Imperial Crossroads in Palestine, 1917–18: Religion, Race, and the British Empire Soldier’s Encounter with the World

Common British Empire soldiers in the Palestine Campaign in the Great War had a baptism in multiculturalism that worked with other factors to make their war experience unique.  They fought in a country that was bewilderingly foreign to them, and they interacted with people of a variety of religions and races from every part of the world.  The diaries and letters of these men reveal two sides of the imperial relationship:  the positive forces of camaraderie and sympathy, juxtaposed with the inequities, tensions, and racism that would aid in the collapse of the British Empire.
The Egyptian Expeditionary Force itself contained a remarkable diversity in national origin and religion.  It held a cross-section of much of the Empire:  men from Britain, the British West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, India, and many other places.  This diversity reached its peak in 1918, when the German Spring Offensive in France prompted Whitehall to pull British soldiers out of Palestine and replace them with imperial soldiers.  Men were forced by the relatively small scale of the battlefront to engage, overcome, or suffer issues of religion and race.
British Empire soldiers also faced frequent interactions with civilians in a diverse society that included Arabs, Jews, and Eastern Orthodox Christians.  Many soldiers struggled with locals over scarce resources, leading to criminal and even tragic encounters.  Others formed bonds of friendship with indigenous people against all odds and expectations.  These unavoidable contacts were a key force that caused the experience of soldiers who served in Palestine to be distinct from that of all others.