Alaska Over Israel: Operation Magic Carpet, the Men and Women Who Made it Fly, and the Little Airline That Could by
Darragh Metzger
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
A true account of one of the most daring rescue operations in modern times. After the conclusion of World War II when Hitler was defeated and it was learned that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust, the British Mandate of Palestine was in questionable status and Jews all over the world were clamoring to get into the British Mandate Palestine. One of those groups was the Yemenite Jews. The airlift brought 0ver some 50,000 Jews who had lived for thousands of years in primitive conditions. The story of this airlift is told by one of the daughters of a pilot and a stewardess who worked on that Operation Magic Carpet.
Told from a pilot’s point of view, the story tells the background of Warren Metzger and his wife Marian Metzger, both of whom met and married while working on Operation Magic Carpet. The story of how Alaska airline got up and running is told as well. Going from a fledgling airline trying to get more charters and flights not only in the general Alaska area but also throughout the continental US. Alaska airlines would run roughshod over the complaints of more established airlines who complained that Alaska Airlines was cutting into their territory. Mr. Wooten would smooth talk many people with liquor and cigarettes into making a deal. Then there was Mr. Marshall who was the CEO but took all the company profits and did not contribute a dime into the company.
Alaska airline accepted the offer to help Israel bring in the Yemenite Jews. Using run down transportation planes they would rip out the benches and chairs to make as much room as they could. Engines were retrofitted and fuel tanks were added on. The Yemenite Jews themselves had never flown in an airplane before nor had they ever seen one. They did not know how to use a faucet or a toilet. They ended up doing their business in the back of the plane. They even lit fires in the back of the plane to keep warm.
The journey for the Jews was hazardous. No longer safe in their villages, as Arab anger rose against them with every story of an Arab defeat in Israel/Palestine. According to the book the Arab were quite capable of killing every man woman and child in a village should their ire be raised. Jews were limited with what they could bring out and what they could sell. A long the way they were often way laid by bandits or people who would just kill Jews. Once the arduous journey by foot was over and they reached Aden they had to wait in the Hashed camp. Security was tense and the number of refugees was swelling. Once the planes took off into the sky they were often fired at by both Arab armies and Israeli armies. Rarely getting hit but very frightening. If their over worked and under maintained plane were unlucky enough to go down in Arab territory everyone would be killed.
Money was often tight both for the airline and the pilots. Often times the company did not have funds to issue paychecks or buy the fuel needed to fly the planes. This meant that pilots would buy fuel from their own pockets. They also has to pay for lodging out of their own pocket or sleep in the cockpit which they did many times. Finding a place to refuel was challenging enough as they could not land in any Arab country but had to fly long routes through Cypress and Asmara. An exciting read for those who like history of the Middle East, Israel and a gutsy Alaska Airlines.
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