Sarah Aaronsohn

Sarah Aaronsohn (1890-1917), was head of Nili, a Jewish ring of spies working for the British in WWI. She was born and died in Zichron Yaakov in what was then known as Palestine, part of the Ottoman Empire. Israelis often refer to her as the "heroine of Nili".

Sarah lived briefly in Constantinople until she returned home to Zichron Yaakov to escape an unhappy marriage. In her travels she witnessed genocidal acts by the Turks against the Armenians, who were not Muslims, and began to sympathize with the enemies of the Ottomans. She formed Nili to assist the British against them, with the help of her brother Aaron[?] and their friend Avshalom Feinberg[?].

Sarah oversaw operations of the spy-ring and passed information to British agents offshore. Sometimes she travelled widely through Ottoman territory collecting information useful to the British, and brought it directly to them in Egypt. In 1917 she was urged by her brother to remain in Egypt, out of reach of the Turks, but she returned to Zichron Yaakov to continue her activities. That same autumn the Turks captured her and tortured her for three or four days in her house. After that time she shot and killed herself with a pistol concealed on the premises to avoid further torture.