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In May 1940, a handful of Jewish US citizens were evacuated from British Palestine aboard an Egyptian freighter. This project tells the events leading up to the evacuation and their remarkable story
Summary
In May 1940, a series of diplomatic dispatches ensue between Jerusalem British Consul General Wadsworth and United States Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Wadsworth is very candid about what he fears will be the dire fate of Jewish US Citizens if British Palestine falls to Hitler; Hull is more laconic in his responses (at the time, the United States was not in the War, the US Congress was isolationist, Jewish immigration was curtailed). He approved the evacuation of Jewish Citizens from British Palestine to return to the United States. It appears this evacuation was funded by United States Jewish charitable organizations and that the British provided the Egyptian Freighter El Nil.
The passengers embarked at Port Said, Egypt. The El Nil went through the Suez Canal; along its journey, it stopped and allowed passengers off the ship at the following ports (per Helen Kaplan Bernstein, who was on board the El Nil): Mombasa, Kenya; Cape Town, South Africa; Recife, Brazil; and the Island of Trinidad. Passengers disembarked ultimately in the port of New York October 1940.
Note the final communication from US Secretary of State Cordell Hull to British Consul General Wadsworth in January 1941. In it he accuses US Citizens in British Palestine of more loyalty to residing there and are basically not true US Citizens and so the US would not make funds available to evacuate any of them that remained in British Palestine. It is unknown what the US Dual Nationality Law was in 1941. Current law (2024) is stated here: “U.S. law does not require a U.S. citizen to choose between U.S. citizenship and another (foreign) nationality (or nationalities). A U.S. citizen may naturalize in a foreign state without any risk to their U.S. citizenship.”
Background
Events leading up to the Evacuation of Jewish US Citizens from British Palestine on the El Nil Egyptian Freighter, August 1940 – October 1940:
- Hitler comes to power in 1933 in Germany.
- Anschluss with Austria takes place in 1938.
- Hitler invades Czechoslovakia in March 1939.
- Hitler invades Poland September 1, 1939.
- September 3, 1940, Britain and France declare war on Germany.
- Germany invades Norway and Denmark in April and May 1940.
- June 11, 1940 Italy enters the war on the Axis side with Germany.
- In July 1940, Italy starts bombing the coast of British Palestine, hitting Haifa, Acre, Tel Aviv and Jaffa.
And then....
The Telegrams
Evidence of the evacuation exists in the form of diplomatic telegrams from the Secretary of State to the Consul General at Jerusalem (Wadsworth):
Document List:
Passenger manifest
Document 804: Jerusalem, May 23, 1940—9 p.m. [Received May 24—7:48 a.m.
Document 805: Washington, May 24, 1940—7 p.m.
Document 807: Washington, May 28, 1940.
Document 808: Jerusalem, July 20, 1940 [Received August 27]
Document 809: Jerusalem, November 15, 1940. [Received December 23.]
Document 804: Jerusalem, May 23, 1940—9 p.m.
The Consul General at Jerusalem ( Wadsworth ) to the Secretary of State
33. Supplementing my telegram No. 30 of May 20, 4 p.m., as the following Reuters’ message with today’s Washington dateline is to appear in tomorrow morning’s Palestine newspapers: “A general warning has been issued to all Americans in Iraq, Palestine, Tunis, Egypt and Tangier to leave while communications are still open.” I have arranged with the Government Press Bureau that the following supplementary comment be concurrently published. “The American Consul General in Jerusalem explains in this connection that there is no insistence by the Government in Washington on the departure of American citizens from these countries and that each citizen must decide for himself whether to remain or to depart”.
I believe and Magnes concurs that thus presented this warning will not occasion panic among resident American Jews. We have particularly wished to avoid this because according to Thomas Cook [Page 881]the only current sailings available for departures are on Italian steamer leaving for Venice May 30 which could accommodate some 200 persons and an east bound Japanese vessel leaving Port Said June 1st. American passenger vessel sailings are reported fully booked but the Legation at Cairo is endeavoring to arrange use of cargo ships if emergency arises. All current British sailings are reported diverted via the Cape.
