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A young Jewish veteran of the United States Merchant Marine gets caught up in efforts to assist the new state of Israel, undergoes a challenging and dangerous sea voyage and is imprisoned for that effort, and is released and returns to build a bazooka plant in Haifa during the Israeli War for Independence.
List of contents
Acknowledgments
Précis
Part I - Interviews and Reminiscences of Jewish Illegal Immigrant Ship Ben Hecht Crewman Henry Mandel
Interview Key
Chapter 1 - Vienna Born, Bronx Bred
Chapter 2 - The War Comes Home
Chapter 3 - The Merchant Marine
Chapter 4 - From Gowanus Canal to Atlantic Crossing
Chapter 5 - Final Preparations
Chapter 6 - The Irgun Had Other Ideas
Acre Prison
Prison Pictures
Prayer & Paratrooper Boots 64
The Marine Carp
New York, New York
Chapter 7 - Bazooka Plant
American Jewish Underground
Volunteering for the Israeli Army 78
Part II - Letters and Contextual Commentary
Chapter 8 - The Bergson Group
Chapter 9 - The Mission and the Crew
Chapter 10 - Atlantic Crossing to the Mediterranean Sea
Chapter 11 - The Palestine Run
Chapter 12 - Piracy on the High Seas
Chapter 13 - Break Out
Chapter 14 - Release
Chapter 15 - MACHAL
Chapter 16 - A Mercy Ship’s Legacy
Chapter 17 - Family & Brotherly Love
Neither Tide Nor Time
Religious Liberty
Reflections on Aging
Chapter 18 - Civil Servant & Union Activist
Chapter 19 - Reflections of a Long Life
Bibliography & Works Cited
Acronyms
Articles & Archival Documents
Interviews
Books
About the Editor
Hebrew Language Summary
About the author
Samuel Flaks is a grandson of Henry Mandel. He is currently an attorney who lives in New York City with his wife and young daughter.
Summary
Henry Mandel (1920-2015), a crewman aboard the Jewish Illegal Immigrant ship Abril/Ben Hecht, a prisoner in Acre fortress and a volunteer for the Israeli Army during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, was an Orthodox Jew whose reminiscences provide a uniquely illuminating perspective on the creation of the Jewish state.
