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  • התחבר
  • הרשם
  • תקופה
    • Prehistory3000000 לפנה"ס - 5001 לפנה"ס
    • Antiquity5000 לפנה"ס - 399 לספירה
    • Middle Ages400 לספירה - 1500 לספירה
    • Age of Reason1500 לספירה - 1879 לספירה
    • Modern Times1880 לספירה - 1980 לספירה
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
    • English subscription
  • News
  • Past Issues
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
  • en
  • he
  • -3000000
  • -2900000
  • -2800000
  • -2700000
  • -2600000
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Prehistory
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Prehistory
  • -800000
  • -700000
  • -600000
    • 500000 לפנה"ס :

      Flints Galore
  • -500000
    • 500000 לפנה"ס :

      Flints Galore
  • -400000
  • -300000
  • -200000
  • -100000
    • 60000 לפנה"ס :

      Not Just Cave Dwellers
    • 50000 לפנה"ס :

      Man Is Born
    • 7000 לפנה"ס :

      Masking Death Prehistoric City
    • 3000 לפנה"ס :

      What would you like, Egyptian or Philistine ?
    • 2000 לפנה"ס :

      4,000 Year Old Jerusalem Tomb: a Treasure Trove of Decapitated Toads
    • 1150 לפנה"ס :

      Where did the Philistines come from?
    • 1100 לפנה"ס :

      Is This Ziklag?
    • 800 לפנה"ס :

      Horses in the rain Ruin of Samaria!
    • 750 לפנה"ס :

      Which Isaiah?
    • 590 לפנה"ס :

      Stamped by the Mayor
    • 586 לפנה"ס :

      Signs of Destruction
    • 516 לפנה"ס :

      Who are You, Samaritans?
    • 480 לפנה"ס :

      Esther – the Persian Version
    • 460 לפנה"ס :

      Nehemiah on the Wall
    • 200 לפנה"ס :

      Forgotten Archive
    • 167 לפנה"ס :

      A Brief History of the Hasmoneans
    • 160 לפנה"ס :

      Fighting for Heart and Soul The Youngest Maccabee
    • 150 לפנה"ס :

      Telltale Tremor
    • 141 לפנה"ס :

      Cast a Giant Shadow
    • 110 לפנה"ס :

      A Dig Full of Holes
    • 100 לפנה"ס :

      אוצר ממצולות ים Anonymous Hasmonean
    • 20 לפנה"ס :

      Mystery of Caesarea’s Disappearing Port Jerusalem Potters
    • 18 לפנה"ס :

      Paving the Past
    • 0 לפנה"ס :

      Nabateans in the Bible Lords of the Desert Pilgrim City
  • 0
  • 100000
  • 200000
Prehistory
  • -5000
  • -4980
  • -4960
  • -4940
  • -4920
  • -4900
  • -4880
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  • -4840
  • -4820
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Antiquity
  • -4780
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  • -4740
  • -4720
  • -4700
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  • -4640
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Antiquity
  • -4560
  • -4540
  • -4520
  • -4500
  • -4480
  • -4460
  • -4440
  • -4420
  • -4400
  • -4380
  • -4360
Antiquity
  • -4340
  • -4320
  • -4300
  • -4280
  • -4260
  • -4240
  • -4220
  • -4200
  • -4180
  • -4160
  • -4140
Antiquity
  • -4120
  • -4100
  • -4080
  • -4060
  • -4040
  • -4020
  • -4000
  • -3980
  • -3960
  • -3940
  • -3920
Antiquity
  • -3900
  • -3880
  • -3860
  • -3840
  • -3820
  • -3800
  • -3780
  • -3760
  • -3740
  • -3720
  • -3700
Antiquity
  • -3680
  • -3660
  • -3640
  • -3620
  • -3600
  • -3580
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  • -3540
  • -3520
  • -3500
  • -3480
Antiquity
  • -3460
  • -3440
  • -3420
  • -3400
  • -3380
  • -3360
  • -3340
  • -3320
  • -3300
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Antiquity
  • -3240
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  • -3200
  • -3180
  • -3160
  • -3140
  • -3120
  • -3100
  • -3080
  • -3060
  • -3040
Antiquity
  • -3020
    • 3000 לפנה"ס :

