World War I was a major turning point in the history of the Ottoman Empire and its Arab provinces. This paper will focus on one locale, the city of Jerusalem, and will discuss the “politics of welfare” during the war years. Famine, locust, mobilization to the army and a deep financial crisis were only parts of the challenges that Jerusalemites experienced during the war. Jews, Muslims and Christians dealt with the crisis differently, both on the communal level and the inter-communal level. Communally, the Jewish community, led mainly by Zionist initiatives, enjoyed much communal support and help, whereas the Muslim and Christian communities were less active organizing their own communal support networks. However, external forces, such as the US (both with the aid provided by the American Colony, as well as the American consulate), provided vast support to all communities in the city and country. Inter-communally, some of the Ottoman-based organizations in Jerusalem, such as the Red Crescent Society, as well as the municipality, initiated some assistance to Jerusalemites, of all communities, while trying to bridge any national or religious boundaries between the inhabitants. Using a variety of sources from local newspapers, the American Colony collection and the American consular records, this paper will look at “the politics of welfare” and will analyzes the close connection between welfare, power, and political influence, demonstrated by the various support networks that operated in Jerusalem.