Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

SS Kedma קדמה ,sometimes refered to as Kadima קדימה, was a wooden hulled passenger liner, a 2 masted Barkentine.
Registered name: Rafael Luccia Rafaellucia Ex Excelsior Ex Peloro
Built: 1921, by Cantieri Navali Peloritano, Messina
Registry Number: M. S. 24
Gross tonnage: 351 tons
Lemgth: 41 meters
Beam: 8.8 meters
Draft: 3.5 meters
Engine: Diesel 240 HP, built by Deutsche Motoren Werke

Rafael Luccia was acquired by Mossad leAliyah Bet in Italy, headed by Ada Sereni, and ZIM, in partnership with Harris and Dixon of London.
Shel was refurbished in Portovenere, near La Spezia, supplied, prepared to sail, and renamed SS Kedma קדמה.

On November 5, 1947, SS Kedma קדמה sailed from Pellestrina, commanded by Italian Captain and 8 Italian crewmembers, carrying 794 passengers.
The plan was to transfer the passengers on Albertina to SS Kedma before approaching Palestine, but the plan was abandoned because there were problems with radio communication.
Zeev 'Zeevke' Paz served as Palyam Commander מפקד.
Zeev Rotem, Nira Harari and Chaim Vinkler served as Palyam escorts מלווים.

On November 15, 1947, after 10 days at sea, SS Kedma קדמה was reported by British reconnaisance aircraft, and was intercepted by HMS Venus near Beirut,
Chaim Vinkler cites after 10 days at sea, SS Kedma קדמה ditched the big water tank and other objects that might identify her as a vessel carrying illegal immigrant, to fool the British.

On November 16, 1947, SS Kedma קדמה stopped 3/4 of a mile outside territorial waters, and requested assistance,.
HMS Venus sent a boarding party across, arrested the passengers, and escorted her to Haifa, where the passengers were transferred to Cyprus.

In January, 1948, a year after their capture. passengers of laNegev לנגב, were transported by British Army to Famagusta, where they boarded SS Kedma קדמה, at that time the only Jewish passenger ship in service, for the overnight trip to Haifa.

In 1948, when the Mandate terminated, SS Kedma קדמה became part of the Israeli Merchant Marine fleet.

In June, 1948, SS Kedma קדמה sailed from Hamburg.

In 1950, SS Kedma קדמה ran aground and a year later, she was scrapped

In 2002, Kedma קדמה the film directed by Amos Gitai and starring Andrei Kashkar and Helena Yaralova,told the tragedy through the visions of fictional characters.
Kedma קדמה showed a part of the Holocaust that many textbooks failed to elaborate on.
Set in 1948, the film began by showing refugees aboard the freighter, SS Kedma, whose passengers were mostly Holocaust survivors traveling from Europe to Palestine days before the establishment of the Jewish homeland.
The people were quiet but reflect feelings of fear, exhaustion, tension, and hope as the boat sailed to an unknown and unpromising future.
When the freighter stopped and the refugees reached shore via life boats, there was mass confusion; British soldiers fired shots and prepared to arrest the illegal immigrants the moment they set foot on the shore, while members of the Palmach, anticipating their arrival, were ready to take the passengers to safety.
Among this disorder people got lost, several were shot, and a lucky few escaped with the Palmach.