Rimon Auctions
Auction 15 30 Jun 2022
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Israel - Medal, First to Judah 1967 - Silver 935, 47 g, 45 mm
The "Zion Mule Corps" was established in 1914. Members recruited from its ranks by the British army participated in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915-16. Joseph Trumpeldor was the chief instigator in organizing this military unit. Several infantry units, composed of Jewish soldiers were formed in 1917 by the British Army. The first unit was organized through the efforts of Ze'ev Jabotinsky. At the same time, a Jewish legion was organized by Pinchas Rothenberg in the United States. Yitzhak Ben Zvi and David Ben Gurion served in it and came back to Palestine with it. A Jewish Legion was formed by volunteers from the Jewish settlements in Palestine in 1918. Ze'ev Jabotinsky headed the recruitment effort and Eliyahu Golomb (later chief of the Haganah) was one of its organizers. At the end of World War I, the three units combined to form a Legion, "The First Judeans", which was intended to be part of the troops permanently stationed in Palestine. The Legion was dissolved in 1921 as punishment for rushing to the defense of Tel Aviv which was attacked by Arab mobs.
The medal's obverse depicts the three emblems of the Jewish Legion and an inscription "The First Judeans" in Hebrew and English. Beneath, the dates 1917-1967, 5677-5727.
On the reverse appears an Israeli soldier planting a sapling. The bilingual citation around the rim reads "Armed vanguard of Israel's sons", with the biblical source Numbers 32:17 at the bottom.
The "Zion Mule Corps" was established in 1914. Members recruited from its ranks by the British army participated in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915-16. Joseph Trumpeldor was the chief instigator in organizing this military unit. Several infantry units, composed of Jewish soldiers were formed in 1917 by the British Army. The first unit was organized through the efforts of Ze'ev Jabotinsky. At the same time, a Jewish legion was organized by Pinchas Rothenberg in the United States. Yitzhak Ben Zvi and David Ben Gurion served in it and came back to Palestine with it. A Jewish Legion was formed by volunteers from the Jewish settlements in Palestine in 1918. Ze'ev Jabotinsky headed the recruitment effort and Eliyahu Golomb (later chief of the Haganah) was one of its organizers. At the end of World War I, the three units combined to form a Legion, "The First Judeans", which was intended to be part of the troops permanently stationed in Palestine. The Legion was dissolved in 1921 as punishment for rushing to the defense of Tel Aviv which was attacked by Arab mobs.
The medal's obverse depicts the three emblems of the Jewish Legion and an inscription "The First Judeans" in Hebrew and English. Beneath, the dates 1917-1967, 5677-5727.
On the reverse appears an Israeli soldier planting a sapling. The bilingual citation around the rim reads "Armed vanguard of Israel's sons", with the biblical source Numbers 32:17 at the bottom.