      What would you like, Egyptian or Philistine ?
  • -3000
    • 3000 לפנה"ס :

      What would you like, Egyptian or Philistine ?
  • -2980
  • -2960
  • -2940
  • -2920
  • -2900
  • -2880
  • -2860
  • -2840
  • -2820
Antiquity
  • -2800
  • -2780
  • -2760
  • -2740
  • -2720
  • -2700
  • -2680
  • -2660
  • -2640
  • -2620
  • -2600
Antiquity
  • -2580
  • -2560
  • -2540
  • -2520
  • -2500
  • -2480
  • -2460
  • -2440
  • -2420
  • -2400
  • -2380
Antiquity
  • -2360
  • -2340
  • -2320
  • -2300
  • -2280
  • -2260
  • -2240
  • -2220
  • -2200
  • -2180
  • -2160
Antiquity
  • -2140
  • -2120
  • -2100
  • -2080
  • -2060
  • -2040
  • -2020
    • 2000 לפנה"ס :

      4,000 Year Old Jerusalem Tomb: a Treasure Trove of Decapitated Toads
  • -2000
    • 2000 לפנה"ס :

      4,000 Year Old Jerusalem Tomb: a Treasure Trove of Decapitated Toads
  • -1980
  • -1960
  • -1940
Antiquity
  • -1920
  • -1900
  • -1880
  • -1860
  • -1840
  • -1820
  • -1800
  • -1780
  • -1760
  • -1740
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Antiquity
  • -1700
  • -1680
  • -1660
  • -1640
  • -1620
  • -1600
  • -1580
  • -1560
  • -1540
  • -1520
  • -1500
Antiquity
  • -1480
  • -1460
  • -1440
  • -1420
  • -1400
  • -1380
  • -1360
  • -1340
  • -1320
  • -1300
  • -1280
Antiquity
  • -1260
  • -1240
  • -1220
  • -1200
  • -1180
  • -1160
    • 1150 לפנה"ס :

      Where did the Philistines come from?
  • -1140
  • -1120
    • 1100 לפנה"ס :

      Is This Ziklag?
  • -1100
    • 1100 לפנה"ס :

      Is This Ziklag?
  • -1080
  • -1060
Antiquity
  • -1040
  • -1020
  • -1000
  • -980
  • -960
  • -940
  • -920
  • -900
  • -880
  • -860
  • -840
Antiquity
  • -820
    • 800 לפנה"ס :

      Horses in the rain Ruin of Samaria!
  • -800
    • 800 לפנה"ס :

      Horses in the rain Ruin of Samaria!
  • -780
  • -760
    • 750 לפנה"ס :

      Which Isaiah?
  • -740
  • -720
  • -700
  • -680
  • -660
  • -640
  • -620
Antiquity
  • -600
    • 590 לפנה"ס :

      Stamped by the Mayor
    • 586 לפנה"ס :

      Signs of Destruction
  • -580
  • -560
  • -540
  • -520
    • 516 לפנה"ס :

      Who are You, Samaritans?
  • -500
    • 480 לפנה"ס :

      Esther – the Persian Version
  • -480
    • 480 לפנה"ס :

      Esther – the Persian Version
    • 460 לפנה"ס :

      Nehemiah on the Wall
  • -460
    • 460 לפנה"ס :

      Nehemiah on the Wall
  • -440
  • -420
  • -400
Antiquity
  • -380
  • -360
  • -340
  • -320
  • -300
  • -280
  • -260
  • -240
  • -220
    • 200 לפנה"ס :

      Forgotten Archive
  • -200
    • 200 לפנה"ס :

      Forgotten Archive
  • -180
    • 167 לפנה"ס :

      A Brief History of the Hasmoneans
    • 160 לפנה"ס :

      Fighting for Heart and Soul The Youngest Maccabee
Antiquity
  • -160
    • 160 לפנה"ס :

      Fighting for Heart and Soul The Youngest Maccabee
    • 150 לפנה"ס :

      Telltale Tremor
    • 141 לפנה"ס :

      Cast a Giant Shadow
  • -140
  • -120
    • 110 לפנה"ס :

