Palestine Jews served with the British Army as the Zion Mule Corps in 1915. Joseph Trumpeldor formed the 650-strong Zion Mule Corps, of whom 562 were sent to the Gallipoli front in World War One. Joseph Trumpeldor (1880 - 1920) Centre with sergeants stripes, an early Zionist activist and war hero. He helped organize the Zion Mule Corps and bring Jewish immigrants to Israel. Trumpeldor died defending the settlement of Tel Hai in 1920 and subsequently became a Zionist national hero.