Isaiah 31: 5: As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
During World War One, Jerusalem was under Ottoman Turk rule. The British campaign in Palestine was under the command of General Edmund Allenby. To capture the city, it was decided that a flyover leaflet drop demanding the Turks to surrender would be the best approach to avoid unnecessary fighting and damage to Jerusalem’s ancient and holy sites.
The small message on the leaflets was written in Arabic and was signed off with the general’s surname, Allenby. However, a slight mistranslation of the surname on the leaflet made it read as “Allah en-Nebi,” meaning, “Prophet of God.” When Number 14 Bomber Squadron of Britain’s Royal Flying Corps flew over the city dropping the leaflets, the Turks read the message as being a call for surrender by a prophet of God. The Turks fled the city without a shot being fired and the city was taken by the British, the official surrender being accepted by Allenby on December 11, 1917.
