Aliyah Bet

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For the effort initiated by Polish Zionists from Lublin to bring European Jews to Palestine (1944-48), see Berihah.

Aliyah Bet (Hebrew: 'עלייה ב), meaning "Aliyah 'B'" (bet being the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet) was the code name given to immigration by Jews to the British Mandate of Palestine in violation of British restrictions against such immigration.

It was distinguished from Aliyah Aleph ("Aliyah 'A'") (Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet): the limited Jewish immigration British authorities did allow during the mandatory period.

In modern day Israel it has also been called the Ha'apala (Hebrew: העפלה), which is also a Hebrew term used for the immigration by Jews to the Palestine in violation of British restrictions against such immigration. During Ha'apala, several Jewish organizations worked together to facilitate immigration beyond the established quotas. As persecution of Jews intensified in Europe during the Nazi era, the urgency driving the immigration also became more acute. Those who participated in the immigration efforts consistently refused to term it "illegal", instead calling it "clandestine."

The journey of Aliyah Bet Group 14

Ha'apala occurred in two phases: First from 1934 to 1942, in an effort to rescue European Jews from the Holocaust; and then from 1945 to 1948 to find homes for displaced Jewish survivors (Sh'erit ha-Pletah) who were languishing in DP Camps. During the first phase, several organizations (including Revisionists) led the effort; after World War II, the Mossad Le'aliyah Bet ("the Institute for Aliyah B"), an arm of the Haganah, commissioned the ships.

Post-World War II, Ha'apala journeys would typically start in the DP camps and move through one of two collection points in the American sector: Bad Reichenhall and Leipheim. From there, the refugees, including men, women, and children, would find their way by concealed trucks, foot, train, and other means to Mediterranean ports, where ships would seek to bring them to Palestine. More than 70,000 Jews arrived in Palestine using more than 100 boats.^[1]

American sector camps imposed no restrictions on the movements out of the camps, and American, French, and Italian officials would often turn a blind eye to the movements. Several UNRRA officials (in particular Elizabeth Robertson in Leipheim) would act as facilitators of the emigration. The British vehemently opposed the movement, placing restrictions on movements in and out of their camps and imposing an armed naval blockade to prevent immigrants from landing in Palestine.

Over 100,000 people attempted to illegally enter Mandatory Palestine in the course of 142 sailings by 120 ships. Over half were stopped by the blockade and sent to internment camps on Cyprus (Karaolos near Famagusta, Nicosia, Dhekelia, and Xylotumbou), Palestine (the Atlit detention camp), and Mauritius. The British held as many as 50,000 prisoners in these camps. Over 1,600 drowned at sea and a few thousand managed to enter the British Mandate of Palestine.

The pivotal event in the Ha'apala program was the incident of the Exodus 5707 (1947), when British methods for stopping immigration got the public eye. The ship was intercepted, attacked, and boarded by British navy forces. It was diverted back to Europe, and after significant resistance from its passengers, the refugees were once again in Germany.

Four major disasters happened: The Haganah blew a hole in the Patria a deportation ship taking the detainees to Mauritius (November 1940), and 267 lives were lost. The Salvador sank December 1940 near Istanbul, and 260 drowned. About 100 were saved and later boarded the Darien II [1]. The Struma was torpedoed by the Russians in February 1942 and 770 lives were lost. The Mafkura was torpedoed by the Germans in August 1944, and 400 lives were lost.

The success rate of the Aliyah Beth programme was modest when measured in terms of the numbers who succeeded in entering Palestine; but it proved to be a unifying force both for the Jewish community in Palestine (the Yishuv) and for the Holocaust-survivor refugees in Europe (Sh'erit ha-Pletah).