Truman conceded to loosen immigration laws in the United States and brought thousands of DPs into America. The priority immigrants were orphaned children. Over the course of 1946 to 1950, over 100,000 Jews migrated to the United States.
Overwhelmed by international pressures and opinions, Britain placed the matter of Palestine into the hands of the United Nations in February 1947. In the fall of 1947, the General Assembly voted to partition Palestine and create two independent states, one Jewish and the other Arab. Fighting immediately broke out between Jews and Arabs in Palestine. Even with the U.N.’s decision, Britain still kept firm control of Palestinian immigration until the very end.
Britain’s refusal to allow DPs into Palestine was plagued with problems. Jews formed an organization called Brichah (flight) for the purpose of smuggling immigrants (Aliya Bet, "illegal immigration") to Palestine. Jews were moved to Italy, which they often did, on foot. From Italy, ships and crew were rented for the passage across the Mediterranean to Palestine. Some of the ships made it past a British naval blockade of Plalestine but most did not. The passengers of captured ships were forced to disembark in Cyprus, where the British operated DP camps.
The British government began sending DPs to camps on Cyprus in August 1946. DPs shipped to Cyprus were then able to apply for legal immigration to Palestine. The British Royal Army ran the camps on the island. Armed patrols guarded the perimeters to prevent escape. Fifty-two thousand Jews were interned and 2200 babies were born on Cyprus between 1946 and 1949 on the island. Approximately 80% of the internees were between the ages of 13 and 35. Jewish organization was strong in Cyprus and education and job training was internally provided. Leaders on Cyprus often became initial government officials in the new state of Israel.
One shipload of refugees heightened concern for DPs throughout the world. Brichah moved 4,500 refugees from DP camps in Germany to a port near Marseilles, France in July 1947 where they boarded Exodus. The Exodus departed France but was being watched by the British navy. Even before it entered the territorial waters of Palestine, destroyers forced the boat to the port at Haifa. The Jews resisted and the British killed three and wounded will machine guns and teargas. The British ultimately forced the passengers to disembark and they were placed on British vessels, not for deportation to Cyprus, as was the usual policy, but to France. The British wanted to pressure the French to take responsibility for the 4,500. The Exodus sat in the French port for a month as the French refused to force the refugees to disembark but they did offer asylum to those who wished to voluntarily leave. Not one did. In an attempt to force the Jews off the ship, the British announced that the Jews would be taken back to Germany. Still, no one disembarked. When the ship arrived in Hamburg, Germany in September 1947, soldiers dragged each passenger off of the ship in front of reporters and camera operators. Truman and the much of the world watched and knew that a Jewish state needed to be established.
On May 14, 1948 the British government left Palestine and the State of Israel as proclaimed the same day. The United States was the first country to recognize the new State. Legal immigration began in earnest, even though the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, did not approve the "Law of Return," which allows any Jew to migrate to Israel and become a citizen, until July 1950.
Immigration to Israel increased rapidly, despite war against Arab neighbors. On May 15, 1948, the first day of Israeli statehood, 1700 immigrants arrived. There was an average of 13,500 immigrants each month from May through December of 1948, far exceeding the prior legal migration approved by the British of 1500 per month.
Ultimately, the survivors of the Holocaust were able to emigrate to Israel, the United States, or a host of other countries. The State of Israel accepted as many that were willing to come. Israel worked with the arriving DPs to teach them job skills, provide employment, and to help the immigrants help build the State that it is today.
