Zion Rising ( OOC, Alt-his )

[Based Illinois]

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" With a flag one can lead men wherever one wants to, even into the Promised Land. " - Theodor Herzl

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The novel Altneuland ( literally: The Old New Land ), was a piece of utopian fiction penned at the turn of the 20th century by future leader of the World Jewish Congress, Theodor Herzl. In the novel, Jews had reclaimed for themselves their ancestral homeland of Israel by the year 1923, and within a single generation, had created an egalitarian and syncretic state that had evolved beyond the draconian straits of racism, nationalism, and sectarianism; transforming the derelict backwater of Palestine into a modern and industrial Palace of Peace. With the passing of Herzl in 1904, he would not see his predictions of a Jewish homeland come to pass - let alone, surpassed. In the spirit of the Balfour agreement, the Dominion of Israel-Palestine was declared in 1919. The stateless nation would finally have borders to call it's own. A history of turbulence, subjugation, and persistence being the legacy for the tribes of Israel, what shall the future hold now that the Chosen people lead themselves for the first time since the days of David?

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Shalom, and welcome to his majesty's most loyal Dominion of Israel-Palestine. We're a new nation on the world stage, and as for what promises we might hold for you, I could only surmise. Maybe you're one of the tens of thousands of Hebrews, fleeing from the antisemitism of the world to a land your ancestors were once promised? Perhaps you've been here for a while - a Turkmen or an Arab - calling this country your home since the days of Umar I or Tamerlane? By whatever circumstances you've found yourself here, if you intend to make this place your home, you'll no doubt be helping to make history. Ours is a very new nation, with the world not really sure what to make of us yet: Are we a Jewish state? A jewel colony within the former rubble of the Ottomans? The Utopia envisioned by Herzl? It's still pretty early, so I suppose that we'll just have to wait and see what will happen, let alone your part in it ( whatever that maybe ). You've your pick then of what you want to be: ancient farmer, plucky settler, aspiring artist, utopian thinker, old world activist, swarthy rogue, hawkish mercenary, humble Rabbi, pious Imam, union man, or business magnate!

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-Further Explanation-
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You shall be stepping into the shoes of a person currently residing within the newly founded Dominion of Israel-Palestine, a state created in the after of the Great War, in order reward the contribution of Jews to Entente victory. As was mentioned in the above greeting, you may elect to be any person, of any background you so chose ( barring that you keep in mind this timelines historical events and a sense of realism ). Our story centers round the creation of a Israeli-Palestinian state twenty eight years early, and without the backdrop of the second world war and impending cold war. Generally, this is expected to be a socio-political RP, were in characters are expected ( though not required ) to have some effect upon the developing character of this new nation state in some form, be it: political, social, religious, economic, philosophical, martial, or some other factor of measure.

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-Notes-
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-The historical record-

The Great war began and ended just as it had in our timeline. The point of divergence, however, lies in the execution of promises by the Entente to it's middle eastern allies of the time, Namely: various Arab kingdoms were legally established following in the wake of the Ottoman collapse, serving as protectorates of either the French or British Empire's respectively ( Transjordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, and Lebanon ). Our story centers around the British Dominion of Israel-Palestine, as enters into 1921 only months away from electing it's first democratic government and entering as an equal partner into the Commonwealth.

-Our Political Status-

As the name Dominion implies, we are not an independent nation - rather, a servant of the British Royal crown, his majesty King George V our head of State. Our nascent system of governance, until further revision by proceeding governments ( to be elected April 20th, 1921 ) is modeled off British parliamentarianism ( save for the exception that our Knesset is unicameral ). As it currently stands, the Dominion is run as a transitional government by the British military, until power is handed over to the Knesset following elections. It should be noted that no national political parties, as of yet, exist anywhere in the country. With the newly arrived Jewish Diaspora being so vastly multiethnic, and the newly independent arabs very new to a democratic system of government, nothing beyond very small and sectarian interest groups will exist at the start of the story. Any larger national organizations, will have to be formed ICly.

Are we a Jewish State? No - not technically. Though the mandate very explicitly does declare Israel-Palestine as a homeland for the Jews, it also makes the same gesture towards the native Arab inhabitants of the land - who are to be considered of equal political status with newly arrived Jews. In future governments, this stance may change, but as of the starting date January 10th 1921, that is our status: we are a political and social blank slate upon the world stage.

-Starting Small-

Palestine, at this point in history, for all intents and purposes, was a derelict backwater. Infrastructure was literally Medieval, modern amenities few and far between, wilderness unkempt, with many people living as they had since the time of the prophet and even further back. You are either a recently arrived settler, or a native of this impoverished land. What is being said is - you're not starting with a whole lot. Maybe you were some big business tycoon back in the USA, big whoop that will do you in a country where you have little to no local contacts and not nearly the infrastructure you need in order to support whatever industry it is you're apart of. Say you want be some revolutionary political activist, your first hurdle will be in the fact that, save for local Arab royalty, this country has practically no unified political history. The civilian government hasn't even been elected yet!

If you want to have something big you're not going to just drop into the story with whatever business empire or grand rabbinate you want, you're going to have to make it in the IC.

-Wrenches-

Wrenches are tools typically used to fix problems. Not in this story. Wrenches are things I, as the OP, throw at you in order to add conflict and interest to the story. Randomly, on scales both macro and micro, I will generate random, and occasionally, personalized events to occur.

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-Rules-
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1. General NS rules

2. As this is technically a British Dominion, official business will most often be discussed in English

3. There is no set rule on the progression of time, it is simply asked that you please keep in mind that, as the first Knesset election is only four months away ( an event which should take many pages to reach ) that you please not jump any more than a few weeks ( MAXIMUM ) between posts. The acceptable time length between posts after the election will likely change in the future.

