Murray S. Greenfield (September 11, 1926 – September 23, 2024) was an American-born Israeli writer, publisher, and activist. He is best known for his book The Jews' Secret Fleet, which documents the role of North American volunteers in the Aliyah Bet operation that smuggled Holocaust survivors into Mandatory Palestine, and for founding Gefen Publishing House.
Biography
Murray Greenfield was born and raised in New York City. During World War II, he served in the United States Merchant Marine. After the war, he volunteered as a crewman on the Aliyah Bet ship Hatikva, which transported Holocaust survivors to Mandatory Palestine. He was subsequently imprisoned by British authorities on Cyprus before settling in Israel.
Greenfield settled in Haifa, where he worked to attract foreign investors. He later moved to Tel Aviv with his wife, Hana Lustigova. He was a founding member of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI) and later served as its executive director. Under his leadership, the AACI established loan funds, a mortgage company, and housing projects in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and various kibbutzim.
Greenfield was deeply involved in public service, notably dedicating seven years as volunteer director of the American Association for Ethiopian Jewry (AAEJ), working to rescue Ethiopian Jews.
Publishing Career
In 1981, Greenfield founded Gefen Publishing House, which became a leading English-language publisher in Israel. The company was later taken over by his sons, Dror and Ilan. Following Dror's death in 2003, Ilan continued to run the company. Gefen publishes up to 35 titles annually.
Greenfield also founded and contributed editorially to FrontPage, Israel's first English-language magazine, and later a monthly publication titled Rossvet, aimed at Russian immigrants.
Books
Greenfield's best-known work, The Jews' Secret Fleet (1987, co-authored with Joseph M. Hochstein), took more than a decade to research. It tells the story of North American sailors who participated in Aliyah Bet, the clandestine operation that brought more than half of the Holocaust survivors from displaced persons camps to Palestine. The book includes an introduction by historian Martin Gilbert.
He also co-authored How to be an Oleh, or Things the Jewish Agency Never Told You (1973) with his wife, Hana.
Personal Life
Greenfield married Hana Lustigova, a Holocaust survivor who authored Fragments of Memory, published in six languages. They had three children. Hana Greenfield died in January 2014. Murray Greenfield died on September 23, 2024, at the age of 98.
Documentary
The 2008 documentary film Waves of Freedom, directed by Alan Rosenthal, features Greenfield and was inspired by his book The Jews' Secret Fleet.