      A Dig Full of Holes
    • 100 לפנה"ס :

      אוצר ממצולות ים Anonymous Hasmonean
  • -100
    • 100 לפנה"ס :

      אוצר ממצולות ים Anonymous Hasmonean
  • -80
  • -60
  • -40
    • 20 לפנה"ס :

      Mystery of Caesarea’s Disappearing Port Jerusalem Potters
  • -20
    • 20 לפנה"ס :

      Mystery of Caesarea’s Disappearing Port Jerusalem Potters
    • 18 לפנה"ס :

      Paving the Past
    • 0 לפנה"ס :

      Nabateans in the Bible Lords of the Desert Pilgrim City
  • 0
  • 20
    • 40 לספירה :

      Wanton Destruction on a Calamitous Scale Golden Nostalgia
  • 40
    • 40 לספירה :

      Wanton Destruction on a Calamitous Scale Golden Nostalgia
    • 44 לספירה :

      King’s Canopy in Shilo
Antiquity
  • 60
    • 62 לספירה :

      The Pilgrims’ Progress
    • 66 לספירה :

      Don’t Call Me Joseph
    • 67 לספירה :

      Romans on the Roofs of Gamla
  • 80
  • 100
  • 120
    • 130 לספירה :

      Backs to the Western Wall
  • 140
  • 160
  • 180
    • 200 לספירה :

      Bathing Rabbis
  • 200
    • 200 לספירה :

      Bathing Rabbis
  • 220
  • 240
    • 250 לספירה :

      Trio in Togas
  • 260
Antiquity
  • 280
    • 300 לספירה :

      Washed Out by the Rain
  • 300
    • 300 לספירה :

      Washed Out by the Rain
  • 320
  • 340
    • 350 לספירה :

      זה השער
  • 360
  • 380
    • 400 לספירה :

      Blessed Wine
  • 400
    • 400 לספירה :

      Blessed Wine
  • 420
  • 440
  • 460
  • 480
    • 500 לספירה :

      Shofar – Blasting Away Pilgrims’ Riches Playing with Water? Byzantine Cistern in Jerusalem Playground
Antiquity
  • 400
    • 400 לספירה :

      Blessed Wine
  • 410
  • 420
  • 430
  • 440
  • 450
  • 460
  • 470
  • 480
  • 490
    • 500 לספירה :

      Shofar – Blasting Away Pilgrims’ Riches Playing with Water? Byzantine Cistern in Jerusalem Playground
  • 500
    • 500 לספירה :

      Shofar – Blasting Away Pilgrims’ Riches Playing with Water? Byzantine Cistern in Jerusalem Playground
Middle Ages
  • 510
  • 520
  • 530
    • 539 לספירה :

      Georgians in Ashdod
  • 540
  • 550
  • 560
  • 570
  • 580
  • 590
  • 600
  • 610
Middle Ages
  • 620
    • 630 לספירה :

      The Fire of Faith
  • 630
    • 630 לספירה :

      The Fire of Faith
  • 640
  • 650
  • 660
  • 670
  • 680
  • 690
  • 700
  • 710
    • 717 לספירה :

      What’s a Jewish Menorah doing on early Islamic coins and vessels ?
  • 720
Middle Ages
  • 730
  • 740
  • 750
  • 760
  • 770
  • 780
  • 790
    • 800 לספירה :

      Whose Head is it Anyway?
  • 800
    • 800 לספירה :

      Whose Head is it Anyway?
  • 810
  • 820
  • 830
Middle Ages
  • 840
  • 850
  • 860
  • 870
  • 880
  • 890
  • 900
  • 910
  • 920
  • 930
  • 940
    • 950 לספירה :

      Cave of Revenge
Middle Ages
  • 950
    • 950 לספירה :

      Cave of Revenge
  • 960
  • 970
  • 980
  • 990
  • 1000
  • 1010
  • 1020
  • 1030
  • 1040
  • 1050
Middle Ages
  • 1060
  • 1070
  • 1080
  • 1090
    • 1096 לספירה :

      Heroes on the Walls of Haifa
    • 1099 לספירה :

      Heroes on the Walls of Haifa
  • 1100
  • 1110
  • 1120
  • 1130
  • 1140
  • 1150
  • 1160
Middle Ages
  • 1170
  • 1180
    • 1187 לספירה :

