Maybe so. But the Russians were targeting all neutral ships, not refugee liners.
The real bastards with respect to Jewish war refugees are the British who threw up every obstacle in the path of Jews who sought refuge in the Levant.
Why? As the article says, the British didn't want to stir up the "Arab street", that pesky tantrum throwing "Arab street". God forbid anyone do anything to stir up the "Arab street".
That sentiment combined with the barely concealed antisemitism of the British diplomatic corp sealed the fate of not only those refugees but hundreds of thousands others.
Ain’t that funny, today we have a “Muslim street” phobia.
For “Arab Street”, substitute “source of oil” and you get to the true reason.
Yeah, bloody Brits and FDR didn’t want them either. The movie ‘’ Voyage Of The Damned’ was a heartbreaking story of about 800 Jewish refugees who thought they’d be allowed to get to Cuba only to be denied entry.