Aliyah Bet

Aliyah Bet (Hebrew: עלייה ב׳, "Aliyah 'B'") was the secret name for people helping Jews travel to Mandatory Palestine when it was against the rules. Many of these people were refugees escaping from Nazi Germany or other places controlled by the Nazis, and later Holocaust survivors. This happened between 1920 and 1948, especially a lot between 1939 and 1948, because the British government had made rules to stop too many Jews from coming in.

After the State of Israel was created in May 1948, many Jewish people who had to leave Europe came to Israel during a big war. In Israel today, this is called Ha'apala, meaning "Ascension." The people who made this journey are called Ma'apilim. This was different from Aliyah Aleph, which was the name for the small number of Jews allowed to move in by the British government during the same time. The name Aliya Bet is sometimes shortened to Aliya Bilti Legalit, which means "illegal immigration."

Organization

Main articles: Aftermath of the Holocaust, History of the Jews during World War II, and The Holocaust

Further information: Anti-Jewish violence in Central and Eastern Europe, 1944–1946; Antisemitism in Europe; Consequences of Nazism; Holocaust survivors; Jews escaping from German-occupied Europe; and Relations between Nazi Germany and the Arab world

During Ha'apala, many groups worked together to help Jews escaping from Nazi Germany reach Mandatory Palestine, even though rules set by the British made it hard. As persecution of Jews grew worse in German-occupied Europe, helping people get to safety became very important.

Ha'apala happened in two main times. The first time, from 1934 to 1942, focused on helping European Jews escape danger. The second time, from 1945 to 1948, was called Bricha, meaning "flight" or "escape". This was to help Jewish survivors of Nazi crimes find new homes. Many of these survivors were living in camps across post-war Europe, mainly in Allied-occupied Germany, Austria, and Italy.

In the first phase, several groups led the effort. After World War II, the Mossad LeAliyah Bet, part of the Haganah, took charge. The Palyam, a sea group from the Palmach, was in charge of sailing ships from Europe to Mandatory Palestine.

Routes

After World War II, journeys called Ha'apala usually began in special camps and moved through two points in the American area, Bad Reichenhall and Leipheim. From there, people traveled in hidden trucks, on foot, or by train to ports on the Mediterranean Sea. Ships took them to Palestine. Many ships had names like Lo Tafchidunu ("You can't frighten us") and La-Nitzhon ("To the victory") to inspire hope. Over 70,000 Jews arrived in Palestine on more than 100 ships.

American area camps did not stop people from leaving, and some officials helped the movement. The British government did not like this and tried to stop it by watching the camps and using navy ships to block arrivals.

History

Over 100,000 people tried to enter a place called Mandatory Palestine without permission. They made 142 trips on 120 ships, but more than half were stopped by British patrols. The British Navy had eight ships in the area and watched for any suspicious boats. Most of the people who were caught were sent to special camps in Cyprus and other places. Sadly, over 1,600 people drowned during the journey, and only a few thousand actually made it to Palestine.

One important event happened in 1947 with a ship called Exodus. The British Navy stopped Exodus, and even though the people on board resisted, they were sent back to Europe and kept in camps in Germany. This made the British government feel very embarrassed.

Timeline

Before World War II

• In 1934, the first attempt to bring in a large number of people by sea happened when some 350 Jews sailed on the Vallos, a chartered ship, without the permission of the Jewish Agency. She arrived off the coast of Palestine on 25 August, and the passengers disembarked with the help of the Haganah, which received special permission to assist them.
• On 29 July 1939, the Colorado, flying under the Panamanian flag and carrying 378 Jewish refugees from Europe was intercepted by the British; the people were arrested and taken into Haifa.
• On 19 August, the Aghios Nicolaus, a Greek owned ship, transferred 840 people to smaller vessels off the coast and sent them to shore.
• On 23 August, the Parita, carrying some 700 refugees on board, was deliberately beached at Tel Aviv by the passengers, the captain and crew having fled in a small boat.

