheifetz assembled an album with dozens of pictures and biographies of many of the Canadians who fought with him.
A group of Jewish Legionnaires in Ben Shemen from
the Cheifetz album
Unfortunately, the huge Library of Congress collection of Palestine pictures has few photographs of the Legionnaires.
The pictures in this series of essays come from various other collections, and we hope to receive more from the descendants of soldiers who served in the Legion.2View comments
- MAR27
More on the Jewish Legion in Palestine, 1917 - 1919, The Virtually Unknown Commander, Lazar Margolin
In our last posting on the Jewish Legion we published this photo of the "Jewish Legion entering a Jewish village in the Land of Israel." We have subsequently discovered more information about the photograph.
Colonel Margolin riding into the Jewish village of Ben Shemen
(Wikipedia, public domain)
The picture shows Colonel Eliezer "Lazar" Margolin riding into Ben Shemen. Margolin, a Russian-Palestinian-Australian, was a decorated officer who succeeded John H. Patterson as the commander of the Jewish Legion.
Margolin was born in Russia in 1874 and moved to a small farm in Rechovot Palestine with his parents when he was 17. He was proficient in Hebrew, Arabic, marksmanship and riding. Years later he was known as a figure who "rides his horse like a Bedouin, and shoots like an Englishman."
Colonel E. Margolin
(Harvard-Central
Zionist Archives)
Margolin's parents died, leaving him destitute. He left for Australia in 1902 to find his fortune but not before he swore on this parents graves that he would be
back to fight the Turkish occupiers. He joined the Australian army in 1911 and fought with valor in Gallipoli (1915) and France (1916-17) where he was wounded. In 1918, Lieutenant-Colonel Margolin took command of the Jewish Legion and participated in the Palestine campaign against the Turks.
February 22, 1918, The 38th battalion of the Jewish Legion
marches in the streets of London before leaving for the
Middle East. British Jews lined the route to cheer.
Just a few months after the Balfour Declaration in November 1917, a Jewish battalion of the Jewish Legion marched in London. Zev Jabotinsky, who had encouraged Margolin to take the command post, described the scene: "Tens of thousands of Jews crowded the streets, the windows, the balconies, the roofs. Blue-white flags were over every shop door; there were women crying for joy and old Jews with fluttering beards murmuring the prayer of thanksgiving: 'Blessed are Thou, O Lord our God, Who hast permitted us to live to see this day."In May 1921, Margolin commanded the "First Jewish Battalion of Judea" police unit, and he faced a terrible challenge (as described in the biography of Margolin's predecessor, Col. David Patterson):[After publication of our first posting on the Jewish Legion in Palestine during World War I, we had several fascinating responses from readers who had old family pictures of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers who served in the Legion. We invite them to scan the photos and send them for publication. Please make sure to provide details with the pictures.]
Colonel Margolin's SOS to British headquarters for arms to defend the Jaffa Jews had been turned down. So, with his approval, fellow Legionnaires broke into the munitions depot, seized weapons, rushed to Jaffa where former Legionnaires joined them, and killed 16 Arabs and drove off hundreds. The Arabs had killed 27 Jews and wounded 106.
The British declared martial law, and Margolin submitted his resignation. High Commissioner Herbert Samuel gave him two choices: to face a court-martial...or to leave Palestine immediately. Margolin chose to leave and returned to Australia.
For more information on Colonel Eliezer Margolin see:
Australian Dictionary of Biography - Eliezer Margolin
An Anzac - Zionist Hero, The Life of Lt. Col. Eliezer Margolin, by Rodney Gouttman3View comments
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Children baking matzah in kindergarten in Palestine. The teacher is in the center and it appears there's a
tiny oven in front of her (Harvard/Central Zionist Archives, circa 1920)0Add a comment
- The British army captured Jerusalem from the Turks in December 1917 and continued their Palestine campaign for another year until the capture of Damascus. Meanwhile, the Jewish Legion, consisting of Jewish volunteers, sat in Cairo chafing at the bit to join the fight in Palestine. They finally joined Allenby's forces in June 1918 and fought against the Turks in the Jordan River Valley.
The Jewish Battalion, a Passover Seder in Jerusalem, 1919. (Harvard, Central Zionist Archives) The photo is signed by
Ya'akov Ben-Dov who moved to Palestine in 1907 from Kiev. He was drafted into the Ottoman army during World War I and
served as a photographer in Jerusalem. Ben-Dov filmed Allenby's entry into Jerusalem in 1917.
