The shriek of sirens shattered the pre-dawn si(##)re this morning when a British coastal patrol vessel came upon a Greek motor schooner unloading “Illegal” Jewish immigrants at a point between Haifa and Jaffa. (It was announced several weeks ago that sirens would when any act of violonce was occurring.)
About 200 of the schooner’s passengers had already disembarked and escaped to neighboring Jewish settlements before the landings were discovered by the patrol visit. Twenty who were still on board were taken to the Athlit internment camp, after or Greek vessel made an unsuccesful attempt to flee.
The schooner was brought into Haifa and its crew arrested. Under a law pro(##)ated several weeks ago, the Palestine Government may confiscate the ship, and fine and jail its owners and the crew. Yesterday a district court sentenced three Lebanese fishermen to 18 months imprisonment for attempting to smuggle in a group of Jews.
The British authorities are reported to be using aircraft, destroyers and under in a move to halt illegal entry of Jews. Meanwhile, the military commander in the Haifa and Galilee districts has ordered that the curfew confining persons to their home after sundown be continued outside of municipal areas.
Another Jewish group today voiced its determination to assist “illegal” immigration, A national conference of the left-wing Hashomer Hatzair adopted a resolution assailing the Bevin statement and declaring that it will “maintain and defend immigration by all means,” and calling on the entire Jewish community to rally around the demand for the immediate issuance of 100,000 immigration certificates. At the same time, it called on labor groups to reject terror and sabotage and any contact with “fascist terreristic groups.”
The Turkish vessel Aksu docked in Haifa yesterday, carrying 107 legal immigrants.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
