Vladimir Jabotinsky ALS Trying To Help "a veteran of the Zion Mule Corps and of the 38th Royal Fusiliers, a Jewish soldier from 1915 up to 1920" - Superb Content & Condition!

Rare Autograph Letter Signed "V. Jabotinsky" in French, two pages, 5" x 3.25", both sides of a card. Very fine condition.

In part: "My dear friend, If you can do something for Mr. Boudnik, currently a porter, I would be truly obligated to you. He is a veteran of the Zion Mule Corps and of the 38th Royal Fusiliers, a Jewish soldier from 1915 up to 1920 – deserving of a little gratitude. A simple man, silent and unfortunate. When I was in Jerusalem, I helped him as much as possible, before I left. Do what you can, I thank you in advance. Good luck in all things. Your V. Jabotinsky." 

During World War I, in 1915, the Zion Mule Corps of the British Army was formed in Egypt. Almost all the soldiers were Jews who had been expelled from Palestine by the Turks because of their British citizenship. Joining the British Expeditionary Force on Gallipoli in the Dardanelles in May 1915, the Zion Mule Corps saw action until the British were forced to evacuate in January 1916 after which it was disbanded. Zionist leadership opposed the formation of another Jewish regiment fearing it would jeopardize the Jews living in Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire. In September 1917, after petitioning by Jabotinsky and others, the British War Office formed the 38th Royal Fusiliers, an infantry regiment made up of nearly 100 veterans of the Zion Mule Corps plus Jewish immigrants from Russia. The 38th was sent to Egypt in February 1918 and took part in the victorious September 1918 British offensive against the Turks in Palestine under General Edmund Allenby. Jabotinsky was a Deputy Commander of the 38th Royal Fusiliers, with the honorary rank of lieutenant, as they marched through the Jordan Valley near Jericho and crossed the Jordan River into Palestine.

After the war, Jabotinsky actively lectured and wrote for many publications, advancing the Zionist cause. In 1925, the World Union of Zionist Revisionists was established with headquarters in Paris. Jabotinsky lived in Jerusalem from 1927-1929. Just months after writing this letter, while on a speaking engagement abroad, the British administration canceled his return visa to Palestine. From 1930 until he died of heart failure in New York in 1940, Jabotinsky actively lectured worldwide for the establishment of a Jewish state. In his will, written in 1935, he asked that when he died, he could be buried anywhere, but requested that his remains be transferred to Palestine "only at the instructions of a Jewish government." In 1965, ordered by Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, the remains of Jabotinsky and his wife were reinterred on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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