Nilin.
/ˈniːli/, U.S. /ˈnili/ Now historical.
A Jewish espionage group active in Turkish-ruled Palestine during the First World War (1914–18). Frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > [noun] > an organization of spies > Jewish
Nili1930
Mossad1954
1930 H. B. Samuel Unholy Memories of Holy Land viii. 119 Aronson..leapt to prominence in the war by organizing the celebrated Nili Society..whose ‘intelligence’ was largely instrumental in the success of Lord Allenby's campaign.
1938 W. B. Ziff Rape of Palestine vi. 66 Of..great importance was the voluntary intelligence service rendered by the celebrated Nili Society all over the Holy Land.
1959 A. Engle Nili Spies xi. 113 The actual details of Nili's work were never known... But the existence of a group of people carrying on espionage and plotting rebellion could not be concealed.
1973 Jewish Chron. 2 Feb. 12/4 The Nili Group..sprang up during the First World War, when Turkish treatment of the Palestine Jewish community raised questions of its survival.
1998 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 31 July 18 Nili, a spy network..operated with the British against the Turks from 1915 to 1917.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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