Our Journey to Jerusalem, Part II

The past few weeks have been very eventful. We continued our preparations to go to Jerusalem. Right around the first of the year we filled out and sent in an application to the tour operator. We paid our deposit and received our welcome packet. We also booked our flights. It is official - we are going to Jerusalem!

I also finished another book on my reading list:

Exodus by Leon Uris

Synopsis: Exodus is a fictional novel based on the historical events surrounding the founding of the Jewish State. Exodus begins in Cypress and tells the story of the ship the Exodus used by the hero, Ari Ben Canaan of the Mossad Le'aliyah Bet (organization for illegal immigration) to smuggle 300 Jewish children from British detention camps on Cypress. At first, it appears his goal is to help these immigrants run the British blockade of Palestine. It turns out he wanted to use the Exodus to create publicity against British immigration policies preventing Jews from entering Palestine. After a hunger strike, the Exodus was allowed to sail and Ari accomplished his purpose.

The story then shifts to Palestine. Though the main storyline takes place between 1946 and 1948 as various characters are introduced there is a break from the main storyline to tell their background story. When Karen Hansen is introduced it tells about her life in Germany, and then Denmark, during WWII (her parents sent her away to keep her safe). When  Dov Landua is introduced his story in the Warsaw ghetto and Auschwitz is recounted. When Barak Ben Cannan and his brother Akiva have introduced the story of the Jewish people in Russia and Palestine in the early 1900s is told. Each of these stories adds context to the desire of the Jewish people to return to their homeland.

Back in Palestine, the story focuses on the Jewish fight for independence. There is much discussion about the building of Jewish settlements and the reclaiming of the land from swamps and deserts. The book also explains the different factions of the Jewish people and their often hostile relationship with the British and Palestinian Arabs.

An important event is known as the miracle at Flushing Meadows. This was when the U.N. voted on the partition. At the time the Jewish people were in favor of partition and the Arabs opposed it. To win the vote partition needed to receive 2 votes for, for every 1 against. At first, it seemed as though there was so much opposition that it could never pass. In a miraculous turn of events partition passed by a landslide. The Jewish people were quick to accept this judgment, but the Arabs declared partition would mean war.

The story turns to the Israeli war for independence. This part focused on the miraculous manner in which the outnumbered and outgunned Jews first defended their homes and then conquered the area in the current state of Israel.

The story ends, fittingly, with the main characters gathered together to celebrate Passover. The great Jewish holiday celebrates the most important event in the history of the Jewish people: their exodus from Egypt. This scene draws powerful parallels between the story of this ancient Exodus and the more modern Exodus as the Jewish people returned to their homeland.

Leon Uris had this to say about the appeal of his novel: "Exodus is the story of the greatest miracle of our times, an event unparalleled in the history of mankind: the rebirth of a nation which had been dispersed 2,000 years before. It tells the story of the Jews coming back after centuries of abuse, indignities, torture, and murder to carve an oasis in the sand with guts and with blood...Exodus is about fighting people, people who do not apologize for either for being born Jews or the right to live in human dignity."

Criticism: When it was first published Exodus was a smashing success. It was a New York Times bestseller. Despite the success, there is significant criticism about certain elements of the story. The book is unapologetically pro-Israel. It is also only loosely based on history. For example, the story of the blockade runner the Exodus has a triumphant and moving conclusion. In reality, the Exodus was intercepted by the British and the passengers were deported back to Europe.

Additionally, Leon Uris describes Arabs as illiterate, dirty, and superstitious. His demonization of the Arab people has contributed to a generally negative view of Arabs by Americans. It was easy to fall into his portrayal. As the novel progresses the reader wants so badly for the Jewish people to find their place. It is much easier to stomach their conquest of Palestine if they are displacing a flawed people. The inaccuracies of his descriptions didn't even occur to me until I discussed some of them with Alison and she quickly pointed out how preposterous they sounded. At which point I looked up the many critiques of the novel.

