Aaronsohn was born in a Jewish village in Palestine, but came in 1910 to America to enter the service of the United States Department of Agriculture. In June 1913, he returned to his native land to take some motion pictures as a basis for a lecture tour in America. He was there when the war broke out and he was impressed into service in the Turkish Army. From that time on until his escape on the cruiser the U. S. S. Des Moines, he was actively involved, both in the campaign of the Turks in Asia Minor and in certain popular movements among his own people which very nearly led to his execution.