The deportation records in Israel held by the Israel State Archives (ISA) document the illegal immigrations that took place starting in the year 1934 and leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. During this time period, known as the “Aliyah Bet” (Hebrew for “Immigration B”), or as the “Ha'apala” (Hebrew for “Ascension”), around 122,000 Jews immigrated illegally to Mandatory Palestine. The Aliyah Bet can be further broken down into three periods: the first lasting until the outbreak of the Second World War (1934–1939) with 21,000 illegal immigrants, the second during World War II (1939–1945) with 17,000 illegal immigrants, and the third until Israeli independence (1945–1948) with 84,000 immigrants.
Records of these immigrants are now public and searchable online, organized by date and the name of the ship on which the illegal immigrants arrived. This collection includes the deportation applications filed by the British to those illegal Jewish immigrants who did not obtain government immigration permits and arrived in Mandatory Palestine between 1939 and 1945. The records contain the first and last names of the immigrant, his/her birth date, birthplace, occupation, religion, civil status, previous address, names of parents, age, personal description (including height, eye, and hair color), and a photograph of the person.
Not all of the illegal Jewish immigrants who arrived in Mandatory Palestine during the “Aliyah Bet” were recorded by the Jewish Agency. In addition, not all the illegal immigrants were caught by the British authorities and thus recorded in the deportation applications. On top of that, the lists of legal immigrants made by the Jewish Agency are not as comprehensive. In other words, this collection contains one of the largest amount of information available about the Jews that immigrated to Israel, legally and illegally.
Where to find deportation records in Israel
The original scans containing the deportation applications are located in the Israel State Archives. You can find the names of those listed in the deportation applications on the Israel Genealogy Research Association website.
Information that can be obtained from Israeli deportation records
As mentioned, the deportation applications contain many personal details about the illegal immigrant, such as:
- Birth date
- Birthplace
- Occupation
- Religion
- Civil status
- Previous address
- Names of parents
- Age
- Personal description (including height and eye and hair color)
- Personal photograph
Personal deportation applications mostly consist of a double-sided paper (two pages) plus a photograph that has both the name of the immigrant and the application number written on its back.
Search immigration records from Israel on MyHeritage
Explore more about Israeli immigration records
- Israel, Immigrations Lists collection on MyHeritage
- Mandatory Palestine Naturalization Records, 1937-1947 collection on MyHeritage
- Eretz Israel Telephone Directory, 1944 collection on MyHeritage