Wadsworth
Document 805: Washington, May 24, 1940—7 p.m.
The Secretary of State to the Consul General at Jerusalem (Wadsworth)
Your 30, May 20, 4 p.m. Department deems it important that all American citizens alike receive the invitation to return to the United States while there still remains opportunity for them to do so. Department has noted your despatch No. 1003, July 12, 1939,58 suggesting channels through which such invitation may be made.
Hull
Document 807: Washington, May 28, 1940.
The Secretary of State to the Consul General at Jerusalem (Wadsworth)
Your 36, May 25, 6 p.m. Your position approved.
Hull
Document 808: Jerusalem, July 20, 1940 [Received August 27]
The Consul General at Jerusalem (Wadsworth) to the Secretary of State
Sir: [Here follows information similar to that brought up to date in despatch No. 1411, November 15, printed infra.]
As to the general problem of evacuating American Jews from Haifa, and possibly Tel Aviv, I early suggested to Jewish-American leaders that these communities would do well to consider, through their local organizations, the question of how their position might be affected by a possible spread of hostilities to the Eastern Mediterranean, adding that the Consulate General would be glad to furnish advice and all possible assistance. This matter—the fourth and last subject to be treated in the present despatch—will be discussed in some detail below.
About the middle of May, also, I arranged for the formation of a small committee of three representative Americans with whom the Consulate General might consult informally regarding any emergency which might arise. Its members were:
Dr. J. L. Magnes, President of the Hebrew University
Dr. Totah, Director of the American Friends’ Schools
Mr. A. L. Miller, Director of the Jerusalem Y. M. C. A.
[Page 883]
Subsequently, and largely on Dr. Magnes’ recommendation, we decided it would be advisable to form a special subcommittee of leading American Jews to consider the problems especially affecting resident citizens of that faith. Such a committee finally met with me on June 26. Its members were:
Dr. J. L. Magnes, as Chairman
Mr. J. Simon, President of the Palestine Economic Corporation
Dr. I. Kligler, of the Hadassah Medical Organization
Mr. H. Viteles, of the Central Bank of Cooperatives
Mr. H. Margalith, head of the Jerusalem branch of the American-Jewish Association of Palestine.
With members of this subcommittee and with representatives of the other two branches of the American-Jewish Association (at Tel Aviv and Haifa) the matter of organized arrangements for the assistance of American Jews has been discussed on several occasions. Tentative plans have already been made to receive and care for any needy refugees who may be forced by circumstances—such, for instance, as further bombing of Haifa—to leave dangerous areas.
The most notable contribution in this field is an offer made by Drs. Magnes and Kligler to house such refugees in buildings to be made available by the institutions they represent. And Mr. Simon has made a generous offer of financial assistance towards putting such buildings into “habitable” condition should need therefor arise.
Officials of the American-Jewish Association are also cooperating with the Consulate General in effecting a more complete registration of American Jewish residents of the country. In this latter connection the matter of the financial situation of these citizens will also be considered.
The ultimate aim of this move, which is the sub-committee’s own proposal, is to perfect some arrangements for the collection of funds for the assistance of any who may find themselves evacuated and in real need. The investigation is at present proceeding.
In conclusion and to recapitulate the major points made in the present despatch and its enclosures:
- Some 250 resident citizens have left Palestine since receipt of the Department’s telegram of May 16 advising Americans to return to the United States; and an approximately equal number are known to wish to leave and to possess funds more or less sufficient for the purpose;
- There remain in the country some 7,000 citizens (roughly 6,500 Jews, 400 Arabs and 100 others) against at least 3,000 of whom presumption of expatriation is believed to have arisen; and
- Some 1,000 of these remaining citizens reside in Haifa, in which connection there exists a potential emergency evacuation—and possibly relief—problem of some magnitude.
