"The island of Cyprus, madam." "World famous for beauty and long, tragic history." "Been conquered many times." "Conquered by Phoenicians, Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians." "Also conquered by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Turks." "Purchased from Turkey by your esteemed self, the British Empire." "All Cyprus most fond of the British." "I'm an American." "Fond of Americans also." "We Cypriots are fond of everybody." "Shall we go through the castle now?" "No, I've changed my mind." "Then maybe the Tower of Othello at the harbour of Famagusta." " It's included in the tour." " All right." "What's the matter here?" "Prison ship has arrived full of Jews for the camps, madam." " What camps?" " Detention camps out at Karaolos." "You see, the Jews, they charter a ship from Europe to get to Palestine." "Then the British catch the ship and send the whole bunch here." "The Arabs don't want them in Palestine." "The British don't want them here, either." " But they got them." " Stop!" "Get him!" "Maybe you can back up and drive me to this address." "House of the British Commander." "Now, then." " Get his feet." " Right." "Up." "Mrs. Fremont?" "The General's expecting you in the garden." "How do you do, Mrs. Fremont?" "I'm very glad to see you." "Please sit down." "Found that here in the garden." "From the colour, I'd say it belongs to the Byzantine period." "The Byzantines occupied Cyprus for centuries." "Gives one an idea how temporary our claims to the world's real estate are." "I'm ashamed to say I really don't know anything about archaeology." "Few people do." "Didn't you once publish something about the Roman ruins in Cheltenham?" "A very obscure something." "How did you know?" "Tom mentioned it in one of his letters." "He was very proud of your friendship." "As I was of his." "Will you have tea, or something livelier?" "Something livelier, please." " Is that ice I see?" " Surprised?" "Tom got me into the habit." "Now I use ice in practically everything." "There we are." "May we drink to Tom?" "Of course." "I'm extremely sorry circumstances compelled us to bury him in the field." "Even sorrier I was transferred from Palestine... before I got the chance to see you." "It wasn't your fault." "It took me almost a week to arrange passage." "But your letter was waiting there for me, and Tom's things." "I really shouldn't have let him go with us." "It was only a border affair." "One of the Jewish undergrounds had blown up half a dozen bridges." "It really wasn't important enough to lose one's life for." "Is anything?" "In my opinion, yes." "I've known many soldiers, Mrs. Fremont, and war correspondents... and news photographers, such as your husband." "But I think perhaps Tom was the bravest man I've ever met." "We have a saying in Indiana:" ""The braver the bird, the fatter the cat."" "Perhaps." "Do you recognize this photograph, General?" "Of course." "It was his last." "Do you remember how Tom got that shot?" "We were together." "I must confess, my eyes weren't on him when he snapped the shutter." "The aircraft came in low." "We were both in the truck." "I jumped down on one side to take cover, and Tom jumped down on the other side." "Tom couldn't have taken cover and photographed the plane as he did." "I dare say you're right." "He had a strong sense of duty." "He also had a strong sense of death." "I felt I had to confirm what I suspected about the last photograph." "I'm very grateful to you." "That's over a year ago." "How have you been occupying yourself?" " After I lost the child I was..." " The child?" "Didn't Tom tell you we had a child on the way?" "Men like Tom are often quite reticent about things that are nearest to their hearts." "I understand." "It was quite late in my pregnancy when Tom was killed." "Apparently the Palestine trip was too much." "I lost the baby in the hospital at Jerusalem." "And then I went back to my old profession of nursing." "I've just completed my tour of duty with the US Public Health Service in Greece." "Very good." "What are your plans for the future?" "I haven't quite decided yet." "I may travel a while before I go home." "I have passage booked on a freighter that sails next week to Istanbul." "From there I may go to Lydia." "I've always wanted to see the Vale of Kashmir." "It's probably the most beautiful spot on earth." "Mrs. Fremont, may I introduce Maj. Caldwell?" " How do you do?" " How do you do?" " Have a drink." " Thank you." "I'd love one." " How did your disembarkation go?" " Smoothly." "We're really up to our neck in Jews, sir." "Karaolos bursting at the seams and more to come." "I still say we should send them back where they came from." "Two loads were shipped out of Haifa bound for Hamburg." "I don't see why we can't do the same thing." "I shouldn't like to have a hand in sending a Jew back to Germany." "Squeeze them in as best as you can." "They're squeezed in." "Short of bed space, supplies... short of nurses, short of temper, short of everything." "Mrs. Fremont's a nurse." "Why don't you lend a hand at Karaolos?" "No, General." "I'm afraid I couldn't." "I've really been quite tired lately." "And I don't know anything about them." "About the Jews?" "I feel strange among them." "In what way?" "Now that you mention it, I can't think." "It's just a feeling