The Freedom Flotilla and the Exodus – Revolving History

An article by Frank    2 Comments

On July 11, 1947 a ship once known as President Warfield but renamed SS Exodus, left the port of miggets Sete in France. The ship had served as part of the American navy during WW2 but was sold by the War Shipping Administration in 1946. It was purchased by the Potomac Shipwrecking Company which was acting as an agent of the Haganah. The Haganah was an underground militant Jewish organisation operating in Palestine at the time and working to get Jewish immigrants into the territory. The whole movement to get more Jews into the country was being undertaken to bolster numbers in order to lay a claim to the territory and take it over. It was causing a headache for the British who maintained control at the time.

The intent of the Exodus was to land on the shores of Palestine and for the Jewish emigrants (largely Holocaust survivors without legal immigrations certificates for Palestine) to enter the country. At the time, the British had a blockade in place to stop ships from entering the waters of the territory and landing ashore as there was terrorist activity taking place (undertaken by the Jewish underground and by Arab groups disastified with the political course) and they wanted to keep control on who and what was entering the country.

The captain of the ship was a member of Palmach (the military wing of the Haganah) and the Operations Commander was a Haganah commissioner. the ship was carrying 4,515 passengers.

The ships travel was widely reported and on July 18, after having been followed by a British convoy of destroyers it was boarded by British soldiers seeking to halt the ship, take control of it and enforce the blockade. Passengers fought the soldiers as they boarded the ship – not surprising since it was a Haganah initiative. It is hard not to believe their response would not have been premeditated should the boarding take place. It was 40km out to sea in international waters where the Royal Navy had no jurisdiction. The soldiers fought back using force. In the end 3 shipmates were left dead and dozens of passengers were wounded.

Eventually the British soldiers gained control of the ship and it was taken to Haifa – there the passengers were transferred to ships in better condition and deported to Europe.

Ultimately the Exodus incident was a huge international embarrassment for the British and their control of Palestine. Members of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine had been present as the Jewish passengers had been taken off the ship and it compelled the cause to find a solution to the current problem. The incident is also said to have convinced the Americans that the British did not have adequate control of the situation and pushed them to advocate for a UN brokered solution which ultimately resulted in the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

Does this story have an eerie tone of familiarity? It should. On Monday morning A flotilla of ships carrying aid supplies and aiming to break the blockade the Israeli Navy had in place to stop ships entering Gaza were met by that navy in international waters after warnings that were probably similar to those given to the Exodus. Following these warnings  the main ship was boarded by Israeli commandos. Just as the Jewish Haganah and passengers of the Exodus had done in 1947, passengers of the Mavi Marmara fought with soldiers as soon as they got on the boat and yes, just as with the Exodus, this response may have been premeditated. Just as the British soldiers had done in 1947, the Israeli commandos responded with force that resulted in deaths and many injuries. Just as it happened with the Exodus, the soldiers gained control of the ship and the flotilla was taken to an Israeli port where passengers were removed.

The outcry from the international community in 1947 was that the action taken was unnecessary and outrageous – a demonstration that the British did not have adequate control of the area and that the political situation needed to change. If this was what the British needed to resort to to maintain order, then their grip on the country needed to be removed and something else put in place that could maintain calm.

The question now is what will the response be to this repeat of history where the shoe is on the other foot and the roles have been reversed? What does the SS Exodus now have to say to the internationalc community, the modern state of Israel and the IDF – the successor of the Haganah?

Note: For a quick and in this case, informed article about the SS Exodus, check out the Wkipedia article.