Exodus 1947: The Flagship of Determination

Did you know that "Exodus 1947" (Yetzi'at Europa Tashaz) is considered the "flagship" of the Aliyah Bet movement? Its story is the most dramatic and influential chapter in the history of the struggle for free immigration to Israel. The Journey and the Immigrants: The ship, originally an American river steamer named President Warfield, was purchased by the Mossad LeAliyah Bet and prepared for its mission in France and Italy. Onboard were 4,554 refugees, mostly Holocaust survivors from displaced persons camps, including many women, elderly, and children. The operation was led by Commander Yossi Harel and Captain Yitzhak ("Ike") Aronne, accompanied by a crew of Jewish volunteers from America. The Battle Off the Coast: On July 11, 1947, the ship slipped out of the port of Sète, France, under heavy British pressure. On July 18, near the shores of Israel, the British Navy attacked the ship in a violent confrontation that left three dead and dozens wounded. The heartbreaking sight of the battered ship and the exhausted immigrants at the Port of Haifa left a deep impression on the members of the UNSCOP committee who were in the country at the time. The Deportation Drama: The British decided on an unprecedented step: deporting the immigrants back to their port of origin in France. There, off the port of Port-de-Bouc, the immigrants refused to disembark for an entire month under extreme heat and poor sanitary conditions, conducting a determined struggle that stirred global public opinion. Aftermath and Impact: After weeks of refusal, the British sent the ships to their occupation zone in Germany and forcibly evacuated the refugees to detention camps in Hamburg. Returning Holocaust survivors to German soil was seen as a total British moral defeat. While the affair was not the sole factor in the November 29th UN resolution, it symbolized to the world the failure of the British Mandate and the Jewish people's unwavering determination for a state and free immigration.