[Page 884]
Finally, and in explanation of the relative smallness of the numbers of citizens who have left or made known their desire to leave the country, I venture to quote the following paragraph from my telegram of May 20:
“About 90 per cent are Jews of whom at least two-thirds are naturalized citizens. They have been admitted to Palestine under immigration schedules on visas authorizing permanent residence. For the most part ardent Zionists their dominant interest is Jewish settlement and realization of the National Home ideal. Their first and preeminent loyalty is to that ideal and its concomitant concept of Jewish statehood in their lifetime.”
Respectfully yours,
G. Wadsworth
Document 809: Jerusalem, November 15, 1940
Subject: War emergency problems affecting American citizens in Palestine.
Sir: In my despatch No. 1331 of July 20, 1940, there was submitted a detailed review of the above subject as presenting itself at the time. In the present despatch I shall have the honor to bring that review up to date. As to the number of American citizens involved, the situation was, briefly, as follows:
During the period from May 18 (date of the receipt of the Department’s advice to American citizens to return to the United States) to July 15, some 250 resident citizens had left Palestine.
Approximately 7,000 citizens (then estimated at roughly 6,500 Jews, 400 Arabs and 100 “others”) were believed to remain in the country.
Of these estimated 7,000, only some 250 were known to wish to leave and to possess more or less sufficient funds for the purpose.
Many more, it was believed, would wish to leave were the Middle East to become the scene of major hostilities and the country to be threatened by Axis invasion.
During the intervening four months, only some 150 citizens have left the country. This figure has been confirmed by enquiry made of local travel agencies. Fifty-odd departed in August on the Egyptian S. S. El Nil via the Red Sea and the Cape of Good Hope, the others via Iraq and India.
These departures included: all of the remaining American employees (23 in number) of the M. W. Kellogg Company, which had [Page 885]concluded its construction work of the new oil refinery at Haifa; one single missionary and one missionary family departing on furlough; and, the balance, 120-odd residents (for the most part Jews). In addition seven missionaries from Egypt who had spent the summer here returned to that country.
On the basis of these figures, there should remain in the country something over 6,000 American Jews, the originally estimated 400 naturalized citizens of local Arab origin and rather less than 100 “others”. Further enquiries made during these intervening four months confirm the substantial accuracy of the latter two figures but suggest the desirability of reducing that of the number of American Jews.
As to “others” the following table is believed to be substantially correct as of the present date:
Institution Adults Dependents
Assembly of God 7 7
American Friends Mission 10 2
Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land 12 –
Southern Baptist Convention 4 7
Christian and Missionary Alliance 5 3
American Carmelite Fathers 5 –
Other “missionaries” 10 3
(YMCA, American Colony Aid Association, etc.)
Total “missionaries” 53 23
[22]
Consulate General (including two F. S. O. families evacuated from Cairo) 10 10
Others registered at the Consulate 2 –
Total “others” 65 33
[32]
As to the estimated number of resident American Jews, it is to be noted that the survey—reported in my last despatch as having been undertaken by the American-Jewish Association of Palestine—has led the officials of that association to put the total at an outside figure of approximately 5,000. They suggest that the estimate prepared by the Consulate General erred in not allowing for a higher percentage of departures during recent years.
They argue, and I believe with considerable justification, that American Jews have adjusted themselves less readily than Europeans to conditions in Palestine and, therefore, especially during the “disturbances” of 1936–39, returned in considerably larger numbers than the Consulate’s estimate showed for permanent residence in the United States. They suggest that this divergence was due in many instances to the fact that Jews so leaving Palestine were ashamed to admit that they were definitely “deserting the ship” and hence applied to the Consulate and to the Palestine Migration Department for passports or other services for seasonal travel only.
[Page 886]
Be this as it may—and the Consulate’s citizenship section is now engaged in a further study of the matter—the survey in question led the officers of the American-Jewish Association to the interesting conclusions set forth in my telegram No. 159 of November 13, 2 p.m.59 A confirmation copy is transmitted herewith, together with a copy of the Association’s letter of November 1259 which enclosed a draft text (which I did not modify) of the first and second numbered paragraphs of my telegram.
