The Aliyah (Bet) Movement & Zionism

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The Aliya movement was the movement of Jews to Israel (literally "going up"), the Bet (being the second letter in the Hebrew alphabet) symbolised and was the code name given to illegal immigration by Jews in response to the British Mandate for Palestine and in violation of the restrictions set down by the British White Paper of 1939.

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Most saw this as clandestine, borne of necessity and within their full legal rights to finally return to their biblical homeland.

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In the case of Agia Zoni many of the passengers had been emancipated from the Dachau concentration camp as the War had not broken out and the organisers were still, at this stage able to get them out with the visas they had procured through Switzerland.

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The organisers were all strong Zionists. Anti-semitism in Europe was no new thing and dated back to the 13th century in Europe where Jews were required to wear stars and hats, were later expelled from London, put in a Ghetto near Venice, suffered horrible deaths in the Spanish Inquisition and in pogroms throughout Poland and Russia.

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The Zionist movement began in the late 1800's with Theodor Herzl and the organisers were all strong believers in this movement and the return of the Jewish people to their biblical homeland in Israel.

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Organising this aliya bet trip was purely a non-profit Zionist movement with all funds raised carefully accounted for and budgetted for in the plan. It was difficult to budget for due to the extortionate rates being charged during this desperate period in time. 

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The Jewish community of Vienna largely funded the venture with the Christian community of Fiume (Rijeka) also greatly assisting. We also know that 30 passengers and their wives were released from German concentration camps and this was funded by the Swiss Diessnhofen community led by Bruno Rosenfelder.