      Locking Horns at the Battle of Hattin
  • 1190
  • 1200
  • 1210
  • 1220
  • 1230
  • 1240
  • 1250
  • 1260
  • 1270
    • 1280 לספירה :

      Z-rated: For Forties Plus
Middle Ages
  • 1280
    • 1280 לספירה :

      Z-rated: For Forties Plus
    • 1286 לספירה :

      Mystery of the Zohar Zohar Unzipped
  • 1290
    • 1300 לספירה :

      Ancient Ring in the Flowerbed
  • 1300
    • 1300 לספירה :

      Ancient Ring in the Flowerbed
  • 1310
  • 1320
  • 1330
  • 1340
  • 1350
  • 1360
  • 1370
  • 1380
Middle Ages
  • 1390
  • 1400
  • 1410
  • 1420
  • 1430
  • 1440
  • 1450
  • 1460
  • 1470
    • 1475 לספירה :

      A Widow in Print
  • 1480
  • 1490
    • 1496 לספירה :

      Once Bitten, Twice Shy – Portuguese Jewry
Middle Ages
  • 1500
    • 1501 לספירה :

      Portuguese Messiah at the Stake
  • 1510
  • 1520
    • 1526 לספירה :

      Who Was David Ha-Reuveni?
  • 1530
  • 1540
  • 1550
  • 1560
  • 1570
  • 1580
  • 1590
  • 1600
Age of Reason
  • 1610
  • 1620
    • 1630 לספירה :

      The Price of Dissent
  • 1630
    • 1630 לספירה :

      The Price of Dissent
  • 1640
  • 1650
  • 1660
    • 1667 לספירה :

      Was ‘The Jewish Bride’ Really Jewish? Messianic Mania
  • 1670
    • 1675 לספירה :

      Topsy Turvy
  • 1680
  • 1690
    • 1700 לספירה :

      Newton’s Fourth Law In the Service of the Czar Haman’s Pockets Trying to Belong
  • 1700
    • 1700 לספירה :

      Newton’s Fourth Law In the Service of the Czar Haman’s Pockets Trying to Belong
  • 1710
Age of Reason
  • 1720
  • 1730
  • 1740
  • 1750
  • 1760
  • 1770
  • 1780
  • 1790
  • 1800
    • 1806 לספירה :

      Napoleon’s Jewish Court
  • 1810
    • 1812 לספירה :

      Red Rose of Petra
  • 1820
    • 1827 לספירה :

      A Soul Divided
Age of Reason
  • 1830
    • 1832 לספירה :

      Blackface Minstrel Shows
    • 1840 לספירה :

      With Thanks from Damascus
  • 1840
    • 1840 לספירה :

      With Thanks from Damascus
    • 1842 לספירה :

      Charlotte Rothschild – First Jewish Female Artist
    • 1845 לספירה :

      The Angry Convert
    • 1848 לספירה :

      Jewish? French? Italian!
    • 1850 לספירה :

      Matza – More Than Just Crumbs
  • 1850
    • 1850 לספירה :

      Matza – More Than Just Crumbs
    • 1852 לספירה :

      Mum’s the Word Mum’s the Word
    • 1860 לספירה :

      Written Off
  • 1860
    • 1860 לספירה :

      Written Off
    • 1868 לספירה :

      Hungarian Schism
    • 1870 לספירה :

      A Man unto Himself The Kaiser’s Cap
  • 1870
    • 1870 לספירה :

      A Man unto Himself The Kaiser’s Cap
    • 1875 לספירה :

      The Many Faces of Maurycy Gottlieb Shtreimel Variations: The History of a Hat
    • 1877 לספירה :

      Off the Boat
    • 1880 לספירה :

      Fastest Jew in the West
  • 1880
    • 1880 לספירה :

      Fastest Jew in the West
    • 1881 לספירה :

      The Jewish Girl who Set the Wild West Ablaze
    • 1883 לספירה :

      Kafka – Too Short A Story
    • 1884 לספירה :

      The Original Zionist Congress
    • 1887 לספירה :

      Marc Chagall – the Surrealist Jew
    • 1889 לספירה :

