List of Aliyah Bet refugee ships
After the end of the Second World War , the Mossad le Alija Bet, together with the Palyam, organized the immigration of Jewish Holocaust survivors and displaced persons to Palestine . For this purpose, ships were bought or chartered by various Jewish organizations and converted to transport as many refugees as possible. For the crossing to Palestine, the ships were given a code name, which later partly became the official ship name.
Most of the ships in this so-called Clandestine Fleet could not break through the British naval blockade set up at the end of November 1945 and were confiscated. Up until the Exodus affair , the immigrants fought vehemently against the arrest by the British, killing ten immigrants and one palmachnik . Fearing that more ships like the Exodus could be sent back to Europe, the Mossad le Alija Bet forbade further active resistance. Individual ships stranded on the coast of Palestine and had to be abandoned. Only two ships were lost during the crossing, with eight immigrants drowning. Another ship had to be abandoned due to irreparable engine damage before it could take immigrants in Algeria. This means that the wave of immigration after the end of the Second World War had a significantly lower rate of unhappiness than before and during the war.
The sharp rise in immigrant numbers in 1946 caused major problems for the British Mandate Government as the Atlit internment camp was overcrowded and the conditions became inhuman. The problem was exacerbated by the arrest of thousands of Palestinian Jews in connection with the British Operation Agatha on June 29, 1946. These problems led to the government's declaration on the deportation of illegal immigrants to Cyprus on August 13, 1946 and the related Operation Igloo , the deportation to Specially established internment camps in Cyprus .
A total of 70,428 immigrants were brought to the coast of Palestine with the refugee ships, but only 2108 were able to break through the blockade and get into the country. There were also 1,014 immigrants who were legally able to enter the country after the La Spezia affair , as well as 1,136 immigrants who arrived shortly after the establishment of the state of Israel and thus after the British blockade was lifted. The others were picked up by the British and deported to internment camps in Atlit, Cyprus, or even in Germany as part of Operation Oasis .
Some of the seized ships were anchored off Haifa by the British , and this cluster was called the Shadow Fleet . After the British withdrew in 1948, the ships were taken over by the Israeli Navy .
List of immigrant ships
The list includes all trips made by the Clandestine Fleet after the end of World War II. Individual ships could complete several trips.
Ship name | Code name | Number of immigrants |
Departure country | Arrival in Israel |
fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sirius | Dalin | 37 | Italy | Aug 28, 1945 | Successful crossing; first immigrant ship after the end of WWII |
Nettuno | Natan | 79 | Italy | 4th Sep 1945 | Successful crossing |
Gabriela | Gavriela | 40 | Greece | Sep 9 1945 | Successful crossing |
Alberta | Pietro | 168 | Italy | 19 Sep 1945 | Successful crossing |
Nettuno | Natan | 73 | Italy | Oct. 1, 1945 | Successful crossing |
Alberta | Pietro | 174 | Italy | Oct. 22, 1945 | Successful crossing |
Demetrius | Berl Katznelson | 211 | Greece | Nov 22, 1945 | First ship seized by the British |
Andarta | Hannah Senesh | 252 | Italy | December 25, 1945 | First successful blockade breaker; Leaked and sunk on landing, one fatality |
Rondine | Enzo Sereni | 908 | Italy | Jan. 17, 1946 | Upset |
Noris | Wingate | 238 | Italy | March 26, 1946 | Upset |
Asia | Tel Chai | 736 | France | March 27, 1946 | Upset |
Smyrna | Max Nordau | 1666 | Romania | May 13, 1946 | Upset |
Fenice | Eliahu Golomb | 339 | Italy | May 13, 1946 | Free passage after the La Spezia affair |
Fede | Dov Hoz | 675 | Italy | May 13, 1946 | Free passage after the La Spezia affair |
Aghios Andreas | Haviva Reik | 462 | Greece | June 8, 1946 | Upset |
Beuharnois | Josiah Wedgwood | 1257 | Italy | June 27, 1946 | Upset |
Akbel | Biria | 999 | France | July 1, 1946 | Upset |
Balboa | Hagana | 2678 | Yugoslavia | July 29, 1946 | Upset |
Arlena | Ha'chayal Ha'ivri | 510 | Belgium | July 31, 1946 | Upset |
Sagolem | Yagur | 759 | France | Aug 11, 1946 | Troubled, first ship in Operation Igloo |
Arites Salas | Henrietta Szold | 536 | Greece | Aug 12, 1946 | Upset |
Avanti | Katriel Jaffe | 604 | Italy | Aug 13, 1946 | Upset |