The most interesting point made in the Association’s conclusions was that, of the 2,500 American Jews for whom it claimed to speak, only some 500 “wish to return to the United States at the present juncture or at an early date”, the others “preferring to remain unless the country is threatened by Axis invasion.”
Of these 500, the Association’s survey showed, “barely 100 are financially able to pay present fares” and the remainder require assistance in the form either of cheaper fares or of full repatriation relief. The Association’s officers believed that a somewhat similar situation would be found to exist among the other half of the Jewish American residents not directly represented by them.
If this be the case—and the Consulate’s observations suggest its substantial accuracy—there are today in Palestine only some 800 American citizens (all Jews) who desire to return to the United States at this time and who do not possess sufficient funds for the purpose. And, of such 800, approximately one-half would be able to pay between $200 and $400 for steerage or tourist-class fares.
The numbers (of all categories) of those wishing to depart would, of course, as my telegram and earlier despatch suggested, multiply rapidly were the Eastern Mediterranean to become the scene of major hostilities and Palestine be threatened by Axis invasion.
In that latter event, the problem of the evacuation of American citizens from this country would indeed be one of serious magnitude and difficulty; and the Association’s officers urge that the Department accord it full and sympathetic consideration. They present their case substantially as follows:
They came to and settled in this country primarily because inspired by the Zionist ideal. As Jews, they wished to make their contribution towards building the Jewish National Home. As Americans they wished that contribution—in the field of spiritual as well as material progress—to be representative of the best traditions of their former, American homeland.
They admit thus frankly to a dual loyalty; and they feel that that which they owe to Palestine precludes their deserting the Zionist ship now seriously endangered by but not as yet actually caught in [Page 887]the maelstrom of world war. They recognize, however, that in this stand they may be risking life itself, that as Jews (even though American citizens) they would receive short shrift at the hands of a Nazi invasion.
In the circumstances—which they feel may rightly be deemed to set them apart as unique among all Americans now resident abroad in war-threatened areas—they hold to the belief that, in dire emergency, their government should and will come to their aid with all the power (financial and otherwise) at its command.
In my many conversations with these and other leaders of the local Jewish-American community I have not encouraged them in this stand, and I have let no opportunity pass to impress on them—and through them on their community—the seriousness of the Department’s advice that Americans should leave this and other Near Eastern countries.
I cannot but feel, however, that, even in the face of their failure to heed that advice, their Government could not “in dire emergency” wash its hands of all responsibility for their welfare and remain loyal to the humanitarian principles for which it has always stood. The vision is grim of what their lot would be in a Nazi-occupied Holy Land.
My hope is that, should such a tragedy come to pass, funds for their repatriation or relief would be made available by public American charity. It is a hope with which Dr. Judah Magnes, my chief counsellor in these matters, wishes very particularly to associate himself. Millions of dollars have been and, we gather, still are being contributed, notably by American Jewry, for the rendering of similar assistance to European Jews.
It might be well were the Department to consider drawing, through appropriate charitable institutions, the attention of these same American donors to this potential need of American Jews in Palestine.
Respectfully yours,
G. Wadsworth
https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000204832453821
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1940v03/d810
FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC PAPERS, 1940, THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH, THE SOVIET UNION, THE NEAR EAST AND AFRICA, VOLUME III
340.1115A/1700: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Consul General at Jerusalem (Wadsworth)
Washington, January 25, 1941—2 p.m.
Your despatch 1411, November 15.
1. In accordance with the Department’s instructions to its officers in the Near East, it was suggested by you to Americans in Palestine, in anticipation of the spread of hostilities to the Mediterranean, that they return to the United States while transportation facilities were available and opportunity remained for them to do so. Despite that [Page 888]advice and the subsequent spread of hostilities to the Mediterranean and although there still exists means of transportation to the United States via the Persian Gulf and India, the large number of persons referred to in your despatch have remained and continue to remain in Palestine.
2. The persons in question admit a loyalty to Palestine impelling them to remain there and they do not propose to leave unless a dire emergency should occur when, they say, they will expect this Go