I get." " Will you have another drink?" " Thank you, no." "I really must leave." "I'm touring the island and my guide is very firm with me." " I'll take you to your car." " Thank you for the drink and the talk." "Drive by Karaolos on your tour." "Ring me if there's anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable." "I will." "I'm very fond of the old man." "One of the best." "Makes it all the more difficult to explain his little quirk." "Quirk?" "About the Jews." "You caught it all right." "I was watching." "Almost makes one believe the story one hears now and then." "Probably nonsense, but still..." "What story?" "That if you gave a good shake to his family tree, you'd find a Jew up there." "Please tell Gen. Sutherland I've changed my mind." "I'll be happy to work at Karaolos for a few days." " Goodbye, Major." " Goodbye." " Do you need any help?" " No, thanks." " Good night, then." " Good night, and thanks for stopping." "Ari!" "Ari Ben Canaan!" " Reuben." "How are you?" " Fine." "The car's up there." "Good." "We'll go directly to Mandria." "We can't, Ari." "He's on the other side of the island." " He won't be back until tomorrow." " He should be on this side of the island." "British checkpoint, Jewish checkpoint." "We don't allow our military personnel in the camp area... unless something extraordinary occurs." "We handle the outside." "The inside's up to them." " Lieutenant, this is Katherine Fremont." " How do you do, Mrs. Fremont?" "American." "Authority Gen. Sutherland." "Pass her at all times." " Very good, sir." " Thank you." "These Zionist organizations, or whatever they call them... send their own people over from Palestine to administer these camps." "Jews seem to respond better to their own kind." "Perhaps we all do." "We even give them the privilege of approving all Gentile personnel." " I hope you don't mind." " Not at all." " Good morning, Ben Ami." " Good morning, sir." "This is Mrs. Fremont, an American friend of Gen. Sutherland." " How do you do?" " How do you do?" "Ben Ami is one of the Palestinians who run this camp." "Mrs. Fremont has a few days to while away in Cyprus, and being an experienced nurse... the general thought you may find her assistance valuable." "We find all assistance of value, Maj. Caldwell." " Would you show him your passport?" " Of course." "Any friend of Gen. Sutherland's is always welcome." "Convey my respects to the general, and thank him for us." "Of course." "Goodbye." "Good luck." " Call us if you need us." " Thank you." " Would you care to come with me?" " Surely." "Yesterday's shipload will double our hospital capacity." "It's very good of you to help us get organized." " Leave me alone." " You're burning up with fever." "If you don't let us clean out the infection you'll die, that's all." "After coming so far, you'll die without ever having seen Eretz Israel." "I'll see Palestine before you." "Now leave me alone." "This woman is trying to help you." " Do as she says." " Who are you?" "He's the Palestinian commander, that's who." "A Jewish policeman, working for them." "I know your kind from Auschwitz." " You can't tell me what to do." " We'll see." " I'll hold him." " Just try." "Dov!" "If you don't let them help you, you'll die." "I want to die." "You don't know what you're saying." "I'll take them off myself." "It won't hurt." "Keep away from me, all of you." "Excuse me." "I think I can talk to him better if we're alone." "We came on the Star of David together, and I know him." "He's just shy." "Don't get too close to the glass." "Dov Landau, you ought to be ashamed of yourself." "Put that down." "I won't." "That hurt." "Not half as bad as it will hurt." "I'll teach you." "I'll beat you all over." "Well?" "Do you let them take care of you or not?" "Not them." "But if you want to do it, well, all right." "Thank you." "And don't you ever spit on me again." "Just remember." " It's all right, I'll do it." " How did you change his mind?" "Just patience and kindness." "Yetta will show you around." "Don't hesitate to call on me if I can help." "Thank you." "Now, this is pavilion number two." "Excuse me." "This boy has a skin infection called impetigo." " He needs sulfathiazole on those scabs." " If the camp has no such drug?" "Leave him alone." "That will spread it all over his body." " You think so?" " I know it." "It's terribly contagious." "My dear, it's this way." "If you have no sulfathiazole... and no ammoniated mercury ointment... which was the earlier pharmacology, you soften the scab with soap and water... and gently remove it like this, you see?" "Then expose the lesion for five minutes to the sun." "That's also a cure." " You're a doctor." " By coincidence." "It was stupid of me to interfere." "I'm a nurse." "I'll be working here for a while." "Please forgive me." "Dr. Odenheim, it's time for you to rest." "You've been up all night." "I know how to do this." " He taught me on the ship." " Thank you, child of light." "I'll find you something to wear over your dress, a gown or an apron." "Thank you." "My name is Katherine Fremont." "I'm a nurse." " You can call me Kitty." " My name's Karen Hansen." "Hansen?" " Then your mother was Jewish?" " Yes, and my father." " Reuben." " Shalom, Ari." " David, how are you?" " Shalom, Ari." " Mr. Mandria, this is Ari Ben Canaan." " Welcome." "Very