"The Pans" - Pan Crescent – Independence and Pan York – Kibbutz Galuiot [Diaspora communities]
The "Kibbutz Galuiot", originally "Pan York" Haapala ship, together with the "Independence", originally Pan Crescent ship were called "The Pans." The two ships, sailing together from Bulgaria directly to Cyprus, carried the largest number of immigrants during the entire Haapala endeavor; 15, 169 immigrants.
The "Kibbutz Galuiot "(originally "Pan York") Haapala ship together with the "Independence" (originally Pan Crescent) ship, were named "The Pans." The two ships, sailing together from Bulgaria directly to Cyprus, carried the largest number of immigrants during the entire Haapala endeavor; 15,169 immigrants. The commander of "The Pans" operation was Yossi Hamburger (Harel), who sailed on "Kibbutz Galuiot."
The captain of "Kibbuts Galuiot" was Gad Hilev, and assisting him was the Spanish, Estevan Hernandura. The ship commander was Palyam member, Nissan Levitan. The 'Gidonim' (wireless operator) were Malka Rofeh and Reuven Orenshtein (Oren.) The ship escorts were: Nimrod Eshel, Yoash (Chato) Zidon, Ephraim Zucker, Akiva Oppenbach and Shaul Aharonov (Oren.) 7,557 immigrants sailed on board "Kibbutz Galuiot."
The captain of "Independence" was Ike Aharonovitch, who was assisted by an Italian captain. The ship commander was Palyam member, Dov (Berchik) Magen. The 'Gidoni' was Gad Lifschitz. The ship escorts were: Eliezer Varsh (Armoni), Zalman Nissan, Micha Pearlson (Perry), Grisha Sheinkman, Avraham Maor, Avraham Fremkin, Bezalel Feldman and Geda Shochat. 7,612 immigrants sailed on board "Kibbutz Galuiot." Both ships had been previously used for transporting bananas in the U.S.
The ships were prepared to depart for Israel in the ports of New York (U.S), Venice (Italy), and Constanta (Romania), their crews headed by Avraham Zakai, Binyamin Yerushalmi, Geda Shochat and Arieh Lupo. During preparations in Venice in August, a frogman sent by the British intelligence sabotaged the "Pan Crescent" using a naval mine. It took a few weeks to fix the damage. The arrangements for the embarkation of the thousands of immigrants on board was executed with the instruction of Ya'aqov Solomon, a Palmach member and the envoy responsible for the Hagana operation in south-eastern Europe; and Moshe Averbuch, the envoy of 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet' in Romania. Because of the British pressure on its government, Romania refused to allow for departure from its borders; therefore, the embarkation point was changed and "The Pans" sailed from the Burgas port in Bulgaria.
The departure date for "The Pans" was pushed back ten days (from December 14th to December 24th 1947), due to a major controversy between the political institutions in Israel and 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet' members. Moshe Shertok (Sharet), Head of the Political Department in the Jewish Agency, claimed that the timing of departure of thousands of immigrants was a provocative act that could cause the U.S to reconsider its support of the UN Division Plan that was decided on a few days earlier. Shaul Meirov (Avigur), head of 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet,' claimed the opposite; Aliyah to Israel is a Zionist duty that must be fulfilled under any conditions, and the ships must not be delayed because of a political consideration, or else circumstances may change and call off the voyage altogether. The controversy went on for a few days without reaching a clear decision. The on site representatives of 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet', who were involved in the operation preparations, felt it should not be cancelled, due to the thousands of immigrants under duress. At that point, Averbuch decided to start the complex process of gathering the immigrants for departure without authorized permission – an act that practically meant reaching the point of no return. "The Pans" departed on December 24th 1947 from Burgas port in Bulgaria.
Moshe Shertok and David Ben-Gurion, chairman of the Jewish Agency Administration, were forced to find a compromise that would allow for the voyage without causing a political crisis. In the informal contact with the British, it was agreed that "The Pans" would be handed over to them and sail directly to Cyprus with British escort. Other restrictions were enforced on the ships:
They were not given Hebrew names; they were forbidden to carry the title of "Hagana Ships" next to their Hebrew name, as other Haapala ships did, and they had no option to resist their detention by the British in any way.
On December 31st, "The Pans" left the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, after crossing the Bosphoros Straits and the Dardanelles. A fleet of British destroyers awaited them at that point. Though Palyam members, headed by Ike Aharonovitch, strongly protested against the order to change the sailing route and with no resistance, Hamburger, who conducted the negotiation with the British fleet commander, accepted Ben-Gurion's explicit instructions. After several hours of negotiation, it was agreed that British soldiers would go on board the ships without weapons or metal helmets and would receive full cooperation from the passengers. Before the British climbed on board, the ships were given Hebrew names by order from Ben-Gurion: "Pan Crescent" was named "Independence" and "Pan York" was named "Kibbutz Galuiot."
Both ships arrived in Cyprus on January 1st 1948. The disembarkation of the thousands of immigrants took three days. According to the agreement Hamburger reached with the fleet commander, the British did not detain the escorts (when they strayed from this agreement, the immigrants stopped disembarking until the matter was resolved); the British avoided confiscating the ships but limited their movement, and allowed the crews to remain on board.