The great success of this novel shaped American discourse since it was published in 1958. Unfortunately, not all of its influence was good or fair. David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding prime minister, had this to say about the novel: "As a literary work it isn't much, but as a piece of propaganda, it's the best thing ever written about Israel."

While Leon Uris took liberties with the story and characterization of Arabs, he did devote a lot of time and effort to preparing for this novel. He spent two years on research and conducted thousands of interviews. He was also a correspondent during the Arab-Israeli war. While it has its flaws there is much to be learned from his description of the fight for Israeli independence.

My thoughts:

1. I never realized how much of a role the British played in Palestine and the creation of Israel. I probably knew they controlled the Middle East, but I had never considered the impact of their policies in Israel. In the early 1900's England issued the Balfour declaration declaring their intent to create a national homeland for the Jews in Palestine. This created inherent problems as the land was also promised to the Arabs. This created the nickname of the twice promised land for Palestine. The Palestine Mandate followed, again promising a homeland for the Jews. The Jews even threw their support behind the British in WWII, and made significant wartime contributions, in part because of these promises. However, both before and after WWII Britain severely limited Jewish immigration to Palestine. In large part, this was due to their desire to prevent straining their relationship with Arabs (and gaining access to their oil). From reading this book and learning more about Israel in the mid-1900's it sure seems like Britain really created a mess. They made and broke a lot of promises and in the end, did nearly everything they could to prevent the creation of Israel. Despite their best efforts the Jews outmaneuvered them to gain independence.

2. Even if it is propaganda  I totally bought into the narrative. I found myself rooting for the Jewish people. It is easy to root for them to get to their homeland. Their case was very sympathetic, particularly when the story is framed in the context of thousands of years of oppression and the holocaust. The Jewish people are very resilient and I certainly wanted them to have a place in the world.

3. I am not sure if this is just how the story was written, although I suspect there is some truth to it, it was almost eerie how similar some of the modern Israeli victories are to the biblical ones. Despite long odds, and being completely outnumbered they first defended their homes and then conquered. The story of battles for places like Safed, where the Palmach forces managed to get a much larger force to flee reminded me of battles like Jericho. As I read the story of Israeli independence I thought the Lord was with them.

Movie: Exodus starring  Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint

Description: This movie is based on Leon Uris's best-selling novel of the same name. It stars Paul Newman as Ari Ben Canaan and Eva Saint Marie as Katherine Fremont. The story is roughly the same as the novel. They have to take some shortcuts to be able to fit so much into three and a half hours. The movie focuses mostly on the voyage of the Exodus and then the events in Palestine afterward through the creation of the state of Israel.

My Thoughts:
1. I did not like the movie as well as the book. That seems to usually be the case when comparing a book to a movie, but I felt like the movie tried to do too much. It came off as slow and at times boring. I did enjoy watching this movie with Blake and Debbie. One of the benefits of a movie is that it is easier to share as a group than a book.

2. When of the truly great moments of the movie is the following conversation:
Kitty Fremont "You can't fight the whole British Empire with 600 people. It isn't possible."
Ari Ben Canaan "How many Minutemen did you have when they fired the 'shot heard round the world'?"
Kitty Fremont: "I don't know."
Ari Ben Canaan: "Seventy-seven."
This quote gets at the essence of this story. It analogizes the fight for American Independence to the Israeli fight for Independence. The story is told with the intent of garnering American support for the Jewish state. It is a truly amazing story. The underdogs of the story, the Jewish people, overcome genocide, prejudice, and great odds to found their own nation. They carve out for themselves a portion of their ancestral homeland.

3. After reading the book and watching the movie I am much more informed about Israeli independence. The theme of the Arab-Israeli conflict is a focal point of both stories. This story reinforces how complicated and convoluted this conflict can be. I also realize how easy it can be to focus on one side and minimize the other. I am sure the theme of this conflict will run through every story of Israel I study.