[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 72 (Thursday, April 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2608-S2609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ``EXODUS 1947'' 'S ARRIVAL IN HAIFA

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, July 18, 2017, marks the 70th anniversary 
of the day that the ship Exodus 1947 arrived in Haifa, Israel.
  The story of Exodus 1947 is as important today as it was 70 years 
ago. In 1947, the world was horrified and outraged by the British 
policy of violently preventing Holocaust survivors from reaching 
Palestine and forcing their return to Europe and refugee camps in 
Germany. Watching the British Navy ram the Exodus 1947, which had 4,515 
Holocaust survivors on board, inflamed world opinion and prompted the 
United Nations Special Committee on Palestine, UNSCOP, to scrutinize 
the actions of the British. Eventually the British were forced to end 
their policy of preventing Jewish immigration to Israel, and the State 
of Israel was born.
  Why is the story of the Exodus 1947 so important that we are still 
talking about it 70 years later? After all, geopolitical transitions 
have launched multiple large-scale refugee migrations around the world 
in the 20th century, including Armenians in 1915, Russians in 1917, 
Chinese in 1949, Hindus from Pakistan and Muslims from India in 1947, 
East Germans between 1945 and 1961, Bosnians in the 1990s, Rwandans in 
1994, Syrians in 2016--and many more.
  The story of the Exodus 1947 is important to remember and consider 
today because it reminds us of our responsibility to protect human 
rights, help people outside of our own borders, stand up for Americans 
values, and work with our allies and international organizations to 
advance our goals. It reminds us that our work is not finished. It 
reminds us that, while it was the Jews on the Exodus 1947 70 years ago, 
political outrages around the world continue to require our leadership 
and our action.
  As a U.S. Senator from Maryland and vigilant friend of the Chesapeake 
Bay and Maryland's Maritime history, I would like to highlight the fact 
that, prior to its service in support of Jewish refugees from the 
Holocaust, the Exodus 1947 was called the President Warfield and it 
sailed the Chesapeake Bay for the Baltimore Steam Packet Company. The 
President Warfield changed hands many times, from the Baltimore Steam 
Packet Company to the British Navy to the U.S. Navy to the Potomac 
Shipwrecking Company, which was actually acting as clandestine 
purchasing agents of the Haganah who wanted the

[[Page S2609]]

ship because the conditions that made it ideal for navigating the 
Chesapeake Bay, shifting sand of 3 feet or less in depth, made it ideal 
for getting immigrants quickly and closely up to the coastal areas of 
Palestine.
  After the Haganah secured the ship, she was retrofitted in Baltimore 
from where she sailed towards France to pick up 4,515 Holocaust the 
refugees and deposit them in Palestine--a plan which was destroyed 
after the British rammed the ship, prevented the refugees from 
disembarking in Palestine, detained them in inhumane conditions, and 
eventually returned them to Germany.
  The world witnessed the inhumane treatment of the Exodus's passengers 
and some righteous people cried out. We continue to talk about the 
Exodus 1947 to remind ourselves never to forget both our suffering and 
our empowerment.
  I would like to acknowledge all who have made the creation of this 
memorial possible. Along with a series of associated commemorative 
projects, the Exodus 1947 memorial is the culmination of decades of 
tireless effort by the Jewish American Society for Historic 
Preservation, JASHP, to recognize the historic events that led to the 
formation of Israel. In particular, I applaud the work of Dr. Barry S. 
Lever, chairman of the 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the Final 
Voyage of the SS President Warfied--Exodus 1947, the Jewish Museum of 
Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay Museum, and the individuals and 
organizations here and abroad who have aided in the efforts to honor 
the Exodus 1947 and its passengers.
  Thank you.

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