During World War II

• On 2 September, the Tiger Hill, a ship, was intercepted and fired on by Royal Navy gunboats off Tel Aviv; the ship HMCS Belleville beached on the shore with 1,205 people on board; the Tiger Hill had sailed from Constanţa, Romania, on 3 August 1939, with about 750 people on board and had taken on board the passengers from the Frossoula, another ship that was marooned in Lebanon.
• On 16 September, the Rudnitchan transferred 364 Jewish refugees into five lifeboats outside the territorial waters of the Mandate and sent them ashore.
• On 19 September, the Noemi Julia, sailing from Sulina in Romania with 1,130 Jewish refugees from Europe on board was intercepted in the Mediterranean by a British warship and forced to Haifa port; fearing that they would be sent back, the people engaged in passive resistance; the British authorities brought them ashore and held them in a detention camp; they were released a month later.
• On 24–25 November 1939, a large group of people traveled by train from Vienna to Bratislava and about 2 weeks later sailed from there on the riverboat Uranus down the Danube. At the Romanian border, the three smaller riverboats to which they had been transferred on December 14 on entering Yugoslavia were intercepted and the people were forced to disembark at the old fortress town of Kladovo. About 1,100 refugees were stranded there.
• On 18 May 1940 the old Italian paddle steamer Pencho sailed from Bratislava, with 514 passengers. The Pencho sailed down the Danube to the Black Sea and into the Aegean Sea. On 9 October, her engines failed and she was wrecked off Mytilene, in the Italian-ruled Dodecanese Islands. The Italians rescued the passengers and took them to Rhodes. All but two were then placed in an internment camp at Ferramonti di Tarsia in southern Italy. They were held there until Allied forces liberated the area in September 1943.
• In October 1940, a large group of refugees were allowed to leave Vienna. The exodus was organized by Berthold Storfer, a Jewish businessman who worked under Adolf Eichmann. They took four river boats, Uranus, Schönbrunn, Helios, and Melk, down the Danube to Romania, where the Uranus passengers, about 1,000, boarded the Pacific, and sailed on 11 October 1940. They arrived at Haifa on 1 November, followed by the Milos a few days later. The British transferred all the people to the French liner SS Patria to take them for internment to Mauritius. To stop the Patria from sailing, the Haganah smuggled a bomb aboard. The explosion holed her side, capsizing her. The British, by order of Winston Churchill, allowed the survivors to remain in Palestine.
• In December 1940 the Salvador, a small Bulgarian schooner formerly named Tsar Krum, left Burgas with 327 refugees. On December 12 the Salvador was wrecked in a violent storm in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul. The survivors were taken to Istanbul. 125 survivors were deported back to Bulgaria, and the remaining 70 left on the Darien (No. 66).
• On 11 December 1941, the Struma sailed from Constanţa carrying between 760 and 790 refugees. Three days later she reached Istanbul, where Turkey detained her and her passengers for 10 weeks. On 23 February 1942, Turkish authorities towed her back into the Black Sea and cast her adrift. Early the next day the Shch-213 torpedoed and sank her. There was only one survivor.
• On 20 September 1942, the Europa sailed from Romania with 21 passengers. She was wrecked in the Bosphorus.
• On 21 April 1944, the Belasitza sailed from Romania with 273 passengers including 120 children, who went from Istanbul to Palestine by sealed train.
• On 5 August 1944, Bulbul, Mefküre and Morino sailed from Constanţa carrying about 1,000 refugees between them. In the night the Soviet submarine Shch-215 sank Mefküre by torpedo and shellfire. Bulbul rescued the few survivors and took them to Turkey.

