SOLDIERS OF IDF VS ARAB TERRORISTS

SOLDIERS OF IDF VS ARAB TERRORISTS

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

A sign in Jerusalem written in English, French, Arabic and Hebrew. The sign reads "Speed of motor driven vehicles through Jerusalem not to exceed 8 miles per hour." (circa 1918, Library of Congress Carpenter Collection)

Actually, it is an enlargement taken from a noteworthy picture showing a signpost pointing to "Jaffa Road, Ramleh, Lod (Lydda or Ludd) & Jaffa" to the left and "Hebron Road, Jaffa Gate, Bethlehem & Hebron" to the right.  

The picture was probably taken soon after the British army captured Jerusalem in December 1917.  We don't know who posed for the picture, but from the background we know exactly where it was taken -- opposite the Old City walls and the "New Gate" into the Christian Quarter.  

The first building behind the signs is the French Hospital of St. Louis des Français, first established in 1851 inside the Old City.