 During most of their mandate in Israel, the British restricted Jewish immigration. Right after the Holocaust, during which more cart one-third of the Jewish population was destroyed, the British did not allow free Jewish immigration. Jews did not accept this situation, and attempted to reach Israel "illegally," despite the British blockade. This "illegal" aliya known as the ha'apala (the Biblical Hebrew word means "to go up in force"). From 1934 until the State officially came into existence on lay 15, 1948, more than 130,000 Jews tried ) reach Israel without valid British immigration permits. With the exception of the years of World War Two, when Jews were unable to leave Europe, the number of Jews interested in aliya always exceeded the quota of immigration permits. While the overwhelming majority (more than 07,000) of ma'apilim came to Israel by way of the Mediterranean Sea, Jews tried to reach Israel in any way possible. Clandestine flights brought at least 150 Jews into Israel "illegally;" 500 Jews entered on forged passports; 6500 rived on valid tourist visas, with no intention f leaving Israel, or through fictitious marriages to residents of Israel, and 5500 entered Israel "illegally" overland. The majority of ma'apilim were European Jews, though a signficant number of Jews from Arab countries [so made their way to Israel "illegally." Following the Second World War, the vast majority of ma'apilim were survivors of concentration camps.  As the numbers of ma'apilim increased, the British opened detention camps for those who sere caught. The largest of the detention camps was Atlit; less than twenty kilometers south of Haifa. The site was chosen because it on the Mediterranean and close to the main British naval base at Haifa, since the sea was was major route of the ha'apala. Over the past few years, the Atlit detention camp has been rebuilt and is being developed as a museum of the ha'apala.To reach Atlit, travel the coastal road (highway 2) to the Atlit turnoff south of Haifa. Exit to the west. A few hundred meters beyond the coastal road, turn right into the parking lot. A large sign identifies the site. The first thing to be noticed upon entering the detention camp is the double wire fence. The ma'apilim were led through this fence to the large building opposite the gate. Here the men and women were separated, their clothing taken and they were sent to delousing showers. Many concentration camp survivors who have visited Atlit have commented that the experience is a reliving of the camps. Actually, for the ma'apilim who were survivors, the reliving began even before they were brought to Atlit. The ma'apilim were put on cattle cars to be transported to Atlit, as can be seen in photographs presented at the museum.  Entering the large building, we see the showers for men and women on separate sides, with a turntable on which clothes were put for delousing. The large vat in the middle looks more frightening than it was. It was used to boil water for the showers and laundry. Within the large hall, we see photographs of ma'apilim and some of the ships which brought them to Israel. Even from the photographs, it is possible to notice that some of the ships were hardly ever sea-worthy. The fact is that the organizers of the ha'apala had to buy whatever ships they could. Unfortunately, because of the difficult conditions and poor type of ships, 3193 Jews died enroute to Israel, most these when ships went down at sea. Among the ships seen in the photographs is the Exodus 1947, which sailed to Israel in the summer of 1947, with 4500 Jews jammed on its decks. The Exodus was intercepted by the British immediately upon entering Israeli territorial water. The British escorted the Exodus back to its French port of embarkation. Since the Jews refused to leave the ship in France, the British sent them back to the Displaced Persons camps in Germany from which the ma'apilim had come. This proved to-be a public relations disaster for the British as the villains. Thus, though no ma'apilim reached Israel on the Exodus, it proved to be one of the most important ha'apala ships. (All 4,500 Jews who sailed on the Exodus reached Israel after the State was established).Perhaps one of the most interesting things to be seen in the main hall is a mikve (ritual pool). When Rabbi Herzog, then Israel's chief rabbi, visited Atlit, the Jewish detainees asked that he use his influence with the British to allow the building of a mikve. Rabbi Herzog was successful in his efforts. The matter is surprising in that the British kept men and women separate at Atlit. At the end of the main hall, there is a room which is used as a theater in which an excellent audio-visual show is presented. The show deals first with the ha'apala in general, and then with a specific incident at Mitt_ In October 1945, the Palmach broke into the detention camp and released the detainees, to prevent the deportation of 40 detainees to Syria, where they would have been hanged. This part of the show is presented as a suspense movie, and rivets one's attention.After the audio-visual show, we walk out and continue into the first reconstructed cabin to our right. As we enter, if we turn and look at the wall to the right, we can see names of ma'apilim cut into the wood, along with the dates they were at Atlit, and the insignia of Jewish youth movements to which these ma'apilim belonged. The room is set up to give some idea of the conditions at the detention camp. We can see the simple beds and straw mattresses, with mannequins representing the ma'apilim. At the far end, we see a Hebrew lesson, preparing the young ma'apilim for the day they will be allowed to become Israelis. This room is somewhat misleading on two }accounts: it does not convey the crowded conditions (the room held as many as 40 ma'apilim), and there are male and female mannequins in the same room -while the British had separate cabins for men and women The management of the site has promised that as the museum is expanded, these points will be addressed.  Atlit is an impressive site which vividly portrays an important aspect of Israel's modern history. One should leave Atlit with a greater appreciation of the bond between the Jews and their land, and of the sacrifices Jews have made to reach their land.
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