pleased to meet you." "We've heard good things about you in Palestine." " Rumours." "But I like them." " So do we." "Please sit down." " Cigar?" " No, thanks." "Well, David, how many people have you got by now... in that barbed wire jungle of yours?" "Over 30,000." "And they're building for 30,000 more on the other side of the island." "How many arrived yesterday on the Star of David?" "Six hundred and eleven." "We're going to take the same 611 off the island and land them in Palestine." " Six hundred and eleven?" " He thinks he's Moses." "We haven't been able to break more than 10 or 15 at a time out of Karaolos." "This will be a new experience." "One thing more." "There's a time limit." "Today is Tuesday." "We'll stage the break next Monday." " Next Monday?" " Why not tomorrow?" "Ari, we cannot do it." "The United Nations will vote on the Palestine issue... before the end of this session." "Between now and then we have to show the world... thousands of homeless European Jews... are not going to accept any solution that bars them from Palestine." "A mass escape of the very same people who arrived on the Star of David... is worth more than a million speeches." "But this isn't the Red Sea, Ari." "It's the Mediterranean." "Right." "Smite these waters as you will, they do not part." "That's why you'll have to get us a ship." "I want a legitimate freighter... with legal registry and real cargo we can unload here in Cyprus." "A ship for six..." "That's a wonderful idea." "Brilliant." "But the expense will be brilliant also." "Not too brilliant." "You know, our treasury is based on donations, and right now we're rather low." " Well, can you deliver or not?" " I'll do my best." "We Cypriots are with you." "For the Jews, Mandria will do everything." "The Jews have paid you well for your efforts, Mr. Mandria." " Ari, you've got to understand..." " No, Reuben." "I say it." "Do you believe that I, Plato Mandria, would do this for money?" "Do you think I'd risk 10 years in prison for money?" "I tell you, it has cost me over £5,000 since I work with the Haganah." "You owe him an apology, Ari." "I do apologize, Mr. Mandria." "It was a stupid remark." "Not necessary." "If I apologize each time I get stupid, I'd spend a lifetime on my knees." " Also, we'll need 14 lorries." " 14, he says." "Why not 1,400?" "The British have requisitioned every car, truck and lorry on this island." "Haganah makes mistakes just like anybody else." "This is one of them." "David, I want to hear every objection, every criticism, every suggestion, but only once." " Now the boat project is under way, right?" " Almost accomplished." "I will send a telegram to a shipbroker in Athens." " Don't the British monitor telegrams?" " Naturally." "But some of the monitors are Cypriots." "They'd like the Britons in Britain, the Jews in Palestine... and the Cypriots in Cyprus." "Not, mind you, that I'm anti-British." "If I must have a master, the British are far the best." "But the problem, my dear friend, is, why have a master at all?" "Shouldn't have hurt him, Ari." "He's a real friend." "Maybe, but don't let the Mandrias fool you." "They work for us and say how terrible it was... that 6,000,000 Jews went into the oven." "But when the showdown comes, we always stand alone." "Mandria will sell us out like all the others." "We have no friends, except ourselves." "Remember that." "You're wrong, but you'll have to learn that for yourself." "Now tell me, how is Jordana?" "I think she's in love." "You've had this letter since last night..." "I forgot about it." "He's in love with her, so he thinks everyone is." "He's right." "She mention me in there?" "Thank you." " No, thank you." " None for me." "How did you know I postponed my departure?" "Central Intelligence has a great talent for spying on the innocent." "It'll interest them to learn that I have a plot under way." "Good." "Can you tell me about it?" "There's a child at the camp I'd like to take out for a holiday." "Just for luncheon, and perhaps to buy her some clothes." "Then I take it some of the strangeness has worn off?" "I know it was foolish to say that." "But I can't help it." "I do feel strange among them." "Except for this girl." "Somehow she's entirely different." "Her point of view, the way she works... she acts, feels and speaks almost exactly like an American." "I can think of no higher praise." "You're laughing at me, and I deserve it." "I'm not laughing." "I'm simply glad it worked." " What?" " I wanted you to get interested... in something beside your own troubles, and you did." "It's interesting that you saw it so fast." " Of course, you were absolutely right." " I'm glad you weren't offended." "I shouldn't like you to become a woman... who drifts through life, "fair to no purpose..." ""...artful to no end, young without lovers, old without a friend."" "Do you have a solution?" "If I were 20 years younger I'd offer myself as a solution." "The Vale of Kashmir is no good unless you share it with someone." "Places don't mean anything." "Only people are important." "Fill your life with people." "Let Tom return to the grave where he belongs." "Fred!" " Yes, sir?" " There's a child out at Karaolos..." "Mrs. Fremont would like released for a day." "What's her name?" "Karen Hansen." " See to it for me, will you?" " Very