Demetrius – Berel Kazhenelson
"Berel Kazhenelson" sailed on the night of the 16th to the 17th on November 1945, from Lavrion port, south-east of Athens, with 211 immigrants on board.
The "Berel Kazhenelson" Haapala ship (named after one of the senior Labor party leaders who died in August 1944) was prepared to depart for Israel in Piraeus port in Greece. The captain of the ship was Pietro (a Greek.) The ship commander was Palyam member Moshe Rabinovitch. The 'Gidoni' was Yedidia Zafrir. An additional escort was Palyam member Arieh Kaplan.
"Berel Kazhenelson" sailed on the night of the 16th to the 17th on November 1945, from Lavrion port, south-east of Athens, with 211 immigrants on board. The British found out about the departure of the ship, and British reconnaissance aircrafts circled near it a few times during the voyage. The ship arrived at the shore between Sidna-Ali (north of Herzliya) and Shefayim on November 22nd. At 21:30, the immigrants began disembarking the ship, using the boats on board as well as 4 boats that arrived from the shore; those boats were manned by Yosef Dror and other Palyam members who participated in a ship commanding course in Caesarea. A half an hour later, a British destroyer neared the arrival area. By that time, most of the immigrants had managed to safely reach the shore. The British captured 11 immigrants as well as the foreign ship crew. Two Palyam boats were captured along with their men, who were transferred to the Latrun prison, where they stayed for six months.
As to the ship escorts; Arieh Kaplan managed to jump overboard and swim to the shore, while Rabinovitch was caught after destroying the radio, and was transferred with the rest of the captured immigrants to Atlit camp. He was released sometime later with the help of a certificate (immigration license.)
"Berel Kazhenelson" was the first Haapala ship to be captured by the British after WWII. In response, the Jewish Resistance Movement decided to sabotage the Giv'at –Olga and Sidna-Ali coastal police stations; the mission was assigned to the Palmach. On November 25th 1945, forces from the Fourth Palmach Battalion raided both stations.
"Berel Kazhenelson" sailed on the night of the 16th to the 17th on November 1945, from Lavrion port, south-east of Athens, with 211 immigrants on board. The British found out about the departure of the ship, and British reconnaissance aircrafts circled near it a few times during the voyage. The ship arrived at the shore between Sidna-Ali (north of Herzliya) and Shefayim on November 22nd. At 21:30, the immigrants began disembarking the ship, using the boats on board as well as 4 boats that arrived from the shore; those boats were manned by Yosef Dror and other Palyam members who participated in a ship commanding course in Caesarea. A half an hour later, a British destroyer neared the arrival area. By that time, most of the immigrants had managed to safely reach the shore. The British captured 11 immigrants as well as the foreign ship crew. Two Palyam boats were captured along with their men, who were transferred to the Latrun prison, where they stayed for six months.
As to the ship escorts; Arieh Kaplan managed to jump overboard and swim to the shore, while Rabinovitch was caught after destroying the radio, and was transferred with the rest of the captured immigrants to Atlit camp. He was released sometime later with the help of a certificate (immigration license.)
"Berel Kazhenelson" was the first Haapala ship to be captured by the British after WWII. In response, the Jewish Resistance Movement decided to sabotage the Giv'at –Olga and Sidna-Ali coastal police stations; the mission was assigned to the Palmach. On November 25th 1945, forces from the Fourth Palmach Battalion raided both stations.