Eight-hundred “visaless” Jewish immigrants entered Palestine this month in three boatloads, the JTA was told today by a reliable source. Two of the landings were publicized, while one came off silently.
It is estimated that these passengers cost $250,000, which does not take into account the costs of maintaining constant vigilance by both sides: the police and the Haganah. Police, military services, patrol planes, destroyers, scout boats, search lights and other personnel and equipment have been marshalled to prevent the immigrants from landing, while the Haganah also maintains large forces.
The landings from the Chana Szenes on Tuesday night were an example of the hardships and danger endured by the dosperate and determined fugitives from Europe. Three hundred persons were jammed into a small boat for nine days, during the last two of which they had no water. They were unable to attempt to land because they had been spotted by a British patrol plane.
Half of the passengers were women, and practically all of them were veterans of concentration camps. Some had walked half-way across Europe to contact the Jewish underground which could get them to Palestine.
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.
