Ruslan (in archaic Russian spelling: Русланъ; in today's accepted spelling: Руслан) which bore the name of the Russian hero Ruslan from Pushkin's poem '' Ruslan and Ludmila'' was the first officially organized ship, and in fact the last, that sailed from the former

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1919, after the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. On board were 671 passengers, many of whom would become pioneers in Israeli culture, which is why the Ruslan is nicknamed the "Mayflower" of Israel. "Ruslan" is considered the first ship to open the Third Aliya period, even though she was actually one of the last ships to arrive at the shores of

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

that year.

Background

In 1918, several hundred residents of

Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...

and

arrived who, due to the war and famine that prevailed in the Land of Israel, left their homes and wandered through

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and Kushta until they arrived in the port of

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, while the Austro-Hungarian army was there, hoping that as

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

subjects they would be allowed to reach Austria. Their attempt failed and they had to stay in

, suffering from cold and rain. To their aid, young Jews - members of the organizations "Revival", "Zion Youth" and others - greatly supported them. They transferred them from the port to the barracks of the Austrian army, which had been abandoned in the meantime. Despite this assistance, several of the refugees died. The Odessan youngsters, leaders of these Zionist movements, helped the refugees establish the " Refugee Committee of the Land of Israel" which asked to return to the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

at the end of the war. At that time, many Jews who wanted to immigrate to the Land of Israel gathered in

. The leaders of the organizations decided to take advantage of the existence of a group of several dozen refugees who wanted to return and exaggerated the number of refugees to allow immigrants to join the group of refugees. Menachem Usishkin and Meir Dizengoff contacted the British Foreign Minister, Lord Curzon, and convinced him that they were not

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

. Organizing the immigrants was a complicated operation. At the time

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

was full of upheavals, control of key provinces and government institutions changed rapidly between the

and the opposing forces,

was in the midst of a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Amongst the organizers was also Joseph Klausner who assisted the Odessan Jewish intelligentsia.

Legacy

Several of the ship's passengers would turn out to be pioneers, especially in cultural fields. Among them are the historian: Joseph Klausner, the architects: Ze'ev Rechter,

Yehuda Magidovitch Yehuda Magidovitch (1886–1961) was one of the most prolific Israeli architects. Among his prominent works are the Galei Aviv Casino, a café-restaurant (demolished in 1939), and the Cinema Esther (now Cinema Hotel), both in Tel Aviv.Aisenberg, L ...

, the

Ecole de Paris The School of Paris (french: École de Paris) refers to the French and émigré artists who worked in Paris in the first half of the 20th century. The School of Paris was not a single art movement or institution, but refers to the importance ...

artist Isaac Frenkel Frenel, the cartoonist:

Arieh Navon Arieh Navon (né Kligman) (May 22, 1909 – November 29, 1996) was a Russian-Israeli painter and illustrator, the first cartoonist in the Yishuv. He was also a set designer, comic artist and book illustrator. Winner of the Israel Prize for Perf ...

and more... Due to the cultural importance and pioneering spirit of the passengers, the Ruslan became known as the mayflower of Israel. Its passengers pioneered and transformed Israel in the Arts, architecture and more. In 2019, the Israel Museum hosted an exhibition commemorating the Ruslan and its passengers.

References

{{reflist Aliyah Aliyah operations