After VE Day

• On 28 August 1945 the Italian fishing vessel Dalin, made in Monopoli, carrying 35 people, landed at Caesarea Maritima, disembarked its passengers, and returned to Italy.
• On 4 September 1945, the Natan, carrying 79 people, landed in Palestine, carrying seamen and radio operators from the Palmach and Jewish Agency emissaries on the return trip to Italy. On October 1, 1945, the Natan again ran the blockade arrived at Shefayim with 73 people.
• On 9 September 1945, the Gabriela, carrying 40 passengers, arrived undetected in Palestine.
• On 17 September 1945, the Peter, carrying 168 people, landed in Palestine undetected by the British. She again slipped into Palestine undetected and arrived at Shefayim on 22 October, this time carrying 174 passengers.
• On 23 November 1945, the Berl Katznelson, carrying 220 Jewish refugees, arrived in Shefayim. As the ship was landing people she was intercepted by the Royal Navy sloop HMS Peacock. Of the passengers, 200 reached the beach and escaped, and 20 were arrested.
• On 14 December 1945, the ship Hannah Senesh, carrying 252 passengers, was beached at Nahariya in Palestine after evading Royal Navy patrols. The passengers were brought ashore via a rope bridge, and evaded capture.
• On 17 January 1946, the Enzo Sereni, carrying 908 passengers, was intercepted by the destroyer HMS Talybont and escorted to Haifa.
• On 25 March 1946 the schooner Wingate, carrying 248 passengers, ran the blockade and attempted to land. The Imperial British Palestine Police Force opened fire from the shore. The ship was captured and escorted to Haifa by the destroyer HMS Chevron.
• On 27 March 1946 the steamer Tel Hai, carrying 736 passengers, was intercepted by the destroyer HMS Chequers 140 miles out at sea as it approached Palestine.
• On 13 May 1946, the Max Nordau, carrying 1,754 people, was captured by the destroyers HMS Jervis and HMS Chequers. The same day, the ships Dov Hos (675 passengers) and Eliahu Golomb (735 passengers) arrived in Palestine legally. The British had blockaded the Dov Hos after it had arrived in La Spezia, but the passengers responded with a hunger strike and a threat to blow her up, compelling the British to give them entry permits.
• On 8 June 1946, the Haviva Reik, carrying 462 passengers, was intercepted by HMS Saumarez on 8 June 1946. Some 150 people had previously transferred from the Haviva Reik to the Rafi off the Palestinian coast, and the crew had disembarked.
• On 26 June 1946, the Josiah Wedgwood, carrying 1,259 passengers, was intercepted by HMS Venus. The passengers were sent to the Atlit detainee camp.
• On 20 July 1946, the Haganah, carrying 2,678 passengers, departed from France, and transferred 1,108 of its passengers to the small steamer Biriah west of Crete. The Biriah was intercepted by HMS Virago on 2 July. The Haganah picked up a new party of refugees at Bakar, Yugoslavia, and set sail for Palestine, this time also carrying 2,678 passengers total. She was found at sea with engines broken down and no electrical power, and was towed to Haifa by HMS Venus. Her passengers were arrested and interned.^{[citation needed]}
• On 11 August 1946, the Yagur, carrying 758 passengers, was intercepted by the destroyer HMS Brissenden, with passive resistance from the people.
• On 12 August 1946, the Henrietta Szold, carrying 536 passengers, was intercepted. The same day, the British announced that illegal immigrants would be sent to Cyprus and other areas under detention. The first British deportation ship sailed for Cyprus on the same day, with 500 illegal immigrants on board.
• On 13 August 1946, two immigration ships were intercepted: Katriel Jaffe (604 passengers) by HMS Talybont, and Twenty Three (790 passengers) by HMS Brissenden. There was resistance on board Twenty Three. The same day, two British ships with 1,300 Jewish detainees on board set sail for Cyprus. A crowd of about 1,000 Jews attempted to break into the Haifa port area, and British troops responded with live fire.
• On 16 August 1946, the yawl Amiram Shochat, carrying 183 passengers, evaded the British blockade and landed near Caesarea Maritima.
• On 2 September 1946, the Dov Hos, this time named the Arba Cheruyot, carrying 1,024 passengers, was seized by the destroyers HMS Childers and HMS Chivalrous. The boarding was strongly resisted.
• On 22 September 1946, the brigantine Palmach, 611 passengers, was seized by the minesweeper HMS Rowena. The Royal Navy tried to board the ship four times before finally seizing her.
• On 20 October 1946, the Eliahu Golomb, renamed the Braha Fuld, carrying 806 passengers, was captured off Lebanon by the destroyer HMS Chaplet and minesweeper HMS Moon.
• On 19 October, the Latrun (1,279 passengers), was intercepted by HMS Chivalrous and the minesweeper HMS Octavia. The ship was leaking and listing heavily when she was intercepted.
• On 9 November 1946, the HaKedosha (600 passengers), foundered in a gale and sank. The passengers were rescued by the Knesset Israel. The Knesset Israel, carrying a total of 3,845 passengers, was intercepted by the destroyers HMS Haydon and HMS Brissenden and minesweepers HMS Octavia and HMS Espiegle and taken to Haifa. The interception met no resistance.
• On 5 December 1946, the Rafiah (785 passengers), was wrecked on Syrina Island in bad weather. The survivors were rescued by two Royal Navy and one Greek warship, and were taken to Cyprus. Women and children were taken to Palestine.
• On 9 February 1947, the wooden brigantine Lanegev (647 passengers) was captured by HMS Chieftain after a battle.

