Sarah Aaronsohn was caught by the Turks and brutally tortured for four days; she committed suicide during her captivity in 1917, aged 26.

[5] Aaronsohn's parents emigrated from Romania to Palestine with other Jewish families and founded the community of Zikhron Ya'akov in the fertile region south of Mount Carmel.

[6] Aaronsohn returned to Palestine in July 1913 intending to make Zionist propaganda to spread to the United States.

This event shocked Aaronsohn and he vowed to form a strong society that would protect the life and honor of villagers.

[6] Despite Aaronsohn's ties to the United States, he was pushed into serving in the Turkish Army with the start of the First World War, as the Ottoman Empire controlled Palestine.