Page 9 - Kol Bogrei Habonim - Winter 20
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approaches his journey with a keen eye for
the detail of the Continent.
Following their farewell reception at the
Anglo-Palestine Club, they (the first British
Chalutzim) left Waterloo Station after
dancing the hora on the platform. (My late
father, Joe Bordoley filmed the dance with a
9.5 mm cine-camera). At Newhaven, they
boarded a ship for Dieppe, from where they
Shalom at the David Eder Farm in took the train to Paris. Shalom writes that on
Ringlestone, 1936 arrival in Paris they were surrounded by 30
Eventually, after a year of training at the Eder ‘leeches’ – French porters demanding money
Farm, permits were secured by the Jewish and an excuse to help with their luggage.
Agency for a group to travel to Palestine. A Hillel waved them aside and amidst jeers and
reception was held on August 22nd, 1936 for shouts, the luggage was loaded onto a bus to
the Jewish Training Farm graduates, transport them to another station in Paris,
including Hillel Avni (Epstein), Yehudit where they then waited three-and-a-half
Avni (Polinsky), Shalom Bordoley, Esther hours for a connection to Trieste. Shalom
Pe'er (Grunhut), and Shmuel Paltiel noticed that the French policemen carried
(Plotnick). Teddy Kollek was a shaliach with batons and revolvers, and controlled traffic
this first group of British Jews (seven boys with a whistle. The Parisians drove on the
and three girls) to go on Aliya to Palestine. right, the taxis were smart and clean, and the
drivers did not wear a uniform. He bought a
I would like to recount the journey of the three-foot loaf of French bread and came to
chaverim from London to Palestine by train the conclusion that their wine was sour and
and ship. Shalom was 21 years old when he lousy.
left London. I doubt if he or any of the group
had been abroad before. In his letters, he On the journey through Switzerland to
Trieste, they saw snow-capped mountains,
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