Katrial Yoffe
"Katrial Yoffe" sailed from the Italian port of Boca di Magra on July 31st, 1946, with 604 immigrants on board, among them the Slevino children from the children's home for holocaust survivors.
The Haapala ship, "Katrial Yoffe" (named after the Hanagah member from the first Jewish marines, who was in command of the "Tiger Hill" Haapala ship, and died with the 23 in 1941) prepared for departure for Israel in La Spezia port in Italy by its escorts and local shipyard crew. The ship commander was Palyam member, Eliezer Klein (Tal.) The 'Gidoni' (wireless operator) was Aya Finkerfeld (Meir.)
"Katrial Yoffe" sailed from the Italian port of Boca di Magra on July 31st, 1946, with 604 immigrants on board, among them the Slevino children from the children's home for holocaust survivors.
A planned meeting between "Katrial Yoffe" and "The 23" Haapala ship, whose passengers were to switch to the "Katrial Yoffe," did not take place due to technical and communication difficulties.
On the morning of August 13th, a British destroyer spotted "Katrial Yoffe" and ordered it to stop. When it did not respond, the destroyer fired a warning volley at the ship and made it came to a halt.
British soldiers went on board and led the ship to the Haifa Gulf without encountering any resistance: The escorts assumed that since they were captured outside Israel's territorial waters, they would be taken to Atlit. The British preferred that "Katrial Yoffe" as well as "The 23" ship, which were captured simultaneously, wait outside the port, while deportation procedure of the "Yagur" and "Henrietta Szold" to Cyprus was in progress.
After dark, Klein, the "Katrial Yoffe" commander, decided to bring the ship closer to the shore. A group of youth secretly sawed off the anchor chain, covered by the immigrants' great singing. The police guards on board were locked in one of the cabins, and on the morning of August 14th, the ship was guided, by wind, towards the shore of Kiryat Chayim. A while later, the British destroyer noticed what was happening and captured the fugitive ship, towing it to the Haifa port after the escorts sabotaged its engines. The soldiers who began to disembark immigrants faced passive resistance. They used water hoses, clubs and tear gas in order to subdue the immigrants. Once the confrontation ended, the immigrants were transferred to the deportation ship, "Empire Heywood."
During the transit, some girls carried explosives up to the deportations ship on their body. Klein and Palyam member, Zalman Perach, who sneaked on board the "Empire Heywood" to assist, placed an explosive pack that caused the ship some minor damage. The damages delayed the journey in four days, and only on August 22nd the "Katrial Yoffe" immigrants were deported to Cyprus. The escorts joined the immigrants to Cyprus, and escaped the detention camp later on.
"Katrial Yoffe" sailed from the Italian port of Boca di Magra on July 31st, 1946, with 604 immigrants on board, among them the Slevino children from the children's home for holocaust survivors.
A planned meeting between "Katrial Yoffe" and "The 23" Haapala ship, whose passengers were to switch to the "Katrial Yoffe," did not take place due to technical and communication difficulties.
On the morning of August 13th, a British destroyer spotted "Katrial Yoffe" and ordered it to stop. When it did not respond, the destroyer fired a warning volley at the ship and made it came to a halt.
British soldiers went on board and led the ship to the Haifa Gulf without encountering any resistance: The escorts assumed that since they were captured outside Israel's territorial waters, they would be taken to Atlit. The British preferred that "Katrial Yoffe" as well as "The 23" ship, which were captured simultaneously, wait outside the port, while deportation procedure of the "Yagur" and "Henrietta Szold" to Cyprus was in progress.
After dark, Klein, the "Katrial Yoffe" commander, decided to bring the ship closer to the shore. A group of youth secretly sawed off the anchor chain, covered by the immigrants' great singing. The police guards on board were locked in one of the cabins, and on the morning of August 14th, the ship was guided, by wind, towards the shore of Kiryat Chayim. A while later, the British destroyer noticed what was happening and captured the fugitive ship, towing it to the Haifa port after the escorts sabotaged its engines. The soldiers who began to disembark immigrants faced passive resistance. They used water hoses, clubs and tear gas in order to subdue the immigrants. Once the confrontation ended, the immigrants were transferred to the deportation ship, "Empire Heywood."
During the transit, some girls carried explosives up to the deportations ship on their body. Klein and Palyam member, Zalman Perach, who sneaked on board the "Empire Heywood" to assist, placed an explosive pack that caused the ship some minor damage. The damages delayed the journey in four days, and only on August 22nd the "Katrial Yoffe" immigrants were deported to Cyprus. The escorts joined the immigrants to Cyprus, and escaped the detention camp later on.