In late 1938, due to domestic Arab pressure in Palestine relating to local objections to Zionist immigration waves, the British government announced in (what became known as) the
1939 White Paper that it was to reduce Jewish migration to Palestine, and at that point the main body of Zionism decided to cease conforming with British regulations. Even though the Mossad LeAliyah Bet was officially founded on 29 April 1939, it had begun operating during 1938. Headed by
Shaul Avigur, the Mossad LeAliyah Bet was founded on the basis of the
Ha'apala movement. Its activity was initially centred in
Athens; later, its centre moved to
Paris. The movement's leadership was drawn from both revisionist and mainstream Zionist activists. Avigur was followed at the helm of the organisation by
Meir Sapir. In the first years after it was created, the Mossad LeAliyah Bet achieved a certain measure of success. Operating primarily by sea, in 50 cruises it was able to bring as many as 20,000 Jewish immigrants to Palestine. When
World War II broke out, the Mossad LeAliyah Bet became virtually paralyzed and its activities were only renewed in August 1945. Since that time and until the founding of Israel, the Mossad LeAliyah Bet was able to bring an additional 64 ships with over 70,000 Jewish immigrants (many of whom were
Holocaust survivors). In addition to the sea, although on a much smaller scale, the Mossad LeAliyah Bet also brought immigrants via land, from the
Arab world. Overall, the Mossad LeAliyah Bet was able to bring about 100,000 Jews into what was to become the State of Israel. The most famous ship used by the Mossad LeAliyah Bet was
1947, which brought 4,515 Holocaust survivors. With the founding of Israel, Mossad LeAliyah Bet served as a basis for the agency
Lishkat Hakesher (Liaison Bureau),
codenamed
Nativ (נתיב "Path"), created in 1953 and also headed by Meirov, which brought Jews from
Soviet bloc, the Arab world, and other countries. ==References==