Forty-five hundred visaless Jewish immigrants, the (##)st single group to attempt to run the British blockade on one ship, were today (##)shipped to deportation vessels in the harbor here under the eyes of U.N. inquiry Committee chairman Emil Sandstroem and Yugoslav alternate delegate Vladimir Simitch.
During a battle when the refugees’ vessel, “Exodus 1947” was intercepted, one was shot to death and 125 were wounded, 25 seriously, according to Jewish Agency (##)rts. A government communique, however, said no deaths had occurred.
The entire city of Tel Aviv went on a general strike in response to a radiced (##)al from the immigrant vessel, which called on the entire Jewish community of Palestine to strike. All shops and offices, including the municipalities departments, (##)ed down and all transportation came to a halt in Tel Aviv.
Both the Jewish Agency and the Haganah transmitted an appeal from the ship to (##)ers of UNSCOP to aid them and to witness the deportation to Cyprus.
An official announcement revealed that the first British attempt to capture (##) vessel was made some time after 2.a.m. this morning. From the Exodus’ continuous (##)dcasts was pieced together the story of the one-sided battle. The British naval (##)ol, consisting of a war cruiser and five destroyers, opened fire on the over (##)0-ton former American excursion boat with tear gas, smoke bombs and small arms, (##) out warning.
The first attempts to board the vessel resulted in the British raiders being (##)ured and their arms tossed overboard. A number of combatants on both sides were (##)red. For the first time since the visaless ships started arriving in Palestine, (##) Jews responded to British gas bombs with tear gas missiles of their own.
The engagement continued with short respites for about five hours during which (##) warships closed in on the Exodus and rammed her a number of times from all sides. (##)ship sprang a number of leaks and at one time reported that she was in danger of (##)king. During the latter part of the clash the bridge of the vessel was controlled (##) party of British seamen, but the ship’s crew was still in control of her en(##)s and steering apparatus.
BRITISH SAILORS BOARD VESSEL IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS
Throughout the engagement the Jewish Agency and the Haganah were in touch with {SPAN}(##){/SPAN} vessel and charted her course from south of Jaffa at about 1:50 a.m., when the immigrants called on the inhabitants of Tel Aviv to welcome them home, until 9:30 a.m. {SPAN}(##){/SPAN} reported that the British were in control of the vessel and were forcing it to {SPAN}(##){/SPAN}eed to Haifa. The entire boarding operation, begun about 17 miles off the Tel {SPAN}(##){/SPAN} coast, took place in international waters.
The ship’s radio reported that five of the wounded were dying and that a number the injured were in desperate need of blood transfusions. It also declared that (##) woman passenger had died during the journey, after being delivered of twins. The (##)ish reported three sailors requiring hospitalization, and the Haifa naval hospital (##) ordered to prepare beds for forty persons.
According to the official communique, damage resulted to both the Exodus and several naval vessels as the blockade runner twisted and turned in an attempt to reach
ARRIVAL OF REFUGEES IN CYPRUS WILL BRING INTERNEE POPULATION TO 20,000
The first party of immigrants taken off the battle-scarred Exodus was placed {SPAN}(##){/SPAN}rd the Ocean Vigor. When all the passengers reach Cyprus they will increase the {SPAN}(##){/SPAN}nd’s interned population to over 20,000. The camp facilities were originally {SPAN}(##){/SPAN}t for a maximum of 10,000. Recently, an outbreak of typhoid fever occurred {SPAN}(##){/SPAN}e due to a shortage of water on the island.
The blockade runner, originally named President Warfield, began her career as a (##)sure craft in Chesapeake Bay. After the war she was sold for scrap. A man, identified only as being “from New York,” purchased it for $40,000, ostensibly for use in (##)a waters. It next made its appearance at the French port of Cette where the passengers embarked.
The Haganah tonight broadcast a statement that the Exodus was the first of (##) ships due to arrive in Palestine waters despite the British diplomatic and (##)tary blockade. The announcer said that its arrival was also an answer “to many (##)de our own camp” who assert that unauthorized immigration has ceased.
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.
