Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

Tel Hai תל חי was an iron vessel and former yacht, that had been used to transport livestock and bulk cargo.
Registered name: Asya Ασια Asia Ex-Macedonia Μακεδονια Ex-Panormitis Πανορμιτης Ex-Zingara Τσιγγανα
Nickname: אהובה Ahuva
Built: 1875, in Newcastle upon Tyne, by R. Steele & Co.
Launched: September, 1875
ID No: 1068638
Gross tonnage: 427 tons
Length: 56.7 meters
Beam: 7.65 meters
Engine: Oil engine, built by Wumay-Gorlitz
Speed: 10 knots
Her name, Tel Hai תל חי, refered to the settlement of Tel Hai תל חי, where, on March 1, 1920, Joseph Trumpeldor, trying to drive away the Arab militias, uttered his dying words "אין דבר, טוב למות בעד ארצנו" ("No matter, it is good to die for our country")

In 1942, Asya was fitted with German U-boat diesel engines, in Turkey, and she sailed under Turkish flag.

In 1946, the owner brought Asya to Marseille, where she was acquired by Yehuda Arazi.

On March 17, 1946, Tel Hai תל חי Asya, the first Haapalah ship to sail from La Ciotat, a jewish community on the coast near Marseille, carried 736 passengers, including 195 French immigrants and 548 members of a youth movement from Belgium, carrying visas to South America.
Paul H. Silverstone's Aliyah Bet Project cites: Tel Hai תל חי Asya sailed from Sète.
Palmach Information Center cites: TTel Hai תל חי Asya, the first Haapalah boat to sail from a French port, sailed from a port near Marseille, carrying 736 passengers.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum cites: Tel Hai תל חי Asya sailed from Marseille, carrying 733 passenger.
Idith Zertal cites: Tel Hai תל חי Asya sailed from La Ciotat, carrying 743 passengers, including 548 Holocaust survivors from the DP Camps in Germany, 'both preparation of the ship and its launching were carried out, as noted, under the supervision and with the assistance of an agent of the French General Intelligence Services Renseignements généraux."
Ninian Stewart cites: Tel Hai תל חי Asya carried 733 passengers.
She had a German doctor on board, with two nurses working int the sick bay and dispensary.
She was crewed by three Greeks and nine Turks.
Tel Hai תל חי Asya sailed under the Turkish flag.

In March, 1946, many members of kibbutz Buchenwald immigrated to Palestine on Tel Hai תל חי.
They first settled on kibbutz Afikim, but split off to found kibbutz Netzer Sereni.
In 1949, the last members of kibbutz Buchenwald made aliyah.

Tel Hai תל חי Asya sailed through the Strait of Bonifacio Bouches de Bonifacio, and when she encountered rough seas, took shelter off Sardinia Sardegna,
She encountered rough seas a second time, and took shelter off Crete Κρήτη.

On March 26, 1946, Tel Hai תל חי Asya was spotted off the coast of Palestine by a British twin-engine Warwick reconnaissance plane, which contacted HMS Chequers.

At 11:00AM, 120 miles off the coast of Palestine, HMS Chequers intercepted Tel Hai תל חי, and sent out a boarding party, which met no resistance.
Tel Hai תל חי Asya's Commander claimed to have sailed from Corsica, but charts showed that the passengers came aboard at La Ciotat.
Crew members told the British that French police had supervised the boarding, and UNRRA had provided supplies.

On March 28, 1946, Tel Hai תל חי Asya was escorted to Haifa, by HMS Chequers.
British soldiers and armored personnel carriers were staioned at the dock.

The passengers of Tel Hai תל חי were taken off the ship, transferred to Atlit Detention Camp and interned for 3 weeks before being released.
The foreign crew members on board were deported to Turkey, after being held for almost two months in Akko Prison.