Enciphered Ottoman telegrams from the First World War concerning the yishuv in Palestine

Enciphered telegraphs between Istanbul and the Ottoman authorities in Greater Syria during the First World War, which are available today to researchers in the Ottoman archives in Istanbul, shed new light on the history of this gloomy period in the annals of the Jewish yishuv in Palestine. This article presents and analyzes dozens of enciphered Ottoman telegrams dealing directly or indirectly with the yishuv. Four topics appear: Zionist activity in Palestine, the expulsion of Jaffa and Tel Aviv’s Jewish residents, the European press and public opinion with regards to the Jews, and the NILI underground and other spying networks. One conspicuous feature of this Ottoman correspondence with regard to the fate of the yishuv is the difference of opinion between the commander of the region, Ahmet Cemal Paşa (1872-1922), and the views expressed by the central government, particularly by Mehmet Talaat Paşa (1874-1921) who was the minister of the Interior at the time and had also served as the grand vizier since 1917.