Key Categories in the Study of Religion - Contexts and Critiques - Rebekka King
15. The "Muscle Jew" and Maccabean Heroism of the Jewish Legion during World War I
Key Categories in the Study of Religion - Contexts and Critiques - Rebekka King
Tim Langille [+]
Arizona State University
Tim Langille is a Senior Lecturer at Arizona State University’s (ASU’s) School of Historical,
Philosophical and Religious Studies (SHPRS). His areas of expertise are Hebrew Bible,
Jewish history, genocide studies, and trauma and memory. He is on the board of directors
for both Genocide Awareness Week and the Phoenix Holocaust Association.
Description
This paper explores the ‘muscle Jew’ and the biblical and Second Temple imagery invoked by the Jewish Legion (the 38th to 40th Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers), who fought on behalf of Britain during World War I. It examines the ways in which British Zionists and Jewish soldiers shaped the images of the muscle Jew through collective memories of Jewish antiquity, especially those of the Maccabees.