The escorts disembarked with the immigrants and were transferred to the camps in Cyprus. Some of them escaped after a while through tunnels the 'Defenders Line' dug, and were rescued from the island by the "Nesher" fishing boat sent by 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet,' with Palyam member, David Maimon as its commander.
On July 1948, following the establishment of the State of Israel, "The Pans" began to transport the thousands of immigrants detained in Cyprus to Israel; this was done in coordination with Britain. Later on, the ships brought thousands of immigrants from all across Europe to Israel.
The captain of "Kibbuts Galuiot" was Gad Hilev, and assisting him was the Spanish, Estevan Hernandura. The ship commander was Palyam member, Nissan Levitan. The 'Gidonim' (wireless operator) were Malka Rofeh and Reuven Orenshtein (Oren.) The ship escorts were: Nimrod Eshel, Yoash (Chato) Zidon, Ephraim Zucker, Akiva Oppenbach and Shaul Aharonov (Oren.) 7,557 immigrants sailed on board "Kibbutz Galuiot."
The captain of "Independence" was Ike Aharonovitch, who was assisted by an Italian captain. The ship commander was Palyam member, Dov (Berchik) Magen. The 'Gidoni' was Gad Lifschitz. The ship escorts were: Eliezer Varsh (Armoni), Zalman Nissan, Micha Pearlson (Perry), Grisha Sheinkman, Avraham Maor, Avraham Fremkin, Bezalel Feldman and Geda Shochat. 7,612 immigrants sailed on board "Kibbutz Galuiot." Both ships had been previously used for transporting bananas in the U.S.
The ships were prepared to depart for Israel in the ports of New York (U.S), Venice (Italy), and Constanta (Romania), their crews headed by Avraham Zakai, Binyamin Yerushalmi, Geda Shochat and Arieh Lupo. During preparations in Venice in August, a frogman sent by the British intelligence sabotaged the "Pan Crescent" using a naval mine. It took a few weeks to fix the damage. The arrangements for the embarkation of the thousands of immigrants on board was executed with the instruction of Ya'aqov Solomon, a Palmach member and the envoy responsible for the Hagana operation in south-eastern Europe; and Moshe Averbuch, the envoy of 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet' in Romania. Because of the British pressure on its government, Romania refused to allow for departure from its borders; therefore, the embarkation point was changed and "The Pans" sailed from the Burgas port in Bulgaria.
The departure date for "The Pans" was pushed back ten days (from December 14th to December 24th 1947), due to a major controversy between the political institutions in Israel and 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet' members. Moshe Shertok (Sharet), Head of the Political Department in the Jewish Agency, claimed that the timing of departure of thousands of immigrants was a provocative act that could cause the U.S to reconsider its support of the UN Division Plan that was decided on a few days earlier. Shaul Meirov (Avigur), head of 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet,' claimed the opposite; Aliyah to Israel is a Zionist duty that must be fulfilled under any conditions, and the ships must not be delayed because of a political consideration, or else circumstances may change and call off the voyage altogether. The controversy went on for a few days without reaching a clear decision. The on site representatives of 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet', who were involved in the operation preparations, felt it should not be cancelled, due to the thousands of immigrants under duress. At that point, Averbuch decided to start the complex process of gathering the immigrants for departure without authorized permission – an act that practically meant reaching the point of no return. "The Pans" departed on December 24th 1947 from Burgas port in Bulgaria.
Moshe Shertok and David Ben-Gurion, chairman of the Jewish Agency Administration, were forced to find a compromise that would allow for the voyage without causing a political crisis. In the informal contact with the British, it was agreed that "The Pans" would be handed over to them and sail directly to Cyprus with British escort. Other restrictions were enforced on the ships:
They were not given Hebrew names; they were forbidden to carry the title of "Hagana Ships" next to their Hebrew name, as other Haapala ships did, and they had no option to resist their detention by the British in any way.
On December 31st, "The Pans" left the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, after crossing the Bosphoros Straits and the Dardanelles. A fleet of British destroyers awaited them at that point. Though Palyam members, headed by Ike Aharonovitch, strongly protested against the order to change the sailing route and with no resistance, Hamburger, who conducted the negotiation with the British fleet commander, accepted Ben-Gurion's explicit instructions. After several hours of negotiation, it was agreed that British soldiers would go on board the ships without weapons or metal helmets and would receive full cooperation from the passengers. Before the British climbed on board, the ships were given Hebrew names by order from Ben-Gurion: "Pan Crescent" was named "Independence" and "Pan York" was named "Kibbutz Galuiot."
Both ships arrived in Cyprus on January 1st 1948. The disembarkation of the thousands of immigrants took three days. According to the agreement Hamburger reached with the fleet commander, the British did not detain the escorts (when they strayed from this agreement, the immigrants stopped disembarking until the matter was resolved); the British avoided confiscating the ships but limited their movement, and allowed the crews to remain on board.
The escorts disembarked with the immigrants and were transferred to the camps in Cyprus. Some of them escaped after a while through tunnels the 'Defenders Line' dug, and were rescued from the island by the "Nesher" fishing boat sent by 'Hamossad for Aliyah Bet,' with Palyam member, David Maimon as its commander.
On July 1948, following the establishment of the State of Israel, "The Pans" began to transport the thousands of immigrants detained in Cyprus to Israel; this was done in coordination with Britain. Later on, the ships brought thousands of immigrants from all across Europe to Israel.