ארבע חרויות also see Dov Hoz Fede II Four Freedoms Arba Heruyot

 
Alternate Locations
City Bocca di Magra
County La Spezia
State/ Province Liguria
Country Italia
 

Gallery

Narrative

Arba Heruyot ארבע חרויות, sailed under Italian flag, and had previously participated in Haapalah as Dov Hoz.
Registered name: Fede II
Length: 43 meters
Capacity: 65 tons
Arba Heruyot ארבע חרויות was named after the four principles of freedom that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy, ennunciated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his 1941 State of the Union address:
* Freedom of speech and expression
* Freedom of religion
* Freedom from want
* Freedom from fear

Narrative

Illegal Ships in Haifa, from British Pathé

Narrative

On August 23, 1946, Arba Heruyot ארבע חרויות sailed from Bocca di Magra, carrying 1,024 passengers.
Claire Neikind cites: "Within ten minutes, a thousand and fourteen Jewish refugees were ready, in organized groups of thirty, waiting for the barges to take them to the Fede."
"Seventy pregnant women had lied about their condition and got aboard, and two of them were in their eighth month."
Fabi Gaver served as Palyam Commander aboard Arba Heruyiot ארבע חרויות.
Eli Zohar served as Gidoni , Wireless Radio Operator, aboard Arba Heruyiot ארבע חרויות.
Peter Hoffman served as Palyam Escort aboard Arba Heruyiot ארבע חרויות.

Narrative

Fabi Gaver served as Palyam Commander aboard Arba Heruyot ארבע חרויות, when she sailed from Bocca di Magra.
Claire Neikind cites: " Fabi Gever stood at the navigation bridge and ran the resistance from there."
"The humanitarian attitude shown by the British at that stage, as well as the immigrants' great exhaustion, r convinced the ship commander, Fabi Gever, to give up on another struggle during the actual deportation."
Fabi Gaver cites: "Arba Heruyot was special for several reasons. This was the first ship in which it was certain that if caught by the British, the Olim would be deported to Cyprus.
It was also the first ship that was ordered to resist deportation from Palestine with force. These conditions gave the Olim added motivation to obey the instructions of the Palyamniks, and they hid below deck despite the difficult conditions."

Narrative

On August 23, 1946, with Yehuda Arazi's help, Claire Neikind anonymously sailed on Arba Heruyot ארבע חרויות from Bocca di Magra, and later published articles in the Palestine Post about her journey

Narrative

At 14:00PM, Monday, September 2, 1946, Arba Heruyot ארבע חרויות was spotted by a British 4-engine Lancaster reconnaissance aircraft 40 miles away from the Tel Aviv תל אביב shore.
At 15:00PM, a destroyer came into sight of Arba Heruyot ארבע חרויות, as she entered the 4 mile territorial waters, and shouted orders through a megaphone.
Claire Neikind cites: "Suddenly the destroyer headed straight for us. Maneouvering into a tangent, she rammed our port side. Our ship tilted dangerously."
She was intercepted by three British vessels, including, HMS Childers, HMS Chivalrous, and Police launch, Moreta.
Claire Neikind cites: Arba Heruyot ארבע חרויות was surrounded by three British destroyers.
Surrounded by the destroyers, Arba Heruyot ארבע חרויות was boarded by British soldiers, firing to scare the passengers, and using water hoses for cover.
Claire Neikind cites: "A dozen British sailors with tommy-guns jumped down to our deck."
The passengers resisted boarding.
The bow force was headed by Eli Zohar; the deck force was headed by Peter Hoffman and Fabi Gaver stood at the navigation bridge,from where he ran the resistance.
"Another destroyer approached. Both rammed our sides simultaneously, playing hoses again, and dropping more sailors. They fought their way to the engine room and stopped the ship."
Claire Neikind cites another group of soldiers raided and subdued the passengers after a three-hour brawl.
13 of the injured immigrants needed hospitalization. 13 passengers jumped overboard, and tried to swim to the shore; two made it, but the rest were captured by the British, some drowned.
Claire Neikind cites: "At noon we arrived at Haifa harbour, and we saw our prison ship, the Empire Haywood, waiting."
On September 3, 1946, passengers were transferred to HMT Empire Heywood, and were taken to the Karaolos Καράολος Internment Camp.

Narrative

Yehuda Arazi ordered the captain of Arba Heruyot ארבע חרויות, in the event of an encounter with a British ship: "Don't stop and do not respond to the warning shots. And should the British board the ship, resist and interfere and steer the ship to a different place."
Yehuda Arazi arranged for the American journalist, Claire Neikind, who later published a series of articles in the "Palestine Post" about her journey aboard Arba Heruyot ארבע חרויות Four Freedoms, to join the sailing,

Narrative

Arba Heruyot ארבע חרויות was schedules to arrive at Shefayim שפיים on September 2, 1946

Source References

  1. From Catastrophe to Power: Holocaust Survivors and the Emergence of Israel
    1. Page: 133

References

  1. Gaver Gever Gabr, Fabi Phabi Pavi ben Dov
  2. Neikind, Claire
  3. Wiesel, Mordechai 'Mottel' 'Motek' 'Motke'
  4. הופמן Hoffman, Peter
  5. זוהר Zohar, 'Eli'
  6. רשף Warszawczyk Warszawscik Reshef, Akiva Akiba Akiwa ben Ahron Mordechai
  7. Κόεν Cohen, Eliko