Editing Jewish Legion (section)

== First World War and establishment of battalions ==
[[File:1918 Private BenGurion volunteer in Jewish Legion.jpg|thumb|Ben-Gurion in the uniform of the Jewish Legion, 1918]]
[[File:John Henry Patterson.jpg|thumb|Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson, commander of the Zion Mule Corps and the 38th Battalion, photographed in 1917.]]
[[File:Jewish legion hakotel 1917.jpg|thumb|Soldiers from one of the battalions at the Western Wall after the British capture of Jerusalem, likely in 1918.]]
During the period leading up to the outbreak of the war in 1914, revolutionaries were waiting for a revolution in Russia. The [[Okhrana]] was successful in its activities against the revolutionaries, and SR activists went into exile from [[Russia]]. [[Vladimir Lenin]] and his colleagues also established the [[Russian Social Democratic Labour Party]], which competed with the SR in exile. When the war broke out, a meeting was held among the SR exiles' leadership, which was divided between the left and the right. Supporters of [[Ilya Fondaminsky]] argued that the war would shake the tsarist regime and therefore should enlist and aid the British to hasten the revolution. There was also an opposing trend led by [[Viktor Chernov]], a rival to Rutenberg, who opposed that approach.

Rutenberg went to London, met with [[Chaim Weizmann]] and tried to convince him to support the establishment of the Jewish battalions. Rutenberg told Weizmann that the war was an opportunity to advance the idea of a republic in [[Israel]]. To convince the Entente Powers, Jewish legions of [[Jewish diaspora|Jewish exiles]] needed to be established. According to Professor Matityahu Mintz, Rutenberg preceded [[Ze'ev Jabotinsky]]. Rutenberg acted in September 1914, and Jabotinsky began in 1915.

The question arises as to what motivated Rutenberg, who was traveling on behalf of the SR to the British and French capitals to pressure Russia for greater democratisation, engage with the Jewish people and meet Weizmann. Mintz clarifies that for Rutenberg, they were not separate domains. Before his trip, Rutenberg had not spoken about or sought a solution to the Jewish question, but that was a result of Rutenberg's discussions with the SR leadership, who sent him to [[France]]. Mintz does not believe that Rutenberg's return to the Jewish people was insincere but emphasises the alignment between his conduct and the interests of the party and of Russia. The evidence for maintaining ties and prioritising the party's interests was Rutenberg's rapid and smooth integration into the government leadership after the [[February Revolution]] of 1917, during [[Alexander Kerensky]]'s Social Revolutionary administration.

The SR, as well as the [[Constitutional Democrats]], thought that the number of Jews in Russia was too large and that it would be better if they left Russia before the revolution, which would be beneficial for the Jews as well. The SR was aware of the Jews' animosity toward the [[autocratic]] regime in Russia, alongside the growing Jewish sympathy for Germany, which had granted them freedom and rights. Rutenberg adopted that SR stance. The idea of battalions that would conquer the land from the Ottomans, who were German allies, served the interests of the Russian homeland, allied to France and Britain.

Mintz noted that the Zionist movement decided on neutrality, but in practice, that was not the case, as Zionists in each country supported their homeland. For instance, German Zionists believed that if Germany won the war, the Jews' situation would improve, as their status in Russia was worse than in Germany.

[[File:Rutenberg initiative towards the establishment of Jewish battalions at the beginning of World War I Hebrew.pdf|thumb|220px|''Pinhas Rutenberg's initiative for the establishment of Jewish battalions at the beginning of World War I'' by Matityahu Mintz, Rutenberg's meeting with Borochov in Milan, Italy.]]
Rutenberg then went to [[Italy]] and established an organization for the Jewish cause. The basic idea was that if Italy joined the war on the side of the Entente Powers, the first Jewish battalions would be formed in Italy. [[Dov Ber Borochov]] also arrived in Italy from [[Vienna]] after the [[Gendarmerie (Austria)|Austrian police]] made it clear that it would be better for him to leave [[Austria-Hungary]], an ally of Germany. In [[Milan]], Rutenberg and Borochov met after David Goldstein, a member of [[Poale Zion]], connected them. Borochov joined Rutenberg and was active in leading this organization. He managed to organize not only Jews but also intellectuals, politicians, and Italian ministers like [[Luigi Luzzatti]]. In 1915, they joined, but Rutenberg decided to go to the United States. He had travelled to Bari, Italy, and invited Jabotinsky, Ben-Gurion and Ben-Zvi to present the plan. Ben-Gurion and Ben-Zvi refused to come, and only Jabotinsky met with Rutenberg before Jabotinsky's trip to London. Rutenberg and Jabotinsky divided the work. Rutenberg would work in the United States and Jabotinsky in Britain, as Rutenberg aimed to establish a non-Zionist Jewish Congress in the US.

According to Mintz, Rutenberg brought a booklet and manifesto to the US, began participating in conferences, organized a committee and started a newspaper for the Jewish Congress. Borochov was the editor of the newspaper and also wrote the articles. A conflict broke out between Rutenberg and Ben-Gurion, who was also in the US, as Ben-Gurion continued to support a pro-Ottoman orientation. Ben-Zvi joined Ben-Gurion although Mintz notes that their relationship soured in the US because Ben-Gurion published a book in which he attributed all of the work to himself. According to Mintz, there is no doubt that Ben-Gurion downplayed Ben-Zvi's contributions. There was no conflict between Ben-Zvi and Borochov, as Ben-Zvi was from Borochov's hometown, his student, and a close friend, and they respected each other.