Editing Irgun (section)

===Illegal immigration===
[[File:Parita22839.jpg|thumb|The ship [[:he:פאריטה|''Parita'']] unloading immigrants at the beach in [[Tel Aviv]]]]
According to Jabotinsky's "Evacuation Plan", which called for millions of [[European Jews]] to be brought to Palestine at once, the Irgun helped the [[Aliyah Bet|illegal immigration]] of European Jews to Palestine. This was named by Jabotinsky the "National Sport". The most significant part of this immigration prior to [[World War II]] was carried out by the [[Revisionist Zionism|Revisionist]] camp, largely because the [[Yishuv]] institutions and the Jewish Agency shied away from such actions on grounds of cost and their belief that Britain would in the future allow widespread Jewish immigration.

The Irgun joined forces with [[Hatzohar]] and [[Betar]] in September 1937, when it assisted with the landing of a convoy of 54 Betar members at Tantura Beach (near [[Haifa]].) The Irgun was responsible for discreetly bringing the [[Olim]], or Jewish immigrants, to the beaches, and dispersing them among the various Jewish settlements. The Irgun also began participating in the organisation of the immigration enterprise and undertook the process of accompanying the ships. This began with the ship ''Draga'' which arrived at the coast of British Palestine in September 1938. In August of the same year, an agreement was made between Ari Jabotinsky (the son of Ze'ev Jabotinsky), the Betar representative and [[Hillel Kook]], the Irgun representative, to coordinate the immigration (also known as [[Ha'apala]]). This agreement was also made in the "Paris Convention" in February 1939, at which Ze'ev Jabotinsky and David Raziel were present. Afterwards, the "Aliyah Center" was founded, made up of representatives of Hatzohar, Betar, and the Irgun, thereby making the Irgun a full participant in the process.

The difficult conditions on the ships demanded a high level of discipline. The people on board the ships were often split into units, led by commanders. In addition to having a daily roll call and the distribution of food and water (usually very little of either), organized talks were held to provide information regarding the actual arrival in Palestine. One of the largest ships was the ''Sakaria'', with 2,300 passengers, which equalled about 0.5% of the Jewish population in Palestine. The first vessel arrived on April 13, 1937, and the last on February 13, 1940. All told, about 18,000 Jews immigrated to Palestine with the help of the Revisionist organizations and private initiatives by other Revisionists. Most were not caught by the British.