Yitzhak Aronowicz (; August 27, 1923 – December 23, 2009) was an Israeli sailor, best known as the captain of the immigrant ship SS ''Exodus'', which unsuccessfully tried to dock in British-era Palestine with

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors on July 11, 1947, after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His surname was later spelled as Ahronovitch.Fox, Margalit. "Yitzhak Ahronovitch, ''Exodus'' Skipper in Defiant '47 Voyage of Jewish Refugees, Dies at 86," ''The New York Times'', Thursday, December 24, 2009.
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Biography

Yitzhak (Ike) Aronowicz was born in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. He grew up in the

Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (; ) was a city-state under the protection and oversight of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) and nearly 200 other small localities in the surrou ...

(now Gdańsk, Poland) and immigrated to

Mandate Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...

at the age of 10. At the age of 23, he became the captain of the SS ''Exodus''. He was married to Irene, a non-Jewish American woman from

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. Aronowicz died in Israel on December 23, 2009, aged 86. He was survived by two daughters, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Naval career

Aronowicz was captain of the Exodus on its voyage from the port of

Sète Sète (; , ), also historically spelled ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises'' (fem ...

, France, a fishing town, on July 11, 1947, carrying 4,515 passengers. The ship was intercepted by a fleet of British war ships led by the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

cruiser ''Ajax''. A convoy of destroyers trailed the ship very early on in its voyage. Two British destroyers rammed the ship. After several hours of hand-to-hand combat between passengers armed with smoke bombs trying to prevent British sailors from boarding the ship, the British opened fire. Two immigrants and a crewman were killed, and many passengers seriously wounded. The ship was towed to

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, where it was abandoned. The passengers were deported to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and then to Lübeck, Germany. In late 1947, Aronowicz served as the captain of the '' Pan York'', another ship attempting to bring Jewish refugees to Palestine in defiance of the British blockade. In 1949, following the establishment of the State of Israel, he took an officers course in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

– for third, then second, and then first officer. In 1951, he led a sailors' strike which was broken up by the Israeli government. In 1958, he left to study in

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, earning a BA in international relations from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and an MBA in economics from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. During this time, he worked as a driver for the Israeli Embassy. After completing his studies, he returned to Israel and established his own shipping company, running lines to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Commemoration

In a statement after his death

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

, the Israeli president, said Ahronovitch had "made a unique contribution to the state which will never be forgotten".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aronowicz, Ike 1923 births 2009 deaths Israeli sailors People from the Free City of Danzig Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Columbia Business School alumni Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Israeli businesspeople in shipping Aliyah Bet activists Polish Zionists