Sarah Aaronsohn

(1890 - 1917)

Sarah Aaronsohn, sister of Aaron, heroine of Nili (b. Zikhron Ya'akov; d. there). The Nili group succeeded in collecting much vital information for the British. In the spring of 1917, while on a secret mission to Egypt, she was asked by her brother Aaron to remain there [in Egypt] rather than endanger her life further. Refusing, she returned to Eretz Israel to head the group. She was arrested by the Turkish military authorities in the fall of the same year. In an effort to obtain information about the group, the Turks tortured her for three days. She endured heroically and disclosed no secrets. To escape further torture, she shot and killed herself.

Sources: New Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel, ed., Geoffrey Wigoder, Copyright 1994 by Associated University Press, The Jewish Agency for Israel and The World Zionist Organization. Photo courtesy of Aaronsohn House NILI Museum in Zikhron Ya'aqov, Israel.