The Jewish battalions of the Jewish Legion were manned by volunteers from Palestine, Europe, the United States and Canada, soldiers stirred by the call to action by Zionist leaders Zev Jabotinsky and Yosef Trumpeldor. Colonel John Henry Patterson, the unit's first commanding officer, described the Legion:
Recruiting poster for Jewish soldiers "The Jewish Legion was the name for five battalions of Jewish volunteers established as the British Army's 38th through 42nd (Service) Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers. The initial unit, known as the Zion Mule Corps, was formed in 1914-1915 during World War I, when Britain was at war against the Ottoman Turks, as Zionists around the world saw an opportunity to promote the idea of a Jewish National Homeland."
Soldiers from the Jewish Battalion on Passover in Jerusalem. The
caption in the Harvard/Central Zionist Archives lists the date as
1918. The Hebrew inscription behind the soldiers reads "Pesach
Jerusalem 5678" which corresponds to 1917-1918.The photograph of the soldiers sitting in Jerusalem is something of a mystery.It is dated 1918, but the Jewish Legion was still based in Cairo in the spring of 1918. Examining the head gear of the soldiers suggests the group consisted of Jewish fighters from variousunits -- British, Australian cavalry, and Scottish -- who assembled to participate in the Passover seder in Jerusalem prior to the Jewish Legion arriving in Palestine.
16-year-old volunteer Yitzak Jacov Liss
from "Diary of a Young Soldier" by
Jeanne SamuelsMore information on the Jewish Legion is available in We Are Coming, Unafraid: The Jewish Legions and the Promised Land in the First World War by Dr. Michael Keren, professor of Political Science, and Dr. Shlomit Keren, professor of History and Israel Studies, at the University of Calgary. They present personal diaries, letters and memoirs of soldiers who fought in the Jewish Legions. "In the First World War, many small nationalities joined the war in order to ensure self-determination when it was over. This was also the case with the Jewish battalions,” writes Shlomit Keren.
"Jewish Legion enters a Jewish village in the Land of Israel" from
"We Are Coming, Unafraid"Indeed, the Jewish Legion ignited the spirit for the Jewish self-defense forces in Palestine that evolved eventually into the Israel Defense Forces.Read more about Colonel Patterson and the Jewish Legion at The Seven Lives of Colonel Patterson: How an Irish Lion Hunter Led the Jewish Legion to Victory.View a previous posting on Yemenite Passover Seder in Jerusalem4View comments
We noted previously that the American Colony photographers took many pictures of plowing practices of the Arab community in Palestine. The photographers were good Christians, and their pictures were probably meant to show Biblical prohibitions such as animal threshing wheat while muzzled or mismatched animals under a yoke pulling a plow.
"Thou shall not plow with
an ox and an ass together."
לא תַחֲרֹשׁ בְּשׁוֹר וּבַחֲמֹר יַחְדָּו
Deuteronomy 20 (circa 1890)
-- from an earlier posting
View the earlier feature here.
Recently, we discovered in the medical archives of the Dundee University in Scotland the picture below with the same subjects -- an ox and a donkey pulling a plow. The picture was taken by the head of the Scots Mission Hospital in Tiberias, Herbert Torrance, who was both a doctor and a Christian missionary who undoubtedly also knew his Bible well.
"Plowing with an ox and an ass" (April, 1929, Torrance Collection, University of Dundee) 2View comments
Some 20 years ago, Tel Aviv's Mayor Shlomo Lahat "gave" one of his beaches to Jerusalem's mayor Teddy Kollek. Ostensibly, "Jerusalem Beach" is the closest beach to Jerusalem and those citizens who want to drive the 40 kilometers to swim and splash.
"Solomon's pools becomes a picnic and swimming resort. Group of bathers"
(Library of Congress)
But Jerusalem has had huge swimming pools nearby for 2,000 years, and the photographers of the American Colony filmed the Jerusalem residents who flocked to Solomon's Pools in the 1940s.
Solomon's Pools -- Picnic and Swimming Resort
and here (circa 1940, Library of Congress)
Cars arriving from Jerusalem and concession stand
(Library of Congress)From 1948 until 1967 the area was occupied by Jordan, and Israelis could not travel to Solomon's Pools. The area, of course, was open to local Arab residents.After the Oslo Agreements, Solomon's Pools were granted to the Palestinian Authority. Since the mid-1990s, Jewish groups have been able to visit only with special permission and escort by Israel's army. Foreign tourists can reach the site without restrictions from Palestinian-controlled Bethlehem.After the 1967 War, the area was reopened and Jerusalemites and residents of the local Jewish communities would visit the pools for picnics and to swim. Recommended reading (in Hebrew) סיפורן של אמות המים לירושלים The Story of the Water Supply to Jerusalem from "All About Jerusalem," Israeli Tour Guide Course. Photographs by Tamar Hayardeni and Ron Peled whose comments and photos have appeared in these postings in the past.1View comments
- MAR11
Are You a Fan of Novelist Daniel Silva? Make Sure to Read The Fallen Angel with Our Pictures Nearby
Bestselling novelist Daniel Silva has written a dozen books based on the exploits of Gabriel Allon, a fictional Israeli spy.
