The Jews' Secret Fleet [Hardcover]

Murray S. Greenfield (Author), Joseph Hochstein (Author), Sir Martin Gilbert (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

Introduction by Martin Gilbert. Hebrew edition published by Israel Ministry of Defense. Dramatic story of the rescue of Jews from Europe after World War II by North American Jewish volunteers. These men and ships smashed through the British blockade and brought thousands of refugees to safe haven in Palestine. Beautiful coffee table size book.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is a no-holds barred reality check on how the Brits with Arab oil on their mind did all they could to keep Jewish Birth-right peoples from entering Palestine - the Jewish homeland --Bob and Barbara Epstein, Outdoor Florida Magazine

The Jews Secret Fleet is full of stories as dramatic as that of the Exodus. It reminds us that American Jews played a small, yet significant role in the creation of the Jewish state. Four of the American vessels became the first warships in the fledgling Israeli navy. The bravery displayed by these American volunteers should not be forgotten, and this book helps make certain they will receive their historical due. --Henry Srebrnik, Washington Jewish Week

I am pleased to know that a book covering your remarkable experiences will be published in the near future and preserve for all time one of the most glorious chapters in Jewish history. What miracles you accomplished against such overpowering odds, in the face of such dangers, is a story that has few parallels and will be an inspiration to our people forever. --Leon Uris Author of "The Exodus"

About the Author

Born and raised in New York City, Murray Greenfield served in the merchant marines during WWII. When he heard about the 'Aliyah Bet' - or 'illegal immigration' - as the British termed the rescue of Jews who survived the Holocaust, he joined the American volunteers who sailed on Rust Buckets. After spending time in a British prison on the isle of Cyprus, Murray eventually moved to Eretz Israel at the age of 20. He continued to volunteer for many public organizations, and is on the board of various associations and organizations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 190 pages
• Publisher: Gefen Publishing House; 3 edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9652290238
• ISBN-13: 978-9652290236
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #356,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tear jerking story that every Israeli and every Jew should read, April 22, 2007

By 

Seth J. Frantzman (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Jews' Secret Fleet (Hardcover)

There was no Red Cross for them. There was no Amnesty International. There was no Human Rights Watch. There was no U.N High Commission on Human Rights, or UNHCR. There was no one for the Jews of Europe in 1945. The remnants of the nation that Hitler and his European collaborators had tried to whipe out. All those organizations who today work so hard to spread hate against Israel were no where to be found in 1945 when a million Jews were refugees in Europe, herded like cattle into DP camps and kept many times in the former Nazi concentration camps by their `liberators,' the British. Today the education system of Israel works very hard to cover up the story that Jews were victims and were refugees in the name of creating a new `coexistence' education system. However this book should be required reading in every Jewish school in the world and every Israeli school for it tells the true story of the brutal and fascist campaign by British imperialists to keep Jews from immigrating to Palestine, after their lives had been destroyed in a Europe that pretended to be `tolerant'.

This brilliant, concise, study is presented in a perfect large format with accompanying pictures and newspaper prints from the period. It covers the Aliyah Bet that brought Jewish refugees to Palestine between 1945 and 1948 and describes in tragic and brutal detail the fate of eleven refugee ships that tried to run the British blockade. It tells of the crews, mostly American volunteers, the financiers and American supporters, the refugees themselves captured and herded into camps at Cyprus and Atlit and also of the heroic Irgun and Haganah fighters who tried to save them and in some cases brought vengeance on the British for assaulting these Holocaust survivors.

This is a tear jerking story that stirs the soul when one considers the degree to which these stories of heroism in the time of darkness have been utterly forgotten and denigrated as `myth' by modern historians in Israel. But it was not myth. It was thousands of very real people whose families were destroyed and who only wanted a country where they could live free from European hate. Unfortunately their descendants in Israel have, surprise, surprise, been subjected to one European hateful statement after another in the last two decades. This book is a testament to truth, a testament to what really took place in Palestine before the birth of Israel.

Seth J. Frantzman