Editing Nili (section)

== Establishment ==
[[File:Lishanski-1.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Yosef Lishansky]] of the Nili spy ring]]
[[Sarah Aaronsohn]], her brothers [[Aaron Aaronsohn|Aaron]] and [[Alexander Aaronsohn|Alexander]], and their sister Rivka, together with their friend (and Rivka's fiancé) [[Avshalom Feinberg]] formed and led Nili.<ref name="encyclopedia">{{Cite web|title=Sarah Aaronsohn {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/educational-magazines/sarah-aaronsohn|access-date=7 November 2023|website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref><ref name="jwa.org">{{cite web|url=http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/aaronsohn-sarah|title=Sarah Aaronsohn – Jewish Women's Archive|website=jwa.org|accessdate=7 November 2023}}</ref>

In 1915, even before the group commenced operations, the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]] imprisoned Feinberg on suspicion of spying, which was not true at the time. When Feinberg was arrested for espionage and held in [[Beersheba]], Yosef Lishansky joined Nili in December 1915. Because he was active in the south, he was recruited by Feinberg to pass information to and from Sarah Aaronsohn, who was operating from Atlit.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

From March to October 1915, a plague of [[locust]]s stripped areas in and around Palestine of almost all vegetation. The Turkish authorities, worried about feeding their troops, turned to world-famous [[botanist]] and the region's leading [[agronomist]], [[Aaron Aaronsohn]], who requested the release of his friend and assistant, Avshalom Feinberg. The team fighting the locust invasion was given permission to move around the country, enabling them to collect strategic information about Ottoman camps and troop deployment.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}<!--references for at least some parts those claims can be found in the wiki article on Aaron Aaronsohn-->

For months, the group was not taken seriously by British intelligence, and attempts by Aaron Aaronsohn and Avshalom Feinberg to establish communication channels in [[Cairo]] and [[Port Said]] failed. Only after Aaronsohn arrived in [[London]] (by way of [[Berlin]] and [[Copenhagen]]) and owing to his reputation, was he able to obtain cooperation from the diplomat Sir [[Mark Sykes]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Sarah oversaw operations in Palestine from [[Zikhron Ya'akov]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}