Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

Tuvia Friling's book, a defense of the Yishuv's leadership and of its head, David Ben-Gurion, was a most comprehensive and thorough research of the topic, which showed that much was done but that the success rate was very small.
The title Arrows in the Dark was drawn from a quote by Eliezer Kaplan, the Yishuv's finance minister, who compared the rescue efforts’ chances for success to the shooting of arrows in the dark, but insisted on the importance of seizing every opportunity, despite the minimal likelihood of hitting the target.
The book described, interpreted and analyzed the manifold rescue operations conducted by the Yishuv:
* the plan for the rescue of children (end of 1942 until the end of the war), including Adler-Rudel's efforts from Sweden
* the Transnistria Plan (end of 1942 until February-March 1943)
* the Slovakia Plan that eventually developed into the Europa Plan (end of 1942- Ocotboer 1943)
* the Blood for Trucks proposal that Joel Brand and Bandi Grosz brought from Hungary (spring 1944 – summer 1944);
* the clandestine collaboration with Allied intelligence services, including the Paratroopers Plan.
The harsh and bitter words by David Ben-Gurion regarding the negation of the diaspora were used in the debate over the Yishuv's role to prove that he had been indifferent to the Jews' fate, or that in the best case he had adopted a practical approach and therefore decided to focus on what was practicable – the building of the State of Israel.
Tuvia Friling claimed that what is important is not what David Ben-Gurion said, but what he did or attempted to accomplish. He goes on to provide a lengthy and detailed description of David Ben-Gurion's manifold activities.
Shabtai Teveth, David Ben-Gurion's biographer, attempted to prove that the small scope of Ben Gurion’s activity on behalf of Europe’s Jews can be explained by the prevailing belief that it was impossible to save the Jews,
Tuvia Friling introduced a new approach in the research of this issue, claiming that David Ben-Gurion was deeply involved at all levels in all rescue efforts, but that these activities were mostly clandestine, and thus were conducted in secrecy and were almost never discussed openly.
Ben Gurion even kept silent in face of the accusations about his lack of action, which was compounded by the fact that the rescue operations were of the kind that are best left concealed.
Since most of these efforts were doomed to fail, any explanation would have been perceived as a lame excuse.
Tuvia Filing shares the opinion that the Rescue Committee chaired by Itzhak Grunbaum was a body without executive powers, a "parliament" in the derogatory language of those days.
He defined the role of the committee as a lightning rod intended to divert public pressure and guarantee the smooth functioning of the operational bodies.
Tuvia Friling described the history of the Rescue Committee and highlighted its importance in achieving a consensus in the Yishuv, thwarting the danger of disintegration in face of an event with the destructive magnitude of the Holocaust.
According to Tuvia Friling, the 'Special Operations Section' of the Jewish Agency's Political Department, with people like Reuven Zaslani (Shilohah), Ehud Avriel, Teddy Kollek, Eliahu Eilat (Epstein), and others, acted together with people of the Haganah and the Mossad LeAliyah Bet, such as Eliahu Golomb, Shaul Meirov (Avigur), Zeev Shind, David Hacohen, and others, as well as with some of the emissaries of the political parties and movements, such as Menachem Bader and Vanya Pomerantz. According to Tuvia Friling, this operational arm was directed by an undeclared informal triumvirate, consisting of David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Sharet, head of the Jewish Agency's Political Department, and Eliezer Kaplan, the Jewish Agency's treasurer.