President, July 18, 2017, marks the 70th anniversary
of the day that the ship Exodus 1947 arrived in Haifa, Israel. The story of Exodus 1947 is as important today as it was 70 years
ago. In 1947, the world was horrified and outraged by the British
policy of violently preventing Holocaust survivors from reaching
Palestine and forcing their return to Europe and refugee camps in
Germany. Watching the British Navy ram the Exodus 1947, which had 4,515
Holocaust survivors on board, inflamed world opinion and prompted the
United Nations Special Committee on Palestine, UNSCOP, to scrutinize
the actions of the British. Eventually the British were forced to end
their policy of preventing Jewish immigration to Israel, and the State
of Israel was born. Why is the story of the Exodus 1947 so important that we are still
talking about it 70 years later? After all, geopolitical transitions
have launched multiple large-scale refugee migrations around the world
in the 20th century, including Armenians in 1915, Russians in 1917,
Chinese in 1949, Hindus from Pakistan and Muslims from India in 1947,
East Germans between 1945 and 1961, Bosnians in the 1990s, Rwandans in
1994, Syrians in 2016--and many more. The story of the Exodus 1947 is important to remember and consider
today because it reminds us of our responsibility to protect human
rights, help people outside of our own borders, stand up for Americans
values, and work with our allies and international organizations to
advance our goals. It reminds us that our work is not finished. It
reminds us that, while it was the Jews on the Exodus 1947 70 years ago,
political outrages around the world continue to require our leadership
and our action. As a U.S. Senator from Maryland and vigilant friend of the Chesapeake
Bay and Maryland's Maritime history, I would like to highlight the fact
that, prior to its service in support of Jewish refugees from the
Holocaust, the Exodus 1947 was called the President Warfield and it
sailed the Chesapeake Bay for the Baltimore Steam Packet Company. The
President Warfield changed hands many times, from the Baltimore Steam
Packet Company to the British Navy to the U.S. Navy to the Potomac
Shipwrecking Company, which was actually acting as clandestine
purchasing agents of the Haganah who wanted the
ship because the conditions that made it ideal for navigating the
Chesapeake Bay, shifting sand of 3 feet or less in depth, made it ideal
for getting immigrants quickly and closely up to the coastal areas of
Palestine. After the Haganah secured the ship, she was retrofitted in Baltimore
from where she sailed towards France to pick up 4,515 Holocaust the
refugees and deposit them in Palestine--a plan which was destroyed
after the British rammed the ship, prevented the refugees from
disembarking in Palestine, detained them in inhumane conditions, and
eventually returned them to Germany. The world witnessed the inhumane treatment of the Exodus's passengers
and some righteous people cried out. We continue to talk about the
Exodus 1947 to remind ourselves never to forget both our suffering and
our empowerment.
Keywords matched
immigration refugee immigrants refugees