San Sissimo | Kaf Gimel Yordai Ha'sira | 790 | Italy | Aug 15, 1946 | Upset |
Ile de la Rose | Amiram Shochat | 183 | Italy | Aug 16, 1946 | Successful blockade breaker, aground on landing |
Fede | Arba Cheruyot | 1024 | Italy | Sep 2 1946 | Upset |
Adriana Ariella | Palmach | 611 | Italy | 22 Sep 1946 | Enraged, a fatality |
Fenice | Bracha Fuld | 806 | Italy | Oct 22, 1946 | Upset |
San Dimitrio | Latrun | 1275 | France | Nov 1, 1946 | Upset |
Agia Anastasia | Abba Berdichev | 400 | Yugoslavia | Nov 9, 1946 | sunk during the crossing |
Luchita | Knesset Israel | 3845 | Yugoslavia | Nov 26, 1946 | Enraged, a fatality |
Athena | Rafah | 785 | Yugoslavia | December 7, 1946 | sunk during the crossing, eight fatalities |
Merica | La'Negev | 647 | France | Feb 9, 1947 | Enraged, a fatality |
San Miguel | Ha'mapil Ha'almoni | 796 | France | Feb 16, 1947 | Upset |
Ulua | Chaim Arlosoroff | 1348 | Sweden / Italy | Feb. 27, 1947 | Angry, set on the ground |
Avril | Ben Hecht | 600 | France | March 8, 1947 | Upset |
Susana | Shabtai Luzinski | 823 | Italy | March 12, 1947 | Successful blockade breaker, ran aground on landing. Discovered during disembarkation |
San Filippe | Moledet | 1568 | Italy | March 29, 1947 | In distress at sea, upset |
Guardian | Theodor Herzl | 2641 | France | Apr 13, 1947 | Angry, three fatalities |
Gian Paolo | She'ar Yashuv | 768 | Italy | Apr 23, 1947 | Upset |
Trade Winds | Hatikva | 1414 | Italy | May 17, 1947 | Upset |
Agha Orietta | Mered Hagetaot | 1457 | Italy | May 24, 1947 | Upset |
Earl of Zetland | Yehuda Halevi | 399 | France / Algeria | May 31, 1947 | Upset |
President Warfield | Exodus | 4530 | France | July 18, 1947 | Angry, three fatalities |
Bruna | The 14 Fallen of Gesher Aziv | 685 | Italy | July 28, 1947 | Upset |
Luciana | Shivat Zion | 411 | France / Algeria | July 28, 1947 | Upset |
Farida | Af-Al-Pi-Chen | 434 | Italy | 27 Sep 1947 | Enraged, a fatality |
Paducah | Geula | 1388 | Bulgaria | Oct 2, 1947 | Upset |
Northland | Jewish State | 2664 | Bulgaria | Oct 2, 1947 | Upset |
Yildrim | Habarak | 0 | Algeria | Oct 18, 1947 | Abandoned after engine failure before Jews could be taken on board |
Albertina | Aliya | 182 | France | Nov 15, 1947 | Successful blockade breaker, aground on landing |
Rafael Luccia | Kadima | 794 | Italy | Nov 16, 1947 | Upset |
Maria Anick | Ha'portzim | 167 | France | Dec. 4, 1947 | Successful blockade breaker |
Maria Christina | Lo Tafchidunu | 853 | Italy | Dec 22, 1947 | Upset |
Maria Giovanni | Kaf-Tet Be'November | 680 | France | Dec 28, 1947 | Upset |
Archimidis | United Nations | 537 | Italy | Jan. 1, 1948 | Last successful blockade breaker |
Pan York | Comemiut | 7620 | Bulgaria | Jan. 1, 1948 | Upset |
Pan Crescent | Atz toll | 7620 | Bulgaria | Jan. 1, 1948 | Upset |
Sylvia Starita | The 35 Heroes of Gush Etzion | 274 | Italy | Jan. 31, 1948 | Upset |
Ambrosiana | Yerushalayim Ha'netzura | 670 | Italy | Feb 12, 1948 | Upset |
Sette Fratelli | Le'kommemiyut | 699 | France | Feb 20, 1948 | Upset |
Rondine | Bonim Ve'lochamim | 1002 | Yugoslavia | Feb. 28, 1948 | Upset |
Esmeralda | Yechiam | 769 | Italy | March 28, 1948 | Upset |
Rina Vivare | Tirat Tzvi | 798 | Italy | Apr 12, 1948 | Upset |
San Michele | Mishmar Ha'emek | 782 | France | Apr 24, 1948 | Upset |
Tadorne | Nachschon | 550 | France | Apr 26, 1948 | Last arrested immigrant ship |
Tulia Christina | La'nitzachon | 189 | Italy | May 17, 1948 | Unhindered arrival after the establishment of Israel |
Orchidea | The State of Israel | 243 | Italy | May 17, 1948 | Unhindered arrival after the establishment of Israel |
Fabio | Krav Emek Ayalon | 706 | France | May 29, 1948 | Unhindered arrival after the establishment of Israel |
Escort ships
As escort ships immigrant ships were called, which does not itself lead to the coast of Palestine. Instead, the passengers transferred to another immigrant ship at a secret meeting point at sea. With this method, a larger number of immigrants could be brought to the coast of Palestine without having to endure the tight confinement of the ships for the full time of the crossing, and at the same time the number of ships that were confiscated by the British for the Aliyah Bet could get lost.
- Albertina
- Rafi
Deportation ships
Deportation ships were passenger or cargo ships converted into prison ships, with which the captured immigrants were brought out of the country.
- Empire Comfort
- Empire Heywood
- Empire rest
- Empire rival
- Ocean vigor
- Runnymede Park
Web links
- palyam.org (English)
- palmach.org.il (English)