Rita’s Exodus
Published in The Australian Jewish News
September 15, 2017
Rita Migdal (nee Sokolik), 83, recalls the moment she first laid eyes on the land of Israel – or as it was then – Palestine.
“We went up on deck. We saw the Carmel mountains and Israel for the first time.”
“We knew we were home.”
The shallow waters of the Mediterranean lapped against the rickety vessel, and there, 12-year-old Rita stood. Possessing little more than the hellish memories of Europe and a dream to rebuild in that elusive promised land, Rita was aboard the ship that heaved with 4515 Jewish refugees – mostly Holocaust survivors.
This was the Exodus 1947.