Some 1,200 participants in Jewish Agency educational programs for youth took part this week in a unique reenactment of pre-State "illegal" immigration to Israel. The program was designed to let them to "experience" an important chapter in the history of the State of Israel, and to help them relate to the Zionist idea of building a homeland for the Jewish people.
This past week, the Jewish Agency coordinated a reenactment of the "illegal" immigration that took place in pre-state Israel, during a time when the British were seeking to curtail Jewish entry into Israel's borders in a bid to placate local Arabs.
Accompanied by a former fighter from the pre-state Palmach combat unit, the group visited several sites dealing with Aliyah (Jewish immigration), settlement and security. They reenacted what was once considered an "illegal" immigration and were even "captured" by British troops and brought to what used to be a detention camp used to detain those Jews trying to enter Israel.
"I credit the scores of students, the future leaders of the Jewish people, for realizing that Aliyah is essential for the everlasting success of Israel," said Alex Traiman, the Jewish Agency's North American Director of Student Affairs, "especially when the nations of the world falsely believe that placating our neighbors is the key to our survival."
Accompanied by a former fighter from the pre-state Palmach combat unit, the group visited several sites dealing with Aliyah (Jewish immigration), settlement and security. They reenacted what was once considered an "illegal" immigration and were even "captured" by British troops and brought to what used to be a detention camp used to detain those Jews trying to enter Israel.
"I credit the scores of students, the future leaders of the Jewish people, for realizing that Aliyah is essential for the everlasting success of Israel," said Alex Traiman, the Jewish Agency's North American Director of Student Affairs, "especially when the nations of the world falsely believe that placating our neighbors is the key to our survival."