Without Permission

<p>A fantastical propaganda play depicting an armed revolt financed the purchase of the yacht <i>Abril</i> and its conversion to an illegal immigrant passenger ship renamed the <i>Ben Hecht</i>. The plan was to evade the British naval blockade and bring Holocaust survivor refugees to Palestine.</p><p>Henry Mandel volunteered aboard the <i>Ben Hecht</i> a converted yacht that challenged the British blockade of Jewish immigrants to pre-state Israel. Captured and detained in Acre Prison Mandel aided the efforts of prisoners planning an escape. After release Mandel helped set up a secret bazooka shell plant in New York which he helped to reassemble in Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Mandel was an Orthodox Jew whose reminiscences provide a uniquely illuminating perspective on the creation of the Jewish state. Mandel's story is explicated in a running commentary that includes the personal narratives of other members of the <i>Ben Hecht</i> crew as well as historical background.<br></p>