      New York – A Community in Flux
    • 1890 לספירה :

      PIONEER POET
  • 1890
    • 1890 לספירה :

      PIONEER POET
    • 1892 לספירה :

      When Shakespeare Spoke Yiddish
    • 1894 לספירה :

      Herzl’s Psychodrama Egypt’s Jewish Molière
    • 1895 לספירה :

      Zionist with Cello
    • 1897 לספירה :

      The Jewish Father of French Impressionism The Congress that Founded the Jewish State
    • 1900 לספירה :

      Healing Minds with Sigmund Freud
  • 1900
    • 1900 לספירה :

      Healing Minds with Sigmund Freud
    • 1906 לספירה :

      The Saga of a Budapest Family Sukka
    • 1908 לספירה :

      The Jewish American Secret Police
  • 1910
    • 1913 לספירה :

      Planting Seedlings Mark Gertler – Nothing but Art
    • 1914 לספירה :

      Did Jew Know? Tomorrow’s War Ticket to Riches
    • 1915 לספירה :

      Albert Einstein’s Quantum Leap Forgotten Jews of Bisan
    • 1916 לספירה :

      Amedeo Modigliani – Jewish Expressionism
    • 1917 לספירה :

      The Gateway The Viscount of Megiddo Return of the Spies Guard Down Long Before Balfour
    • 1918 לספירה :

      Luboml City Post Dying in Vain
    • 1920 לספירה :

      Isidor Kaufmann – Jewish Ritual Beauty My Son, the Gangster The Fourth Commandment and the Eighteenth Amendment
  • 1920
    • 1920 לספירה :

      Isidor Kaufmann – Jewish Ritual Beauty My Son, the Gangster The Fourth Commandment and the Eighteenth Amendment
    • 1921 לספירה :

      Make Art, Not War
    • 1924 לספירה :

      God Save the Dutch Queen
    • 1927 לספירה :

      Painter of Jerusalem Breaking the Sound Barrier No Business Like Show Business
    • 1929 לספירה :

      Painting Propaganda
    • 1930 לספירה :

      The Wedding That Wasn’t
  • 1930
    • 1930 לספירה :

      The Wedding That Wasn’t
    • 1933 לספירה :

      Haifa and Salonika – the Jewish Ports
    • 1935 לספירה :

      Gefilte Jazz
    • 1936 לספירה :

      Megilla with a Secular Twist
    • 1940 לספירה :

      A Beautiful Mind 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Hedy Lamarr
Age of Reason
  • 1880
    • 1880 לספירה :

      Fastest Jew in the West
    • 1881 לספירה :

      The Jewish Girl who Set the Wild West Ablaze
    • 1883 לספירה :

      Kafka – Too Short A Story
    • 1884 לספירה :

      The Original Zionist Congress
    • 1887 לספירה :

      Marc Chagall – the Surrealist Jew
    • 1889 לספירה :

      New York – A Community in Flux
    • 1890 לספירה :

      PIONEER POET
  • 1890
    • 1890 לספירה :

      PIONEER POET
    • 1892 לספירה :

      When Shakespeare Spoke Yiddish
    • 1894 לספירה :

      Herzl’s Psychodrama Egypt’s Jewish Molière
    • 1895 לספירה :

      Zionist with Cello
    • 1897 לספירה :

      The Jewish Father of French Impressionism The Congress that Founded the Jewish State
    • 1900 לספירה :

      Healing Minds with Sigmund Freud
  • 1900
    • 1900 לספירה :

      Healing Minds with Sigmund Freud
    • 1906 לספירה :

      The Saga of a Budapest Family Sukka
    • 1908 לספירה :

      The Jewish American Secret Police
  • 1910
    • 1913 לספירה :

      Planting Seedlings Mark Gertler – Nothing but Art
    • 1914 לספירה :

      Did Jew Know? Tomorrow’s War Ticket to Riches
    • 1915 לספירה :

      Albert Einstein’s Quantum Leap Forgotten Jews of Bisan
    • 1916 לספירה :

      Amedeo Modigliani – Jewish Expressionism
    • 1917 לספירה :

      The Gateway The Viscount of Megiddo Return of the Spies Guard Down Long Before Balfour
    • 1918 לספירה :

