July 18, 1947: The Exodus 1947 Is Intercepted

July 18, 1947: The packet steamship SS Exodus 1947, containing 4,515 Jewish refugees, is refused entry at the port of Haifa, in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine. The refugees are returned to migrant camps in Europe.

The ship was launched in 1927, for the Baltimore Steam Packet Company and its parent company, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. It was originally named the Florida. But when Seabord's president, S. Davies Warfield, died while it was being built, it was renamed the President Warfield. It was sold to the U.S. Navy during World War II, and was a support ship on D-Day.

In 1947, the Haganah, a Zionist paramilitary group, bought it, and renamed it Exodus 1947, in honor of the foundation myth of the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt, which, if it happened at all, is presumed to have happened around 1250 BC.

On July 11, Exodus left Sète, on the south coast of France, with 4,515 refugees, many of them Holocaust survivors. The crew said they were going to Istanbul, Turkey. She was shadowed by ships of Britain's Royal Navy, who noted that she was flying a Star of David flag. They denied her entry into Haifa.

The ship was sent back to France, which said it would accept any refugees willing to leave the ship. No one did. With some irony, they were sent to Germany, but to the port of Hamburg, then in the British Occupation Zone.

The British Mandate ran out 10 months later, at 12:01 AM on May 14, 1948. At that moment, the State of Israel declared its independence. It absorbed the Haganah, creating the Israel Defense Forces out of it. Many of the refugees who had been aboard Exodus were accepted. The ship itself burned in 1952, and was not preservable.

*

July 18, 1947 was a Friday. Magazine publisher Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr., a.k.a. 1996 and 2000 Republican Presidential candidate Steve Forbes, was born.

This was also the day that the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 was signed into law. I have a separate entry for that event.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 8-0 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Fred Hutchinson pitched a 2-hit shutout, walking none, and striking out 8. The hits were a single by Joe DiMaggio in the 2nd inning, and a bunt single by George "Snuffy" Stirnweiss in the 7th. Hutchinson also went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs in his own cause.

* The New York Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-3 at the Polo Grounds. Willard Marshall went 3-for-4 with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs. Johnny Mize and Bobby Thomson also homered for the Giants.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-0 at Ebbets Field. Ralph Branca had a perfect game for 7 innings, until he allowed a single to Enos Slaughter and a walk to Whitey Kurowski the 8th. Stan Musial, who normally came through at Ebbets Field, to the point where Dodger fans would say, "Uh-oh, that man is back in town!" leading to his nickname, "Stan the Man," went 0-for-3 this time. Jackie Robinson went 2-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Braves, 2-1 at Braves Field in Boston. Kirby Higbe outpitched Bill Voiselle. Hank Greenberg went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Ralph Kiner went 1-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-5 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Senators, 6-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Don Black pitched a 5-hit shutout, outpitching Early Wynn.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* And the St. Louis Browns beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-8 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Ted Williams went 5-for-5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs.