The Mossad LeAliyah Bet (Hebrew: 'המוסד לעלייה ב, lit. Institution for Immigration B) was a branch of the Haganah in the British Mandate of Palestine that operated to facilitate Jewish immigration to Palestine in violation of unilateral British restrictions.[1] It operated from 1938 until the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. The name's origin is a play on words; the Yishuv referred to legal immigration as "Aliyah Alef", whilst illegal immigration was referred to as "Aliyah Bet".
In late 1938, on the eve of Kristallnacht, the British government announced in (what became known as) the 1939 White Paper that it was to cease permitting Jewish migration to Palestine and at that point the main body of Zionism decided to cease conforming with British regulations.
Even though the Mossad LeAliyah Bet was officially founded on 29 April 1939, it had begun operating during 1938. Headed by Shaul Avigur,[2] the Mossad was founded on the basis of the Ha'apala movement. Its activity was initially centred in Athens and later on its centre moved to Paris. The movement's leadership was drawn from both revisionist and main stream Zionist activists.
In the first years after it was created, the Mossad achieved a certain measure of success. Operating primarily through the sea, in 50 cruises it was able to bring as many as 20,000 Jewish immigrants to Palestine. When World War II broke, the Mossad became virtually paralyzed and its activities were only renewed by August 1945.
Since that time and until the founding of Israel, the Mossad was able to bring an additional 64 ships with over 70,000 Jewish immigrants (many of whom were Holocaust survivors). In addition to the sea, although in a much smaller scale, the Mossad also brought immigrants via land, from the Arab world. Overall, the Mossad was able to bring about 100,000 Jews into what was to become the State of Israel.
The most famous ship used by the Mossad was Exodus, which brought 4,554 Holocaust survivors. With the founding of Israel, the Mossad served as a basis for the agency Lishkat Hakesher (Liaison Bureau), codenamed Nativ (נתיב "Path"), created in 1953 and also headed by Meirov, which brought Jews from Soviet bloc, the Arab world, and other countries.