      Luboml City Post Dying in Vain
    • 1920 לספירה :

      Isidor Kaufmann – Jewish Ritual Beauty My Son, the Gangster The Fourth Commandment and the Eighteenth Amendment
  • 1920
    • 1920 לספירה :

      Isidor Kaufmann – Jewish Ritual Beauty My Son, the Gangster The Fourth Commandment and the Eighteenth Amendment
    • 1921 לספירה :

      Make Art, Not War
    • 1924 לספירה :

      God Save the Dutch Queen
    • 1927 לספירה :

      Painter of Jerusalem Breaking the Sound Barrier No Business Like Show Business
    • 1929 לספירה :

      Painting Propaganda
    • 1930 לספירה :

      The Wedding That Wasn’t
  • 1930
    • 1930 לספירה :

      The Wedding That Wasn’t
    • 1933 לספירה :

      Haifa and Salonika – the Jewish Ports
    • 1935 לספירה :

      Gefilte Jazz
    • 1936 לספירה :

      Megilla with a Secular Twist
    • 1940 לספירה :

      A Beautiful Mind 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Hedy Lamarr
  • 1940
    • 1940 לספירה :

      A Beautiful Mind 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Hedy Lamarr
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Modern Times
    בית / Modern Times / Eilat’s Treasures

Eilat’s Treasures

We Prefer it Open
An Old-New Port
Rough Waters
New Conquest
Baggage Claim
What Became of the Ofir’s Cargo?
מאת: תמר הירדני

Six years before the port of Eilat opened in 1956, a dilapidated ship loaded with Yemenite Jewry’s cultural heritage anchored offshore. What happened to those priceless manuscripts? // Tamar Hayardeni

We Prefer it Open

Traversing the rickety road from the Israeli port of Eilat to its Egyptian equivalent in Taba, past thousands of imported cars lined up in spectacular order, glinting in Eilat’s glaring sun, it’s hard not to feel a glimmer of pride. Somehow this pinch-waisted country, less than ninety kilometers across from Ein Gedi to Ashkelon, has become a maritime player in the Middle East. Nowhere else in the region offers a shore-to-shore experience that includes a dip in the freshwater Sea of Galilee, sailing on the Mediterranean, Dead Sea mud baths, and snorkeling in Eilat’s clear blue sea. No wonder the neighbors are a touch envious.

Egypt was incensed by Israel’s conquest of Eilat (then called Umm Rash Rash) in the War of Independence, and by the new state’s insistence on keeping the port. After Nasser came to power, he closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping in 1956, bringing about the disastrous (for Egypt) Sinai Campaign. He tried again in 1967, resulting in the Six-Day War, in which Egypt lost the entire Sinai Peninsula.

Israelis like Eilat, and we prefer it open to international trade, with the Egyptian army at a safe distance.

An Old-New Port

Though Eilat offers numerous tourist attractions, its port is its pride. The website of the government-owned Eilat Port Company boasts that it’s the “closest major port to the Far East.” But before you start dreaming of sushi and cherry blossoms, click on the website’s history page. There you’ll learn that by the early 1950s, ships were already sailing gaily toward Eilat’s shores, only to discover its complete lack of docking facilities. Freighters had to unload their cargo onto small boats in mid-ocean, until in 1955 work began on the first Eilat Port – now known as the “Old Port.” In 1965 it was replaced by the “New Port,” still used today.

Unfortunately, this overview makes no mention of the drama preceding the docking of the port’s very first ship, in 1950. Nor do these events appear on the Eilat municipal website, which also has a history section. The only online hint of this fantastic voyage lies in an upload of a quiz booklet produced by the municipality in honor of – for some reason – the town’s fifty-ninth anniversary, in 2006.

