Search JTA's historical archive dating back to 1923

Jewish Children and Parents Arrive in Palestine from Cyprus Aboard British Ship

November 30, 1947
See Original Daily Bulletin From This Date
Advertisement

The deportation ferry Ocean Vigor today docked at Haifa with 1,420 Jewish infants and their parents and Jewish orphaned children. they are the first group of some 3,500 men, women and children who will be brought ##re from Cyprus ahead of their turn, although they will be subtracted from the regular monthly quota assigned the internees on the island.

Several pregnant women were lowered from the vessel in stretchers carried by giant freight cranes. One woman gave birth to a baby shortly after she was lowered to the dock and before she could be taken to a hospital.

The Palestinians were quite surprised to see fully armed Tommies with rifles ##lung over their shoulders helping children whom they had previously driven from their rofugee ships to other deportation ferries bound for Cyprus. The harbor scheed joyously to the shouts of children, the greetings of welcome from Palestinian Jews to the new arrivals and the singing of Hatikvah.

Goldie Meirson, political head of the Jerusalem section of the Jewish Agency, and Moshe Shapiro, Agency immigration chief, who arranged the special migration of infants and orphaned children, met them at the pier from which they were immediately transferred to an Agency camp at Raanana. The children were accompanied from Cyprus to the camp by 21 teachers.

Recommended from JTA

Advertisement