Mossad le Aliyah Bet

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The Mossad le Alija Bet ( Hebrew 'המוסד לעלייה ב, dt. About Institution for Immigration B ), often just called HaMossad for short , was a company of the Jewish Agency to promote illegal immigration ( Alija Bet ) to Palestine . It is not to be confused with the later Israeli foreign intelligence service . The Hebrew word "Mossad" means "institute".

history

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Illegal immigration of Jews to Palestine has existed since the suppression of the Bar Kochba uprising in 135. For a long time it was only religious Jews who, driven by a longing for Zion, ignored immigration restrictions or bans. With the rise of Zionism , the number of immigrants in general and thus also the number of illegal immigrants increased significantly. Effective controls and countermeasures did not take effect until the term of the mandate, so that from around 1920 onwards there were organized actions of illegal immigration that were not coordinated with one another.

The development in Europe , especially in Germany , from the mid-1930s onwards increased the pressure on Jews to leave the country. Organized illegal immigration became organized under the influence of the Évian conference and the November pogroms of 1938 , which increased the flow of emigrants from Europe to Palestine, and the 1939 White Paper , which made it increasingly difficult for Jews to immigrate to Palestine, while Arab immigration remained virtually unrestricted to Palestine as needed on a large scale. So the Mossad le Alija Bet was founded on April 29, 1939 as a branch of the Hagana , under the direction of Shaul Avigur .

The main focus of the work was on helping Jews from Southeastern Europe to flee (“ Bricha ”). With the beginning of the Second World War , these activities were severely restricted and could only be resumed on a large scale from around August 1945. Instead, during the war, there was increased immigration of Jews from Arab countries by land. The high phase of the HaMossad was from the end of the war until the founding of the state of Israel with numerous refugee ships from Southern and Eastern Europe, but also from the Middle East, North Africa and the USA. Initially, all immigrants could be smuggled into Palestine secretly, but as early as November 1945 the British Mandate Government set up a sea blockade to intercept the refugee ships. The HaMossad countered this blockade with two different concepts: on the one hand, to sail with a large number of small ships somewhere on the coast of Palestine, and so overwhelm the British blockade over the sheer volume. On the other hand, with very large ships and a large number of refugees, to create a strong effect on the morale of the refugees and the opinion of the world public.

After the UN partition resolution on November 29, 1947, the HaMossad's tasks were expanded to include the transport of arms and ammunition to Palestine and more than 50 trips were made.

After the founding of the state of Israel on May 14, 1948, all British entry restrictions and the sea blockade were removed, the scope of the Mossad le Alija Bet was no longer applicable. The organization was restructured to the Mossad le Alija , which supported and organized the legal and legally documented immigration of Jews to Israel.

Organizational structure and tasks

The HaMossad served as an overarching organization that covered all matters relating to illegal immigration. He was supported by numerous other Jewish organizations such as Hagana, Palmach , Palyam , Jewish Brigade , Bricha , Ha'Chulya etc., which supported the HaMossad both through their own organizational structure, but above all with personnel. The organizations were not in a clear hierarchical structure to one another, but as a network.

The HaMossad itself worked with a very small number of employees and a very narrow organization. The headquarters were in the Histadrut building on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv . Another center for the incoming refugee ships was in Haifa . The European office was in Paris , temporarily also in Geneva . Every European country with Alija Beth emigration bases had an operational director who worked partly alone, partly with one or two employees.

The specific tasks of the HaMossad were:

  • Secret contacts with governments and organizations
  • Establishment of a financing network
  • Recruiting volunteers especially in North America
  • Secret procurement of ships, repair and conversion to refugee ships
  • Hiring of captains and ship crews
  • Training of palyamniks as commander for the refugee trips
  • Establishment of the communication system “ Gid'On ” in Europe, Palestine and North America and on the ships
  • Organization of supplies and food for the crossings
  • Collection and preparation of refugees in assembly camps or in the departure ports
  • Forwarding of refugees who have arrived to camps and kibbutzim
  • From November 1947: procurement of weapons and ammunition, as well as transport to Palestine

Well-known employees

Literary appreciation

In his famous book Exodus , Leon Uris created a literary monument to the work of Mossad le Alija Bet .

Web links