In the 1950s, Eilat was a small, isolated frontier settlement on Israel’s southernmost tip, developing into a town only in the 1960s. After the peace accords with Egypt, it was once again Israel’s only outlet to the Red Sea, and hotel tourism followed apace. Eilat in 2012Photo: Israeltourism

In the 1950s, Eilat was a small, isolated frontier settlement on Israel’s southernmost tip, developing into a town only in the 1960s. After the peace accords with Egypt, it was once again Israel’s only outlet to the Red Sea, and hotel tourism followed apace. Eilat in 2012

Rough Waters

In July 1950, Israeli headlines breathlessly announced the arrival down south of an Italian ship, the Lucia, straight from the Yemenite beaches of Aden. Actually, the vessel was called the Luce, and it was renamed the Ofir upon docking in Eilat. In any case, it carried thousands of Jewish books – including hundreds of Torah scrolls – preserved for generations in the synagogues of Yemen. When the country’s Jews flew to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet that year, they weren’t about to leave their entire written heritage behind. But how did it end up on an Italian ship? The Al Ha-mishmar daily reported:

This treasure gradually mounted in the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s transit camp in Aden. Transfer was arranged by sea, and a ship hired to sail to Eilat on Wednesday. Each group of Yemenite immigrants arriving at the camp from another far-flung corner of Yemen brought with it, in addition to personal effects, Torah scrolls and manuscripts from synagogues that had closed up shop. There was no way this wealth of scrolls and books could be sent to Israel “on eagles’ wings,” as the heavy load would have taken up space reserved for people. (“Ship with Cargo from Aden Arrives in Eilat,” Al Ha-mishmar, June 25, 1950 [10 Tammuz 5710], p. 1)

It sounds perfectly straight-forward – cargo sent by sea instead of by air – but it wasn’t. Israel’s Red Sea territorial rights had yet to be defined, and British patrol boats still ruled the waves off Eilat’s coast. As a result, the Yemenites’ precious heritage had to run a gauntlet of unfriendly sea passages, requiring extra precautions. That’s why the ship hired for this purpose was Italian, and too run-down to attract attention. An agent from the Joint, Mordecai Lapidot, was planted among the boat’s African sailors to watch out for trouble and keep an eye on the ship’s Italian captain, Chiaso, who was drunk most of the voyage.

Sailing directly from Aden to Eilat generally took about ten days, but the Luce was posing as an ordinary cargo ship, so it docked patiently at several commercial ports along the way. When it failed to show up in Eilat two and a half weeks after departure, the impatient few in on the secret – Eilat mayor Avraham Zakai; Isaiah Sharabi, Yemenite Jewry’s representative in Israel and later in the Knesset; and a small group of journalists – were beside themselves. Frantic inquiries revealed that the ship had been held up by a sudden storm in the Red Sea. Next day, there was still no sign of the Luce, this time thanks to engine trouble. A day later the craft ran out of diesel, and a supply boat had to be dispatched. The engine broke down time after time, and then disaster was only narrowly averted when the outdated ship ran aground on a shoal. Maariv quoted Captain Chiaso’s account of what happened next:

The climax of a long, tense journey came as we approached the Gulf of Aqaba. The British destroyer anchored at Aqaba signaled us to approach, but … we ignored the signals. Shrugging our shoulders, we headed straight for Eilat. (“Ofir’s Skipper on His Adventure-Filled Voyage to Eilat,” Maariv, June 25, 1950 [10 Tammuz 5710], p. 1)

Gavriel Oren, a customs officer flown in specially from Tel Aviv, signs on the Luce’s paperworkPhoto: Israel Government Photo Archive

Gavriel Oren, a customs officer flown in specially from Tel Aviv, signs on the Luce’s paperwork

New Conquest

For forty days and forty nights, like something out of the Bible, the Luce tossed on the Red Sea, eventually docking safely in Eilat. Excited Maariv reporters turned up two days later (Eilat was over a day’s car trip from Tel Aviv):

When we arrived on Friday, the ship was the main topic of conversation on the stunning beach. Eilat’s pioneers and soldiers were seized with the thrill of a new conquest, this time the Gulf of Eilat. (ibid., p. 4)

But if you think this tale continues with seasoned stevedores, forklifts, and cranes, think again. The manuscripts and Torah scrolls were unloaded haphazardly at sea, with the ship’s African crew and Israeli naval cadets trying vainly to coordinate.