His latest page-turner, The Fallen Angel (Harper Collins), takes place in Rome and Jerusalem.
Under the al Aqsa Mosque, behind the sealed
Hulda Gate. Note the staircase that apparently
led to the surface and the Temple plaza
(circa 1927)
Newly-released photo from Israel Archaeological Authority
archives. Stairs and passage under the Temple Mount (circa 1927)
The cave under the "foundation stone" and the Dome
of the Rock on the Temple Mount. Woodcut in explorer
Col. Charles Wilson's book, 1881
Silva's books are always well-researched, and if you've read The Fallen Angel or plan to read it, keep these links containing rare pictures of subterranean Jerusalem close by. On this page is a sampling of the pictures.
View postings and photographs at Israel Daily Picture's
2View comments
Solomon seemed to have had a lot of property around Jerusalem.
Solomon's Pools. The photo from the Library of Congress archives is dated
between 1860 and 1880. No photographer is credited for the photo. The photo
and handwritten caption are similar to photos by Felix Bonfils (1831-1885).
Solomon's Temple, of course, was located on the Temple Mount and was actually built by King Solomon. After its destruction at the hands of the Babylonians, it was covered by rubble, then two versions of the Second Jewish Temple, a Roman pagan shrine, a church and a Muslim shrine.
Around Jerusalem one can see other ancient sites with Solomon's name- Solomon's Quarries,
Solomon's pools, north of Efrat, south of Bethlehem and east of
Route 60. (Google Earth) - Solomon's Prayer Place,
- Solomon's Stables,
- and Solomon's Pools
Other than the First Temple, none of them had any real association with King Solomon.By the time of the Second Temple in the Hasmonean/Roman period, the man-made reservoirs at "Solomon's Pools" south of Jerusalem were vital for providing water for the burgeoning population of Jerusalem and the many tens of thousands who made pilgrimages to Jerusalem on festivals.
The local springs and cisterns in Jerusalem could not possibly provide enough water for all their needs as well as for the sacrificial service and hygiene required in the Temple and the city. The springs to the south could provide a bountiful supply despite their location some 30-40 kilometers away, but a massive engineering project of aqueducts was required to convey the water from near what is today Efrat, south of Bethlehem. The water flowed from pools slightly higher than Jerusalem through the many kilometers of aqueduct built with a relatively tiny 0.08 degree angle of decline!
Solomon's pools (circa 1900) in a rare
colored photochrom pictureClick on pictures to enlarge. Click on captions to view the original pictures.
Water from the Biyar Spring
flows into one of Solomon's
Pools (circa 1935)
The water aqueduct system begins some 10 km south of Solomon's Pools at the Arrub Spring, and included a collection pool at the Biyar Spring west of Efrat. From there the water in the aqueduct flowed north to the first of the pools 4.7 kilometers.
Water flowing through the mountains via
ancient aqueduct to Solomon's Pools
(circa 1939)
The pools are massive reservoirs built to hold water from the south and the Eitam spring to the east. The largest is 177 meters long, 60 meters wide, and 15 meters deep. Parts of the ancient aqueduct system are still visible.
Tomorrow: -- Solomon's Pools in the 20th Century0Add a comment
- Solomon's Quarries,
News accounts today report a plague of locusts in Egypt and sightings of locusts along Israel's border.
A fig tree before the locust plague hit (Library of Congress) The same fig tree after the locust plague hit
The photographers of the American Colony in Jerusalem conducted an extensive photographic study of the locust plague of 1915 including the life cycle of the insects, the devastation, and attempts to eradicate.
A year ago we presented here a photo essay on the photo collection. Click here to view the whole article.
The aftermath of the plague 
Team waving flags tries to push a swarm of locusts into a
trap dug into the ground. The Turkish governor demanded
that every man deliver 20 kilo (44 pounds) of locusts
The pictures presented here were hand colored by the American Colony Photographic Dept.
Click on pictures to enlarge. Click on the caption to view the original picture.0Add a comment
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
The Missionary Doctor and the Jews, Medicine in Tiberias 100 Years Ago - picture a day
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