British Christians have been expressing their deep sorrow and shame over the past couple of days, for the detention on a remote island of Jewish people escaping Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II.
A commemoration and reunion took place on the Indian Ocean territory of Mauritius from September 6th to 8th, recalling the trauma experienced by 1,580 Jewish refugees from 1940-1945.
Deported
After surviving a long voyage to Haifa, they were refused entry to Palestine, then under British control, and deported instead to the British colony thousands of miles away.
The decision to severely restrict Jewish immigration to Palestine was taken by the British Government in 1939 in a bid to appease Arab opposition to the emerging Jewish state.
The detainees then spent four years and seven months in the Beau Bassin prison before leaving the island in August 1945.
The decision to severely restrict Jewish immigration to Palestine was taken by the British Government in 1939 in a bid to appease Arab opposition to the emerging Jewish state.
Black moment
Though former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has described it as a ‘black moment’ in our history, no formal apology has yet been offered by Britain.
In a letter to those involved in the reunion written on behalf of Love Never Fails, a coalition of British Christian pro-Israel organisations, chairman Brian Greenaway says they are “deeply ashamed of the gross failures of Britain’s stewardship of its Mandate for Palestine which brought untold suffering upon the Jewish people”.
deportation to Mauritius was designed to discourage more Jews fleeing Nazi Europe from trying to enter Palestine.
Britain had been tasked with establishing a Jewish national home and facilitating Jewish immigration, so the refugees should have been welcome to their ancient homeland.
But in line with the infamous 1939 White Paper, deportation to Mauritius was designed to discourage more Jews fleeing Nazi Europe from trying to enter Palestine.
The letter adds: “We are deeply sorry for the great disappointments and many injustices suffered by these Jewish refugees; for the trauma of being dragged from Atlit Detention Camp, near Haifa, and being put on ships for Mauritius; for the uncertainty of being sent to a faraway island in war time, not knowing when their ordeal would end; being deprived of freedom, of family life and basic human rights; for the illness, deaths and many hardships suffered in detention.
“Above all, for the injustice of being denied entry to the land of Israel in line with the Mandate for Palestine and with God’s purposes for the Jewish people.”
Commemoration programme
More than 30 former detainees and their relatives were expected to attend the commemoration along with a similar number of diplomats, including the island’s British High Commissioner Charlotte Pierre.
The programme included visits to the Beau Bassin prison, a synagogue, a cemetery where the 127 detainees who died on the island are buried, and a memorial of their time there.
A new Beau Bassin Jewish Detainees Memorial & Information Centre is also to open next month
Representing Love Never Fails were Rosie Ross and Anne Heelis, both long involved in campaigns to right the wrongs of British actions against the Jewish people.
A new Beau Bassin Jewish Detainees Memorial & Information Centre is also to open next month, being situated next to the cemetery where 126 of the detainees who died on the island, were buried.
Scripture fulfilment
The Mandate dates from 1922 and followed the San Remo Treaty of 1920, giving Britain the honoured role of preparing Israel for statehood in line with their promise made in the Balfour Declaration of 1917.
All of which fulfilled many ancient biblical prophecies such as Isaiah 11:12 – “He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.”