Shmuel Yanai

Shmuel "Samek" Yanai ( _he. שמואל "סמק" ינאי, born 1921) is a former Israeli naval commander and today chair of the Atlit Museum of Illegal Immigration.

Biography

Born Shmuel Poznanski in Warsaw, he came to Mandate Palestine, by himself as a fourteen year old, in 1935. He studied at the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology and settled in kibbutz Neve Eitan in the Beit She'an Valley

Military career

In 1941, Yanai joined the Palmach, and in 1943, he entered their naval Group. The Naval Group grew, and towards the end of World War II became the Palmach's 10th Company, or the Palyam. When the Palmach was organized into battalions, the Palyam was attached to the Palmach's Staff Battalion (the 4th Battalion).

Samek served in Company 'A', and was commander of two "illegal" ships, [cite book |last=Kaniuk |first=Yoram |title='Commander of the Exodus |year=1999 |publisher=Grove Press, New York|isbn=0-8021-1664-7 |pages=p. 143 ] . The escorts remained with them during the first deportation phase and escaped the detention camp with the help of 'Mossad for Aliyah Bet'.

From 1947 until the Israel Independence, he served as commander of Palyam as commander of the first Israeli Navy Flotilla, composed out of four illegal ships. On March 17 1948 the Naval Service (precursor of the Israeli Sea Corps) was established and the Palyam members were ordered to join it.

In 1956, during Operation Kadesh in the Suez Crisis, Yanai captured the Egyptian destroyer 'Ibrahim el Haol' ("Ibraim El H’awell"), which became the IDF ship 'Haifa'.

Civilian career

After leaving the Navy, he built houses in Eilat, and fished in the Red Sea.

He is today chairman of the [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Immigration/atlit.html Atlit Museum of Illegal Immigration] . He writes his memoirs, publishes books about Palyam (stories of the boats and the members, written in Hebrew and English) and organizes meetings of the veterans of Palmach Navy and Aliyah Bet.

References

External links

* [http://www.palmach.org.il/show_item.asp?itemId=8096&levelId=42798&itemType=0 The Palmach and The Palmach Museum] Official site of Palmach and Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv
* [http://www.palyam.org/Pal-Yam Palyam] Official site of Palyam (mainly Hebrew, but English section)
* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1143498756725 Jerusalem Post article: Grapevine: Honoring the past by celebrating in the present]
* [http://www.paulsilverstone.com/immigration/Primary/index.html Aliyah Bet Voyages] Aliyah Bet Voyages, part of the Aliyah Bet Project, includes pictures and details of the boats of Aliyah Bet, ports of origin, dates of sailing, dates of arrival in Palestine and the number of immigrants on board. The page entitled List #2 1945 -1948, includes details of both boats, the Haviva Reik and the Henrietta Szold, commanded by Shmuel Yanai
* [http://www.dariendilemma.com/eng/people/other The Darien Dilemma, People in the Film]