4. You are free to RP the response of NPC's within a reasonable extent. A reasonable extent being: the NPC does not do something suddenly and jarringly out of character, nor are used simply as a means for players to quickly and easily achieve their desired end goals. It's fine to use NPC's to progress the story, but it's not fine to use them as a means towards a easily won end. Likewise, without explicit permission, do not RP the actions of an NPC who happens to belong to another player's Organization ( if they happen to posses one ).

5. There is no in place system for how elections are to be determined ( yet ). I, as OP, will do my best to decide the outcome of elections based upon the participation and quality of those persons campaigning in the IC ( a Knesset thread will be created later ).

6. You may not kill another player unless given express permission.

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-Citizen Documentation-
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[align=center][size=200][color=#BF0000][b][i]Organization Registration[/i][/b][/color][/size]

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[Based Illinois]

Dominion Citizen

( WIP )

Personal Profile

Photo ( if applicable ):

Name ( Last, first, middle ): Vespucci, Gabriel, Antony
Age: 36
Sex: male
Country of origin: Kingdom of Italy

Marital status: Widower
Children: n/a
Occupations, current and all former: Party boss for Jewish Workers Union, cobbler, para-legal, Arditi
Religious Denomination: Secular Jew

Resume

Applicable skills ( charisma and armchair knowledge of something are not skills ): Leatherwork, Advanced Infantry Training
Languages fluently spoken: Italian, French, German
Interests: Art, literature, cinema, hiking
Declaration of Organizational Membership/s: JWU
Declared capital: n/a

Intentions while occupying within the Dominion: To represent the labor interests of his community, as well as to build a home for himself in the dominion free from the anti-Semitism of Europe.

Biography: Gabriel was born in the winter of 1884, to Marco, a Milanese cobbler of middle class origin, and Silvia, heir to a once illustrious family of merchants, now devoid of it's past riches and properties. The Vespucci's, a respectable middle class family, save for their Jewish ancestry, were largely secular and apart of a liberal stint among many contemporary Jews of the time, who sought to rid themselves of their ethnic identities in favor of assimilation with the Gentiles. Save for visits to his more conservative maternal grandparents in Turin round the time to celebrate Hanukkah, his upbringing was largely devoid of any religious influence - indeed, even being educated at a catholic primary school.

As was tradition within the Vespucci lineage, the cobblery was to be handed down from father to son, and so Gabriel was mentored by Marco to the task of leather working. In spite of this, however, Marco desired to be more than simply the craftsmen his fathered had envisioned for him; Silvia would often take Gabriel on tours through the inner city, to places such the Robertaebasta, and to see the original Last Supper, sturring in him the passion for art!

His mother would die during child birth when he turned 11, leaving the Vespucci household a considerably more cold and distant home for both Gabriel and his father. Inbetween school, and his father's continued tutelage, he would start his first foray's into art with small paintings and portraits. His teenage years were regarded with feelings of melancholy, not only for the loss of his mother, but too with the distance he felt from his father; these feelings helped to move him and influence his work. When he'd turned 16, he'd managed to finally muster the courage and tell his father that he had no desire to inherit the cobblery, and instead wanted to go to Rome, and become a lawyer ( not wanting to inherit the paternal business was one matter, but becoming an artist he felt was perhaps too much for his father to bear ). Marco was resistant at first, but acquiesced to his son's demands, under the condition that should his career in law fail, that he return and take on the family business - Gabriel agreed.

Upon turning 18, Gabriel was accepted to Spaienza University, in Rome. Though lacking for lineage and wealth, his exceptional grades along with numerous recommendations had managed to secure him a spot in the prestigious university's legal and art courses. Though officially, he did intend to become a lawyer as a matter of fact, his true passions lie with becoming an artist. He would meet future wife Lucrezia Dominca in 1907, a fellow student in his art course. They would date for six months, until in early 1908 he would propose to her, and be married shortly after. They both would finish their respective majors later that year, with Gabriel picking up full time work as a para-legal for a law firm in Rome. In his spare time, both he and Lucrezia would paint portraits and canvasses, which they would sell at local markets and to clients, earning a small income on top of his regular paying job.

Sadly, the two would never have children, with it being discoverd that Lucrezia as being infertile. The revelation brought upon the couple a deep sadness, which did not subside until Lucrezia's untimely death in 1913 from Lukemia. In the wake of Lucrezia's death, Gabriel fell into a deep depression. He quit his job at the legal firm in Rome, moving back in with his father in Milan. Painting would become his full time job, a means of therapy and income. Associating himself into various artistic circles, he would come into contact with various marxist and radical thinkers, eventually joining the Italian Socialist party in 1914.

With Italy's entry into the war in 1915, Gabriel was among many nationalists in the PSI who signed on to join the fight for liberation of Italian lands under Austria-Hungary. He found in the army a great passion which he had been lacking since the death of Lucrezia, a fiery patriotic vigor that moved him as an artist. He would train as an arditi, and volunteer to undertake various dangerous missions high up in the alps, winning numerous commendations for his acts of bravery in the face of battle. During the breakthrough at Piave, he would earn the Vittorio cross, for charing an enemy pillbox with grenades. With the war ending shortly after the tremendous victory, Gabriel was filled with nationalist fervor and pride for his participation in the conflict.
Other pertinent information:

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

This is rather cool and interesting, I am in!

[Based Illinois]

This is rather cool and interesting, I am in!

bet

I ought to finish my guy soon. Working on a small socialist party