Egos (ship)
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The Egos ( Hebrew אֱגוֹז, lit .: "Walnut") was a ship used by the Mossad to rescue Moroccan Jews. The ship sank in 1961, killing 46 people.
history
The Egos was used by the British as a cargo ship under the name Pisces during World War II and then converted into a smuggler's boat. In 1960 the ship was chartered by the Mossad and was supposed to bring between 40 and 50 Jews from Morocco to Gibraltar on each voyage , from where the Jewish emigrants would then continue to Israel . In three months, 334 Jewish residents were able to be removed from the country.
On January 10, 1961, the Egos set sail from al-Hoceima with 44 Jews on board. However, the ship got into distress in a storm and sank. All passengers died, as well as an Israeli radio operator and a Spanish crew member . The remaining three Spanish crew members were saved. 22 bodies could be recovered, the others had to be left behind. It was not until December 1992 that King Hassan II of Morocco allowed the rest of the bodies to be recovered and transported to Israel, where the remains were buried on the Herzlberg .
A memorial was built in Ashdod for those who died in the accident.
consequences
After the accident, a contract was signed to regulate the departure of Moroccan Jews. By 1964, 80,000 Jews from Morocco had been brought to Israel in Operation Jachin .
literature
- Haim Hazan, Esther Hertzog: Serendipity in Anthropological Research: The Nomadic Turn . Ashgate Publishing, 2012, p. 296.
- The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa in Modern Times . Reeva S. Simon, Michael M. Laskier, Sara Reguer. Columbia University Press, 2003, p. 501.
- Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services . Ian Black, Benny Morris. Grove Press, 1991, p. 174.
Web links
- Detailed description of the downfall on the blog "Point of No Return: Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries"
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c This Week in Haaretz: 1961 / The Egoz sinks, killing Moroccan Jewish immigrants to Israel . Haaretz, January 13, 2011 (English).
- ↑ Peres recalls tragedy of 'Egoz' . Jerusalem Post, January 1, 2008 (English).