Dr. Azriel Carlebach, legendary founder of Maariv, was there too, emotionally comparing the Ofir’s arrival to the docking of the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock:

Let’s photograph him well, this Italian captain, Mr. Chiaso, who brought the Ofir from Aden to Eilat, and likewise the figures of these anonymous negroes, now unloading their cargo onto the sands of Etzion Geber [the biblical name for Eilat]…. They neither know nor appreciate it, but one day books will be written that start with them, the miserable black stevedores who earned three shillings a day for making history….
History will then fast-forward to far more glamorous, brave chapters … to the growth of this wonder-state, which suddenly established itself on Asia’s doorstep and extended its tentacles to the far reaches of the Red Sea … the shockwaves that passed through all the neighboring countries as they witnessed this wonderful vision – an impulsive nation that had reached Eilat just a year before and was already trying to stretch out and embrace the world. (Maariv, June 26, 1950, p. 4)

Cargo being unloaded in Eilat’s port, 1951Photo: Abraham Zaslevsky, Israel Government Photo Archive

Cargo being unloaded in Eilat’s port, 1951

Baggage Claim

With Eilat Port open, Carlebach gushed that “Israel stands at the crossroads of the world” (ibid.). But no books have documented the opening of the port, and the black sailors of the Ofir are still anonymous. Even the Internet says nothing about these unsung heroes.

More disturbing, however, is the fate of the priceless cargo. Israeli historian Dr. Mordecai Naor investigated the matter:

The end of the story is somewhat murky. The Yemenite immigrants’ luggage and Torah scrolls remained in Eilat for a while, perhaps even a long while. A few reports in the papers of July 1950 stated that the crates were falling apart, with all the inevitable consequences for their contents. The whole load was then transferred to Jaffa Port, where the various owners were invited [to claim their stuff]. When dozens and hundreds of Yemenite immigrants arrived, their faces fell: crates had disintegrated, packages were rolling on the ground, and almost all identifying features had been rubbed out or faded away. There were allegations that some of the cargo had been lost or stolen, including Torah scrolls and valuable Judaica. (Mordecai Naor, More Stories of the Land I Love [1994], p. 199 [Hebrew])

The mystery was never solved. The dilapidated Luce/Ofir sailed back out to sea, leaving Eilat behind without ringing up a single duty-free purchase. The port moved further up the coast to deeper waters in 1960, making room for vacationing Israelis to work on their suntans. With new airport facilities and a railroad well under way, Eilat promises to put Israel on the map as an international hub. That’s quite something when you remember how it all started.

Stevedores take a break in Eilat's old port, 1960Photo: Moshe Pridan, Israel Government Photo Archive

Stevedores take a break in Eilat’s old port, 1960

What Became of the Ofir’s Cargo?

Investigative journalism undertaken by Israel’s Channel Ten in February 2003 depicted the events of June 1950 more grimly. Apparently, the Yemenites’ manuscripts and silver Judaica – including Torah crowns and cases – were unloaded in Eilat but never made it to the warehouse in Jaffa. They were stolen and sold well before that. The “unfortunate fire” that broke out in the storage facility in 1951 before the immigrants’ very eyes, destroying all its contents, was – according to the report – literally a smoke screen.

The exposé produced an uproar, leading Knesset member Yehiel Hazan to call for a parliamentary commission of inquiry. Hazan claimed:

Existing reports raise suspicions that the immigrants’ possessions, which included rare manuscripts, were collected on Jewish Agency orders in crates that were to be sent to Eilat; and that certain parties were particularly interested in purchasing these valuable items for research institutes and so forth…. We must determine … what exactly happened. Were false representations intentionally made to the immigrants due to outside interests? Were official bodies involved? Did the Yemenites receive any appropriate compensation? (Yehiel Hazan to Knesset chairman, March 23, 2003, Knesset archives)

The Maariv article reporting on the Luce’s arrival in Eilat with its precious cargo-

The Maariv article reporting on the Luce’s arrival in Eilat with its precious cargo

Modern Times

1950
לספירה

תגים

Aden, aliyah, Azriel Carlebach, Britain, Egypt, Eilat, Isaiah Sharabi, Joint(JDC), Luce-Ofir, manuscript, on eagles’ wings, port, ship, Tale of a Trail, Torah scrolls, Umm Rash Rash, Yemen, Yemenite Jewry
מאת: תמר הירדני

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