Sagolem – Yagur
"Yagur" sailed from La Ciotat port (near Marseille) on July 29th 1946, with 754 immigrants on board.
The "Yagur" Haapala ship (named after the kibbutz where the British searched after the main arms 'Slik' of the Hagana organization during "Black Sabbath," on June 29th 1946) prepared for its journey to Israel from the Marseille port in France. The ship commander was Yisrael Averbuch. The 'Gidoni' (wireless operator) was Malka Rofeh. Additional escorts were Moshe Mark and Yisrael Avigdor.
"Yagur" sailed from La Ciotat port (near Marseille) on July 29th 1946, with 754 immigrants on board. The ship was under Turkish ownership and had previously been used for in military operation. The radio malfunctioned shortly after embarkation. A British patrol airplane spotted the ship on August 11th, and later on two destroyers accompanied it to the Haifa port at dawn on August 13th.
At 4:45:00 on that very same morning, the British began their operation "Igloo" – deporting immigrants to Cyprus. With the ship's arrival, the 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet' members notified the escorts regarding the deportation plan. The escorts doubted the information and did not prepare for resisting the ship's towing to the port. The British demanded the immigrants transfer to another British ship without announcing that the purpose was deportation. The immigrants did not obey the call and huddled in the belly of the ship. The British soldiers climbed on board and after a short fray, the immigrants were transferred to the "Empire Rival" deportation ship.
Members of 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet' managed to hide explosives in the immigrants' bags in order to sabotage the ship; but the British took precaution measures and placed the immigrants' belongings to a separate section of the ship. The "Yagur" immigrants reached Tent Camp No. 55 near Famagusta, Cyprus, after a 16-hour journey.
They were the first immigrants deported to Cyprus. The escorts joined the immigrants on their deportation to Cyprus, and escaped the detention camp later on with the help of 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet'.
"Yagur" sailed from La Ciotat port (near Marseille) on July 29th 1946, with 754 immigrants on board. The ship was under Turkish ownership and had previously been used for in military operation. The radio malfunctioned shortly after embarkation. A British patrol airplane spotted the ship on August 11th, and later on two destroyers accompanied it to the Haifa port at dawn on August 13th.
At 4:45:00 on that very same morning, the British began their operation "Igloo" – deporting immigrants to Cyprus. With the ship's arrival, the 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet' members notified the escorts regarding the deportation plan. The escorts doubted the information and did not prepare for resisting the ship's towing to the port. The British demanded the immigrants transfer to another British ship without announcing that the purpose was deportation. The immigrants did not obey the call and huddled in the belly of the ship. The British soldiers climbed on board and after a short fray, the immigrants were transferred to the "Empire Rival" deportation ship.
Members of 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet' managed to hide explosives in the immigrants' bags in order to sabotage the ship; but the British took precaution measures and placed the immigrants' belongings to a separate section of the ship. The "Yagur" immigrants reached Tent Camp No. 55 near Famagusta, Cyprus, after a 16-hour journey.
They were the first immigrants deported to Cyprus. The escorts joined the immigrants on their deportation to Cyprus, and escaped the detention camp later on with the help of 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet'.