ABSTRACT
The high emotions raised by the subject of illegal immigration to Palestine have subsided long ago and it is now possible, indeed essential, to deal with the topic dispassionately. Most historians have described the events basically from the Jewish or Zionist view, this book, however, has outlined some aspects as seen and reported by the blockaders, although Jewish sources have frequently been consulted. There must be no misunderstanding; the author of this book has sought objectivity and detachment despite natural sympathy with the refugees. He obviously could not defend the views of those who either from pragmatic, or from other apparently justified reasons, supported restrictions on the number of immigrants allowed into Palestine and who demanded a more pro-Arab direction to the British post-war Palestine policy. The author did try to explain and describe this policy in the general immediate post-war context. Researches into the historical facts, a striving for detachment, but also a perception of the humanity expected by the survivors of the Holocaust became elements of this book, which examines the historical evidence in an attempt to understand how the situation has developed, how policies were executed and the extent to which they were effected. The contemporary words of policy-makers are often the most faithful way of presenting evidence, the author has therefore quoted, often extensively, from documentary sources.
