The Yuvali Rescues 66 Vietnamese Refugees

In mid-June 1977 the Israeli cargo ship Yuvali, commanded by Meir Tadmor, took aboard 66 Vietnamese refugees from a distressed fishing boat in the South China Sea after other ships had passed them. The number rescued on that voyage is 66. A later cumulative total of 366 Vietnamese who reached Israel across 1977–1979 is a different figure.

The rescue day is not settled. A 27 June 1977 JTA dispatch, written the day the group arrived in Israel, says they were rescued on 9 June. A 2012 JTA reconstruction, based on crew and passenger memory, places the sighting just after breakfast on 10 June. TIME’s late-June 1977 account and the 21 June New York Times report do not name a rescue day.

Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan first refused landing. On 20–21 June, as he took office, Menachem Begin announced that Israel would offer asylum. Taiwan then allowed the group ashore. They left the ship, flew via Hong Kong and Frankfurt, and arrived in Israel on 27 June 1977, where they were met by Yehuda Avner and taken to an absorption center in Ofakim.