Of the 250,000 Jews who became displaced persons at the end of the war, few wished to make Europe their home. Confined to DP camps, they desired to begin their new lives elsewhere.

Most Jews hoped to immigrate to Palestine. Yet, as was the case during the war, their escape was impeded by the immigration quotas set by the British, who held the mandate on Palestine. Through the illegal activities of the Mossad, the Jewish underground organization, the Jews were able to undertake clandestine voyages to Palestine from 1945 to 1948.

Making their way over mountains and under cover of night to Europe's coasts, Jewish families then crowded onto rickety ships that attempted to dodge the British blockade. Discovery meant arrest. Despite the risks, 64 ships delivered over 70,000 people to Palestine beaches. Another 50,000 were stopped and taken to British detention camps on the island of Cyprus.

Unable to halt the exodus of Europe's Jews, the British finally gave in. The 1948 establishment of Israel allowed the mass immigration of about two-thirds of the displaced persons. The remaining refugees chose to make their homes elsewhere, with about 70,000 going to the United States once quota limitations were eased in 1948 and 1950.

Later, postwar passion for a Jewish homeland in Palestine incited Jewish underground groups to attempt to expel the British by violence. Groups included the Irgun, led by Menachem Begin, and Lehi, led by Yitzhak Shamir (both eventually Israeli prime ministers). British crackdowns kept these minority movements more or less in check, but the insurrection intensified the struggle for Israeli statehood.