Image: Ra’anan (“Zulo”) Shapira beside the first authentic historical whaleboat being built in Israel by Israeli Navy veterans and volunteers at Hadassah Neurim.Photo:Rafi Glick.
From the Palyam to Hadassah Neurim: The Whaleboat Returns to Israel.
Quietly, inside the Hadassah Neurim youth village along Israel’s coastal highway, an unusual maritime project is taking shape these days: the first authentic historical whaleboat ever to be built in Israel.
Behind the initiative stand Israeli Navy veterans — some between 75 and 90 years old — who are volunteering their time in order to preserve an important chapter in Israel’s maritime history.
The whaleboat, a large rowing boat originally developed in the world of whale hunting, is known in Israel mainly for its role during the Palyam and the Aliyah Bet immigration operations. In the years following World War II, when the British blocked Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine, these boats were used to transfer Jewish immigrants from clandestine immigration ships to the shore in daring operations carried out by the Haganah and the Palyam naval force.
But the story of the whaleboat began much earlier — in the whaling world of the 18th and 19th centuries.
From the United States to Israel: A Maritime Heritage Struggling to Survive.
In Port Jefferson, New York, around 25 volunteers have spent the last three and a half years building a historical whaleboat that will be displayed during the celebrations marking 250 years of American independence. The boat was built as a tribute to the bay boats that assisted American settlers during the Revolutionary War against the British.
At the same time, in New Bedford, Massachusetts — one of the world’s most important historical centers of whaling — an old whaleboat that had been forgotten for decades in a local warehouse was recently rediscovered. Efforts are now being considered to restore it ahead of the “Sails of Portugal” festival scheduled to take place in the city in 2027.
The restored boat is expected to join three other historical whaleboats commemorating the Portuguese and regional whaling heritage that shaped the area for generations.
During a “Sails of Portugal” event, Portugal’s consul in New Bedford, Tiago Sousa, praised the preservation efforts of the local AMHS organization.
“The whaleboat is much more than a wooden vessel with sails; it is a symbol of resilience, courage, and the deep connection between the Portuguese people and the sea,” he said.
“These boats are not merely museum artifacts — they are vessels of memory and identity.”
From Moby-Dick to Historical Preservation:
The world immortalized in books and films such as Moby-Dick looks very different today.
When whales moved from land to the oceans millions of years ago, they could hardly have “imagined” that in the modern era humanity itself would become the greatest threat to their survival. Over the past centuries, whale hunting led to the dramatic decline of many whale populations around the world, until broad international bans on whaling were introduced in the second half of the 20th century.
At the same time, modern research revealed the complexity of whale societies: community life, communication, family bonds, and high intelligence.
Thus, what once symbolized humanity’s dominance at sea has gradually also become a symbol of preservation, memory, and heritage.
The Israeli Whaleboat Returns to the Sea:
Over the years, several old whaleboats have been preserved in Israel, some within Sea Scout groups and kibbutzim. At Kibbutz HaHotrim, south of Haifa, an old whaleboat sometimes referred to as “Moby Dick” still exists alongside additional rowing boats used for training.
However, experts argue that many of the surviving boats underwent major modifications and repairs over the years, raising doubts about their historical authenticity.
Against this backdrop, Israeli Navy veterans, led by Ra’anan (“Zulo”) Shapira, recently launched a new project aimed at building an authentic historical whaleboat in Israel — as closely as possible to the original historical models.
The project is taking place at the Hadassah Neurim youth village, with the support of the Israeli Navy Association and assistance from the Israel Sea Scouts Association.
Most of the work is being carried out entirely on a voluntary basis, driven by a sense of mission and a desire to pass Israel’s maritime heritage on to future generations.
The volunteers hope that by this coming summer, the first authentic whaleboat ever built in Israel will be launched — not merely as a boat, but as a living symbol of maritime history, illegal Jewish immigration, the Palyam, and the spirit of volunteerism that helped shape the founding of the State of Israel.