MembersRemembering Operation Michaelberg

In 1947, some 100 Jews were flown into the Land of Israel from Iraq in a secret airlift called Operation Michaelberg.

By Yossi Aloni |
Plane
IN PLAIN VIEW: The plane was disassembled in Alaska and shipped to Israel, where it is being restored for posterity

This became possible after two American pilots offered their services and a C-46 aircraft.

 

Ahead of the 70th anniversary of this historic event, the circle has been closed, as a C-46 like the one used in the original airlift has been brought to Israel. A complex logistical operation saw the rare plane discovered and then disassembled in Alaska, shipped to China and finally on to the Israeli port of Haifa.

 

Back in 1947, the operation was hastily put together by the Mossad l’Aliyah,” a branch of the Haganah devoted to smuggling illegal Jewish immigrants into the British Mandate for Palestine. The Haganah later became the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and Mossad l’Aliyah is now simply the legendary spy agency Mossad.

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