Editing Jewish Legion (section)

{{Short description|Jewish volunteer force during the First World War}}
{{Other uses|Jewish Legion (disambiguation)}}
{{moresources|date=October 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = Jewish Legion
| image                         = לוחמי הגדוד העברי 1919 - iתמיר עדהi btm1847.jpeg
| image_size                    = 300px
| caption                       = Jewish Legion soldiers in 1919
| dates                         = 1917–1921
| country                       = {{flag|Mandatory Palestine}}
| allegiance                    = {{flagcountry|UKGBI}}
| branch                        = {{army|UKGBI}}
| size                          = 5,000 Jewish troops
| battles                       = {{tree list}}
* [[World War I]]
** [[Sinai and Palestine campaign]]
*** [[Battle of Megiddo (1918)|Battle of Megiddo]]
{{tree list/end}}
}}
The '''Jewish Legion''' was a series of battalions of Jewish soldiers who served in the [[British Army]] during the [[First World War]]. Some participated in the British conquest of [[Ottoman Palestine|Palestine]] from the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]]. 

The formation of the battalions had several motives: the expulsion of the Ottomans, the gaining of military experience, and the hope that their contribution would favorably influence the support for a Jewish national home in the land when a new world order was established after the war. The idea for the battalions was proposed by [[Pinhas Rutenberg]], [[Dov Ber Borochov]] and [[Ze'ev Jabotinsky]] and carried out by Jabotinsky and [[Joseph Trumpeldor]], who aspired for the battalions to become the independent military force of the [[Yishuv]] in Palestine. 

Their vision did not fully materialize, as the battalions were disbanded shortly after the war. However, their activities significantly contributed to the establishment of paramilitaries such as the [[Haganah]] and the [[Irgun]] (which later became the foundation for the [[Israel Defense Forces]]).