Israel: The arrival of the Vellos (chartered by the HeHalutz movement) and its 350 refugees signaled the beginning of organized efforts to save European Jewry. Although illegal immigration had been taking place since 1920, only now were major efforts begun. The Revisionist Zionist movement and Betar succeeded in the next two years to send out several ships, which saved thousands of lives. By 1938 illegal immigration had become an official part of the Zionist effort. An estimated 50,000 people managed to arrive illegally between 1920 and 1937. The Jewish Agency at the time was working with the British and hoped that the Peel Report (November 1936) would be favorable to the establishment of a state and as such was against “illegal immigration.”
– Eli Birnbaum