• On 17 February 1947, the steamer HaMapil HaAlmoni (807 passengers) was intercepted by HMS St Austell Bay, captured after a violent battle, and taken in tow by the minesweeper HMS Welfare.
• On 27 February 1947, the Haim Arlosoroff, after the name of an assassinated leader of the Jewish Agency (1,378 passengers) was intercepted by Royal Navy destroyer HMS Chieftain, and the passengers put up fierce resistance. The ship ran aground at Bat Galim, south of Haifa, just opposite a British Army camp. The passengers were arrested and deported to Cyprus.
• On 9 March 1947, the Ben Hecht (597 passengers), the only ship sponsored by the Irgun, was captured without resistance by the destroyers HMS Chieftain, HMS Chevron and HMS Chivalrous.
• On 12 March 1947, the Shabtai Luzinsky (823 passengers) ran the blockade and beached itself north of Gaza City, where the passengers disembarked, and most escaped a British Army cordon. Hundreds of local residents came down to the beach to mingle with passengers who evaded arrest. Many residents were mistaken for refugees, arrested, and sent to Cyprus, with some 460 locals returned home the following week.
• On 30 March 1947, the Moledet (1,588 passengers) developed a list and suffered engine failure some 50 miles outside Palestinian waters and issued an SOS. Passengers were transferred to the destroyers HMS Haydon and HMS Charity, minesweeper HMS Octavia and frigate HMS St Brides Bay, and the Royal Navy towed Moledet to Haifa.
• On 13 April 1947, the Theodor Herzl (2,641 passengers) was intercepted by HMS Haydon and HMS St Brides Bay. Passengers resisted heavily.
• On 23 April 1947, the Shear Yashuv (768 passengers) was intercepted by destroyer HMS Cheviot.
• On 17 May 1947, the Hatikva (1,414 passengers) was intercepted, rammed and captured by the destroyers HMS Venus and HMS Brissenden.
• On 23 May 1947, the immigrant ship Mordei Hagetaot, carrying 1,457 immigrants, was intercepted and boarded by the Royal Navy off southern Palestine. All of its passengers were arrested.
• On 31 May 1947, the Haganah ship Yehuda Halevy, carrying 399 immigrants, arrived in Palestine under escort after being intercepted by the Royal Navy. The immigrants were immediately transferred to Cyprus.
• On 18 July 1947, the ship SS Exodus, carrying 4,515 immigrants, was intercepted by the cruiser HMS Ajax and a flotilla of destroyers. She was rammed and boarded but the immigrants resisted the boarding, and had put up barriers and barbed wire to impede boarding. The Exodus was towed to Haifa, where the immigrants were forced onto three deportation ships and taken to France. When the deportation ships docked in Port-de-Bouc, the immigrants were then taken to Germany, and sent back to DP camps.
• On 28 July 1947, the 14 Halalei Gesher Haziv, carrying 685 Eastern European Jews was intercepted by HMS Rowena. The Shivat Zion, carrying 411 North African Jews, was intercepted without resistance by the minesweeper. HMS Providence.
• On 27 September 1947, the Af Al Pi Chen (434 passengers), was intercepted by HMS Talybont and taken after resistance.
• On 2 October 1947, the Medinat HaYehudim (2,664 passengers) was intercepted by the Royal Navy. The same day, the Geulah, with 1,385 passengers, was intercepted by HMS Chaplet.
• On 15 November 1947, the Peter, renamed the Aliyah and carrying 182 passengers, ran the British blockade and beached near Netanya. The passengers, all specially-picked youths, quickly disembarked and escaped.
• On 16 November 1947, the Kadima, a larger ship carrying 794 immigrants, was intercepted by the Royal Navy and brought to Haifa, where its passengers were transferred to the British transport ship HMT Runnymede Park and taken to Cyprus.

After the UN Partition Resolution

• On 4 December 1947, the HaPortzim ran the blockade and landed its 167 passengers at the mouth of the Yarkon River.
• On 22 December 1947, the Lo Tafchidunu (884 passengers) was intercepted by HMS Verulam and taken in tow by the sloop HMS Mermaid.
• On 28 December 1947, the 29 BeNovember (680 passengers) was intercepted by HMS Chevron.
• On 1 January 1948, the HaUmot HaMeuhadot (537 passengers) ran the blockade and beached herself at Nahariya. 131 passengers were caught, the rest evaded arrest. The same day, the Atzma'ut (7,612 passengers) and the Kibbutz Galuyot (7,557 passengers) were intercepted by the cruisers HMS Mauritius and HMS Phoebe and taken to Cyprus.
• On 31 January 1948, the 35 Giborei Kfar Etzion (280 passengers) was intercepted by HMS Childers.
• On 12 February 1948, the Yerushalayim Hanezura (679 passengers) was intercepted by HMS Cheviot.
• On 20 February 1948, the Lekommemiyut (696 passengers) was intercepted by HMS Childers.
• On 28 February 1948, the Bonim v'Lochamim formerly the Enzo Sereni, (982 passengers) was intercepted off Cape Carmel by HMS Venus .
• On 29 March 1948, the Yehiam (771 passengers) was intercepted by the destroyer HMS Verulam.
• On 12 April 1948, the Tirat Zvi (817 passengers) was intercepted by HMS Virago.
• On 24 April 1948, the Mishmar HaEmek (782 passengers) was intercepted by HMS Chevron off Haifa.
• On 26 April 1948, the Nakhson (553 passengers) was intercepted off Haifa by the sloop HMS Pelican after resistance which left a number of people injured.

Conclusion

The effort known as Aliyah Bet helped bring many people to Palestine, though not all succeeded. It brought together the Jewish community in Palestine (the Yishuv) and those who survived difficult times in Europe (Sh'erit ha-Pletah).

Some people unfortunately lost their lives at sea, and their memories are honored in the National Cemetery in Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.