Yossi Harel z"l
Yossi Harel, who commanded the clandestine operations that brought in four ships carrying some 24,000 illegal immigrants to Israel between 1945 and 1948, died Saturday in Tel Aviv at the age of 90. For those who were not aware, until Israel became independent in 1948, the British Mandatory government prevented Jews from immigrating to Israel to appease the Arabs (sounds familiar?). Thousands of Jews could have been spared death in the Holocaust if only the British had permitted them to immigrate to Israel. Harel was born in 1919, a sixth-generation Jerusalemite. He joined the Haganah at age 15 and later became part of the unit commanded by Orde Wingate, where he earned a reputation for bravery.As many of you know, Otto Preminger made a movie about the Exodus in 1960, which starred Paul Newman. Here are the opener and the trailer of that movie.
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Harel commanded the major clandestine immigrant operations, including four ships: Knesset Israel, The Exodus, Atzma'ut and Kibbutz Galuyot. By the time he was 28 he had been responsible for about 24,000 immigrants had come in under his command, more than one-third of those smuggled into the country secretly between 1945 and 1948.
The Exodus, whose captain was Yitzhak "Ike" Aharonovich, went down in history for its heroic voyage from France in July 1947, carrying 4,500 Holocaust survivors, and the fight for months to keep it from being turned back by the British. Eventually the ship was forced back to Europe and sailed to Hamburg, Germany.
Harel will be buried Sunday in Tel Aviv. More on the movie here. The picture at the top is of the Exodus docking in Haifa.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:40 AM
4 Comments:
What an amazing man.
Yossi Harel was a true hero. I will have to watch the movie some time.
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One should be aware "Exodus" in Otto Preminger's version of Leon Uris novel, is fictionalized. The Jews were not deported to Cyprus as in the movie but in real life, they were returned by the British to DP camps in Germany. By that action, Britain showed what it really thought of the Mandate and it showed an appalling lack of sensitivity to the issue of returning the Jews to the country that slaughtered them during the war. No event symbolized more the immorality of the 1939 White Paper restricting Jewish immigration to what was then Palestine as the British used every means to keep Jews from setting foot in their ancient homeland.
That's why we take the time to remember Yossi Harel and his courage. Ordinary individuals can indeed change history and even humble an empire.
Yossi Harel was a great warrior because he followed the commands of the Great Spirit and did so fearlessly. That's why God blessed him and he was able to bless hundreds of thousands around him. On the other hand, because of Britain's shameful actions, God has removed Britain as a leader of nations. Britain has gone into spiritual decline and is no longer called "Great." There is a concerted effort by both the International Communists and the Muslims to pollute America's body politic with anti-semitism. If they succeed, that will be the death of this nation. They have already made frightening inroads into the Democratic Party. The Liberal wing of the Republican Party, which is now in power is disturbingly ambivalent and naive about Palestinian terrorists. The Democrats openly support Palestinian terrorism. Many have forgotten their own Creator and thus know nothing of the Abrahamic Covenant. But unlike the enemies of Zion, the Great Spirit is serious about keeping this promise. And He has down through history. that's why I like to sing the prayer of Psalm 29. Look at the last 2 verses:
8 The LORD is their strength, And He is a saving defense to His anointed.
9 Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.
~~ Laughing Moose
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