Palmach in the Diaspora
The news about the holocaust of European Jewry during the Second World War, and the increasing harassment of Jews in Arab countries in the early 1940's, were a catalyst to the onset of Palmach operation beyond Eretz Israel's borders as well. The purpose was to secure the lives of Jews in the Diaspora and help to bring them to Eretz Israel.
The Palmach was quintessentially Israeli in its character and education. In its early years, most Palmach members and commanders were native-born, educated in Eretz Israel and absorbed its atmosphere and culture. The principle values the unit was founded on were: Self-defense, an activist approach, focusing on the settlement effort for the Jewish nation in Israel and striving for Jewish independence in it.
The feeling of shared fate with the Diaspora Jews and the willingness to help them were not a top priority for Palmach members. A sense of recoil and even aversion towards the Diaspora life style spread among them, expressing itself in their superiority and alienation towards its Jewry. Only a deliberate, continuous educational effort initiated by the Palmach HQ, was able to gradually instill in many of the Brigade members, the awareness to the necessity and importance of going on mission abroad.
The news about the holocaust of European Jewry during the Second World War, and the increasing harassment of Jews in Arab countries in the early 1940's, were a catalyst to the onset of Palmach operation beyond Eretz Israel's borders as well. The purpose was to secure the lives of Jews in the Diaspora and help to bring them to Eretz Israel.
Between 1943-1948, the Diaspora Palmach delegates worked in the following areas:
1. Organizing the self-defense of Jews in Arab countries.
2. Helping the immigration of Jews from Arab countries by land through the northern border.
3. As part of the Hagana delegation that worked in Europe after the Second World War was over.
4. Leading in refugee camps in Europe and escorting Haapala ships.
5. Training the immigrants detained in the detention camps in Cyprus as part of the "Defenders Line".
Hundreds of Palmach members participated in these missions during those five years. They mostly worked individually or in small groups. The Palmach members were sent on missions by order of the Palmach HQ, but were usually subordinated to the command of 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet' or other Hagana frameworks. However, they kept in touch with the 'Brigade' from which they were sent on mission abroad. The missions of Palmach delegates to the Diaspora were military ones, but due to circumstances under which they worked, they devoted a considerable amount of time to various civil activities.
Their encounters and daily deeds brought them closer to the world of Diaspora Jews and they became familiar with their culture, existence and hardships. In their missions, the Palmach delegates gained a sense of unity among the different parts of the nation spread in the Diaspora, and added it to their principle values. They carried the annunciation of Eretz Israel to the Diaspora Jews they met. In their confident demeanor and the responsibility they took for the destiny of other Jews in distress, they represented the Yishuv's willingness to help them and the belief in the possibility and achievement of independent statehood.
The feeling of shared fate with the Diaspora Jews and the willingness to help them were not a top priority for Palmach members. A sense of recoil and even aversion towards the Diaspora life style spread among them, expressing itself in their superiority and alienation towards its Jewry. Only a deliberate, continuous educational effort initiated by the Palmach HQ, was able to gradually instill in many of the Brigade members, the awareness to the necessity and importance of going on mission abroad.
The news about the holocaust of European Jewry during the Second World War, and the increasing harassment of Jews in Arab countries in the early 1940's, were a catalyst to the onset of Palmach operation beyond Eretz Israel's borders as well. The purpose was to secure the lives of Jews in the Diaspora and help to bring them to Eretz Israel.
Between 1943-1948, the Diaspora Palmach delegates worked in the following areas:
1. Organizing the self-defense of Jews in Arab countries.
2. Helping the immigration of Jews from Arab countries by land through the northern border.
3. As part of the Hagana delegation that worked in Europe after the Second World War was over.
4. Leading in refugee camps in Europe and escorting Haapala ships.
5. Training the immigrants detained in the detention camps in Cyprus as part of the "Defenders Line".
Hundreds of Palmach members participated in these missions during those five years. They mostly worked individually or in small groups. The Palmach members were sent on missions by order of the Palmach HQ, but were usually subordinated to the command of 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet' or other Hagana frameworks. However, they kept in touch with the 'Brigade' from which they were sent on mission abroad. The missions of Palmach delegates to the Diaspora were military ones, but due to circumstances under which they worked, they devoted a considerable amount of time to various civil activities.
Their encounters and daily deeds brought them closer to the world of Diaspora Jews and they became familiar with their culture, existence and hardships. In their missions, the Palmach delegates gained a sense of unity among the different parts of the nation spread in the Diaspora, and added it to their principle values. They carried the annunciation of Eretz Israel to the Diaspora Jews they met. In their confident demeanor and the responsibility they took for the destiny of other Jews in distress, they represented the Yishuv's willingness to help them and the belief in the possibility and achievement of independent statehood.