The Adventures of a Jewpanese Girl!: Zichron Ya'akov

I live in the Mount Carmel region just south of Haifa. My town is called Zichron Ya'akov (Jacob's Memorial), and was founded by Baron Rothschild in 1882.

I just found out that I have family connections to a major figure, Sarah Aaronsohn. Sarah was a member of Nili, a group of Jewish spies based in Zichron Ya'akov that helped fight with the British against the Ottomans in WWI. Sarah was born here in Zichron Ya'akov (1890) and eventually died here (1917), but before that, she traveled around the Ottoman Empire. En route from Turkey to Haifa, Sarah witnessed the Armenian massacre first-hand. While there is much MUCH more to the story, we'll just skip to the end. Unfortunately, members of Nili suffered cruel fates. Sarah's brother and many others were hung by the Ottomans. She herself was eventually captured and tortured by them. In the end, she shot herself to save herself from further torment and to protect Nili. Sarah was a fighter and truly was a pioneer in the making of a Jewish homeland here in Israel. To find out more about Sarah, her espionage group and the history of Zichron Ya'akov, simply go to Wikipedia!
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Nowadays, Zichron Ya'akov is known for its stunning landscape, cobble street roads, restaurants, cafes and wineries!