Page 57 - HaMizrachi #32 RH-YK 2021 USA

passengers and getting them to the the week to say Selichot at the time with tears in their eyes. At 6:30am, they
plane safely. known as Et Ratzon. Nine cars arrived as landed in the Yavniel Valley, next to
planned, with the tenth being delayed Teveriya, far from the eyes of the Brit-
On the 7th of Ellul, the eve of the oper- by a herd of camels crossing the road. ish. The Palmach created an artificial
ation, the pilots approached Hillel Fortunately, the delay wasn’t long and runway, lighting bonfires to mark the
demanding their payment. Hillel all 50 passengers made it to the airport, plane’s landing area. The 50 olim were
assured them they would be paid upon where they were smuggled through a taken on trucks to nearby kibbutzim.
arrival in Palestine, but the Vessenbergs hole in the airport fence next to the
were not satisfied. Hillel offered them a The aerial operation, the first of its
personal check. The pilots accepted, not last turn on the tarmac before take- kind during the British Mandate, was
off. It was 3:30 am. The plane’s lights
knowing that Hillel, a kibbutznik, didn’t named “Operation Michaelberg” after
have a personal bank account. and engines went on, and in the noisy the pilots Mike and Leo Vessenberg. The
tumult, the young Jews climbed on
Early on Shabbat morning, Parashat board. A few minutes later, the plane pilots later flew two more rescue oper-
ations, a second rescue flight from Iraq
Shoftim, the 50 Jews woke up before was in the air, and the new olim cheered and one from Italy, and the plane was
dawn, and 10 cars quietly traveled their fearless leader, Shlomo Hillel. As later used in the War of Independence.
to the airport in Baghdad. It was the they approached Israel, they broke into Shlomo Hillel, the organizer of the mis-
month of Ellul, and they were accus- song. Flying over the Kinneret, they sion, would later become Israel’s Chief
tomed to waking up at that hour during sang songs by Rachel HaMeshoreret 1
of Police and ultimately the Speaker
of the Knesset. He passed away earlier
this year.
In the month of Ellul, in the hours of
Selichot, 50 Iraqi Jews were brought
from “the rivers of Babylon” to kibbut-
zim in northern Israel to celebrate Rosh
Hashanah, a new year and a new life
in Israel.
They fulfilled the words of the piyut
“Achot Ketana” (a pizmon sung in Sep-
hardic communities before the com-
mencement of the Rosh Hashanah
evening prayer):
ֹ
.ר ַמ ָ ׁש ֹותי ִר ְּ ב ּולי ִחֹוה רּוצ ְל ר ַמ ָּג ד ׁש י ִּ כ ּולי ִג ְו ּוק ְז ִח
“Be strong and rejoice for the plunder
is ended; place hope in the Rock and
Operation Michaelberg delivering Iraqi Jews to Palestine in August 1947. keep His covenant.”
ֹ
ֹ
. ָהי ֶתֹו ּ ל ִס ְמ ּו ּ לס ּו ּ לס ר ַמ ָא ְו ןֹוּי ִצ ְל ּול ֲע ַת ְו ם ֶכ ָל
“You will ascend to Zion and He will
say: Pave! Pave her paths.”
May the new year bring blessings, joy,
and many more Jews to Eretz Yisrael!

1 Rachel Bluwstein Sela (1890–1931), a cele-
brated Hebrew-language poet known as Rachel
HaMeshoreret (Rachel the Poetess). Many of her
poems were set to music and became classic
Israeli songs.

Elli Shashua is an Israeli tour guide with a A member of the
passion for sharing his country with others. Mizrachi Tour
He was born and raised in Tel Aviv in a home Guides Bureau
imbued with a deep love of the Land of Israel mizrachi.org/
Iraqi Jews boarding trucks to travel to kibbutzim upon their arrival on Operation Michaelberg. and its people. tour-guides
(PHOTOS: COUNCIL FOR THE PRESERVATION OF HERITAGE SITES IN ISRAEL)

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