In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “term used for illegal immigration by jews to the british mandate of palestine”. Today it says “code name given to illegal immigration to mandatory palestine from 1920 to 1948 by jews”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Aliyah Bet ) was a term used for illegal immigration by Jews to the British Mandate of Palestine . Legal immigration was termed Aliya Aleph . The main reason that the British wanted to relinquish their mandate for Palestine was the continuing flow of Jewish refugees to Palestine . Even sending back the Passengers of the Exodus 1947 to Germany didn't stop the ships. Over 100,000 people sailed over the years to Israel. Many were interned in Mauritius and Cyprus for years, over 1600 drowned at sea and a few thousands managed to enter Israel .1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16792743.
The opening as it stood in 2010 6 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Aliyah Bet (Hebrew: 'עלייה ב), meaning " Aliyah 'B'" ( bet being the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet ) was the code name given to illegal immigration by Jews to Palestine in violation of British restrictions, in the years 1934-1948.In modern day Israel it has also been called by the Hebrew term Ha'apala ( ).It was distinguished from Aliyah Aleph ("Aliyah 'A'") ( Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet): the limited Jewish immigration permitted by British authorities in the same period.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 369374535.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Aliyah Bet ( , " Aliyah 'B'" – bet being the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet ) was the code name given to illegal immigration by Jews to the British Mandate for Palestine in violation of British White Paper of 1939 restrictions, in the years 1934-1948. In modern-day Israel it has also been called by the Hebrew term Ha'apala ( ; ascension ). The Aliyah Bet is distinguished from the Aliyah Aleph ("Aliyah 'A'", Aleph being the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet): the limited Jewish immigration permitted by British authorities in the same period.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668913358.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Aliyah Bet ( , " Aliyah 'B'" – bet being the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet ) was the code name given to illegal immigration by Jews , most of whom were refugees from Nazi Germany , and later Holocaust survivors , to Mandatory Palestine between 1934–48, in violation of the restrictions laid out in the British White Paper of 1939 . In modern-day Israel it has also been called by the Hebrew term Ha'apala ( ; ascension ). The Aliyah Bet is distinguished from the Aliyah Aleph ("Aliyah 'A'", Aleph being the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) which refers to the limited Jewish immigration permitted by British authorities during the same period.The name Aliya B is also shortened name for Aliya Bilty Legalit ( עלייה בלתי-לגאלית ; illegal immigration ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963624806.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Illegal immigration by Jews to Mandatory Palestine in the 1930s and 1940s Not to be confused with Second Aliyah .Aliyah Bet ( , " Aliyah 'B'" – bet being the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet ) was the code name given to illegal immigration by Jews , most of whom were refugees escaping from Nazi Germany , and later Holocaust survivors , to Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and 1948, in violation of the restrictions laid out in the British White Paper of 1939 , which dramatically increased between 1939 and 1948.With the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948 , Jewish displaced persons and refugees from Europe began streaming into the new sovereign state. In modern-day Israel it has also been called by the Hebrew term Ha'apala ( , "Ascension"). The Aliyah Bet is distinguished from the Aliyah Aleph ("Aliyah 'A'", Aleph being the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet ) which refers to the limited Jewish immigration permitted by British authorities during the same period. The name Aliya B is also shortened name for Aliya Bilty Legalit ( , "illegal immigration").
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1171921549.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Illegal immigration by Jews to Mandatory Palestine in the 1930s and 1940s Not to be confused with Second Aliyah . Aliyah Bet ( Hebrew : עלייה ב' , " Aliyah 'B'" – bet being the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet ) was the code name given to illegal immigration by Jews , many of whom were refugees escaping from Nazi Germany or other Nazi-controlled countries, and later Holocaust survivors , to Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and 1948, in violation of the restrictions laid out in the British White Paper of 1939 , which dramatically increased between 1939 and 1948. With the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948 , Jewish displaced persons and refugees from Europe began streaming into the new state in the midst of the 1948 Palestine war . In modern-day Israel , it has also been called by the Hebrew term Ha'apala (Hebrew: הַעְפָּלָה , "Ascension"). Those who underwent Ha'apala are known as Ma'apilim . The Aliyah Bet is distinguished from the Aliyah Aleph ("Aliyah 'A'", Aleph being the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) which refers to the limited Jewish immigration permitted by British authorities during the same period. The name Aliya B is also shortened for Aliya Bilti Legalit (Hebrew: עלייה בלתי-לגאלית , lit. ' illegal immigration ' ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1293079698. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “term used for illegal immigration by jews to the british mandate of palestine”. Today it says “code name given to illegal immigration to mandatory palestine from 1920 to 1948 by jews”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
term used for illegal immigration by jews to the british mandate of palestine
Now
code name given to illegal immigration to mandatory palestine from 1920 to 1948 by jews
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
