Israel - “The First Judeans” - 1967 - Silver 935, 47g (approx. 43.95g pure silver, 1.41 oz), 45 mm

Israel - “The First Judeans” - 1967 - Silver 935, 47g (approx. 43.95g pure silver, 1.41 oz), 45 mm An official 1967 medal dedicated to the Jewish Legion and the Jewish military units that served within the British Army during World War I. The Zion Mule Corps was established in 1915 and participated in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915-1916. Joseph Trumpeldor was among the leading figures behind its creation. In 1917 additional Jewish infantry units were established through the efforts of Ze’ev Jabotinsky and other Zionist leaders, including Pinhas Rutenberg. David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi served in the Jewish Legion and returned with it to the Land of Israel. In 1918 Jewish volunteers from Palestine joined the Jewish Legion, which was intended to become part of the permanent British forces stationed in the region. The Legion was eventually disbanded in 1921 following the end of World War I. The obverse depicts the emblems of the Jewish Legion units together with the inscriptions “ראשון ליהודה” (“The First Judeans”) and the dates 1917-1967. The reverse shows a Jewish soldier planting a sapling, accompanied by the bilingual inscription “נחלץ חושים לפני בני ישראל” / “ARMED VANGUARD OF ISRAEL'S SONS”, quoting Numbers 32:17.