Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

Haganah הגנה, means Defense in Hebrew.
In 1920, the Haganah הגנה, was established by Zeev Jabotinsky whose focus was to ensure the self-defense of the Jewish community in Palestine,
He organized a militia to guard Jewish settlers from the Arabs.
Haganah הגנה, the primary quasi-military body of the Jewish community in Palestine and the Zionist Movement during the time of the British mandate, prior to the establishment of the State of Israel, was an outgrowth of the Labor Movement and the Histadrut ההסתדרות.

In August, 1929, following Arab rioting, the Haganah became the "official" military wing of the Jewish Agency and the National Jewish Committee, Vaad Leumi, of Palestine.
Haganah General Command comprised six public representatives from the left and center-right Jewish parties.
The main assignment of Haganah was to provide security to Jewish life and property against Arab violence, which had caused the deaths of more than 700 Jews between 1920 and 1939.
Because of the 1929 riots, the Haganah's role changed dramatically., becoming a much larger organization encompassing nearly all the youth and adults in the Jewish settlements, as well as thousands of members from the cities.
The Haganah acquired foreign arms and developed workshops to manufacture hand grenades and military equipment, transforming the untrained militia to a fully capable underground army.

In 1931, Yigal Allon joined the Haganah, and served as Commander of a Field Unit, and then as Commander of a Mobile Patrol in northern Palestine during the Arab Riots of 1936-39.

During the period of the British Mandate, Yagur יגור was an important center for the Haganah הגנה.

From 1936 to 1939), during the Arab rebellion, the Haganah הגנה helped found 52 new settlements, known as Stockade and Tower חומה ומגדל, and defended them.
In a single night in 1946, the Haganah הגנה set up 11 new settlements in the Negev, to secure the south of Israel, and took part in founding and defending many more.

In 1937, the Haganah הגנה established Plugot Sadeh פלוגות השדה‎, an elite Strike Force established as the commando arm.
FOSH were armed with stolen British SMLEs, grenades, rifles and small arms, and raided Arab villages, with Charles Orde Wingate's Special Night Squads.

On November 12, 1940, British warships forced SS Pacific to sail towards Cyprus Κύπρος.
Some of the passengers were transferred to SS Patria,for transfer to Mauritius.
On November 20, 1940, an explosion on SS Patria during the transfer, later disclosed as sabotage carried out by Haganah הגנה, took the lives of 267 passengers.
Sirens went off in Haifa harbor, Jewish rescue forces came to help. and all kinds of boats came to save the Maapilim.
Dan Shefy cites: "We descended in boats to a storehouse in the port. Families reunited and many waited long hours until information came in about the fatalities,"
"Only at night we learned who wasn't rescued. The scenes were heartbreaking."

On May 15, 1941, at the national Haganah HQ meeting, the decision was made to establish a national enlisted force called the Striking Force פלוגות מחץ Plugot Machatz.
The first of the operational missions were carried out as part of cooperation between the Yishuv in British Mandate Palestine and the British during World War II.

In April, 1944, Haganah הגנה command put the Shore Patrol under the command of the Palmach פלמ"ח, and the force was divided into two.
The northern company, which covered from Nahariyah נהריה to Atlit עתלית, was under the command of Maccabi Mutzari, who fell in April, 1948, on the road to Jerusalem.
The southern command, which extended from the Nahal haTaninim נחל תנינים to Nahal Sorek נחל שורק, was under the command of Yankale Salomon.

On June 15, 1946, after Haganah הגנה intelligence had learned the details of Operation Agatha, in advance, the information was broadcast on Kol Yisrael קול ישראל.
Israel Galili cited over half the Palmach being detained.
The Head of Haganah הגנה Intelligence cited that no senior Haganah הגנה officers wer caught, while Jewish Agency officials had chosen detention, and had not tried to hide from the British.

On May 15, 1947, the Haganah הגנה went on the offensive against the dissident IZL and Stern Gang, setting up a special squad of 200 men, commanded by Yigal Allon.
In June, 1947, the Haganah הגנה squad foiled an ETZL אצ"ל plot to blow up Citrus Hous, in Yafo, which served as British military headquarters.
A Haganah member was killed when he accidentally detonated a warning charge left by ETZL אצ"ל.
The British praised the Haganah הגנה for preventing a tragedy, and marched with Haganah הגנה officers at the funeral.

In 1947, David Ben Gurion expanded the Haganah הגנה's arms acquisition system, sending Yehuda Arazi, Ehud Avriel and Munia Mardur abroad to find arms sources and to arrange shipmens to Palestine.
Each of them was given his own budget, and operated independently, reporting directly to David Ben Gurion.

On June 30, 1947, the Haganah הגנה foiled an attempt on the life of General MacMillan.

Until May, 1948, Haganah הגנה forces repelled most of the invading Arab armies.
On June 1, 1948, Haganah הגנה became the army of the state of Israel, TzaHaL צה"ל (Tzva Hagana Le-Yisrael צבא הגנה לישראל), IDF (Israel Defense Forces).
The last Haganah הגנה Chief of Staff, General Yaakov Dori, took over as the first Chief of Staff of TzaHaL צה"ל. Haganah הגנה brigades became TzaHaL צה"ל brigades, and her air and naval services became the IAF Israeli Air Force זרוע האוויר והחלל and Israeli Navy חיל הים הישראלי, with all the other units and services being similarly transformed.

Yehuda Silverman Sela cites: "In the Hagana Archive (at the Golomb House in Tel Aviv), there is a folder for each of the vessels of the Ma‟apilim, containing telegrams sent by the commanders of the vessels to Hagana headquarters, or by Hagana headquarters to the vessels. These contain much material about the quality of the vessels, problems that arose during the voyage and solutions that were found."