well, sir." " Isn't it a little irregular?" " Extremely." "That's why I want your signature on the pass instead of my own." "Yes, sir." "Thank you." "Isn't she a beauty?" "You must have towed it across." "All right, she's no beauty, but her heart is solid oak." "You'll see." "Ari!" "Hank, how are you?" "Hank Schlosberg from Cincinnati." "He's run more ships through the blockade than anyone." "This is Mr. Mandria, who arranged for this tub." " Not a bad ship." " Not a good one, Mr. Mandria." "For the money we pay, every ship cannot be the Queen Mary." "Can this abortion make it to Palestine?" "On my mother's honour, she has made 300 trips... from Cyprus to Turkey under her last owner." "That's just the trouble." "We can hold her together for one more round." "I want a loudspeaker system aboard." "Get me a power unit and six Almec-Thorston speakers." "There is no such equipment for sale in Cyprus." "If you can't buy it, steal it." "Stock it with provisions for five days." " For a two-day trip?" " Five days." "All prepared foods, either canned or packaged." "The most expensive, naturally." " Have you got my jeep yet?" " I told you, it's impossible." "A jeep is out of the question, absolutely." " Need someone to overhaul the engine tank?" " No, my gang can take care of that." " Mr. Mandria?" " Yes?" "What about that jeep there?" "That belongs to His Beatitude... the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus." "Steal it." "Paint it." "Hide it till I'm ready for it." "The water's wonderful." "May I have another swim before my steak?" "Just once more, because we're due back at the camp." " Is that the girl?" " Yes." "Swims just like an American." " I'll buy you a drink if you'll forget that joke." " I just had one." "She is nice." "Would it be too difficult to arrange for me to take her back to America?" "Not from our end." "We'd be glad to let them all go." "So long as they don't end up in Palestine." "Let me know when you've decided." "I'll get Maj. Caldwell to arrange it for you." "Thank you." "Karen." "Coming." "Would you like to go to America?" "Of course." "Everybody likes to go to America." "Then you will go." "I'll cancel the rest of my trip, and I'll take you with me." "And you can go to school there, and later on to the university." "And if you like it, and want to, you can become an American citizen." "You mean, go right away?" "Perhaps." "In the next week or two." "Meanwhile, I may be able to get you out of camp." "I'll speak to the general tonight." " What's the matter?" " Nothing." "You do want to go, don't you?" "Yes, but I mean..." "I must think about it a little." " What is there to think about?" " I don't know." "But it's so important, and I need a little time." "You know, to think." "Take all the time you wish." " Kitty?" " Yes?" " Don't be mad at me." " Of course not." "It's getting late." "You better finish your steak." "Fine thing, what you want to do for Karen." "She told you?" "She is worried about her father." "I didn't know that her father was alive." "When Karen was six, he smuggled her out of Germany to Denmark." "After the war she went back to find her parents." "The Jewish Agency had records of the dead." "She found her mother on the Dachau list... together with her two younger brothers." "About the father there was nothing, so naturally she hopes he is still alive." "Maybe in Palestine." "As a matter of fact, there is such a possibility." "He was a very important scientist." "The Nazis could have spared his life... in order to use his brain." "But of course, who knows?" "It's curious that she didn't mention her father to me." "You must understand something about these children." "Their past is scarred." "They're ashamed of it." "To have a parent who has been persecuted, or killed in a concentration camp... is a reproach to them." "They feel guilty for having survived." "So they pretend the bad things never happened." "To take such a child is a great responsibility..." " even a sacrifice." " It's no sacrifice." "I'm alone." "The insurance I got after my husband's death is more than enough." "I didn't mean financial sacrifice, although it's a good thing to have money." "No, what I meant was, you will have to make a sacrifice of yourself." "These children who have lost everything... spend their lives searching for new parents." "Their need reaches out to your heart as naturally as a flower turns to the sun." "And they trap you." "Because they've been so long without love, they demand all the love you have." "Karen will drain you of love." "She'll exhaust you." "That's exactly what I need." "I'd like to go with you, Kitty." "If you still want me." " Morning." " Morning." " Bowen, 23rd GT Company." " What can I do for you, sir?" "Afraid I'll to have to draw rather heavily on you." " Please have a chair." " Thank you." "This does draw us down a bit." "Excuse me a moment." " Operator." " CO, please." "Won't take a minute." "I hope not." "As you can see, I'm in a hurry." " CO speaking." " Hall here, sir." "I've an order at transport pool, sir, for 14 lorries... 4 motorcycles, 18 drivers and 18 guards." "Estimated use four hours, sir." " What's this for?" " Transport from Karaolos, sir." " Who is requesting this?" " Capt. Bowen." " What authority?" " Sir Cecil Bradshaw, of the Colonial office." " Yes." " Countersigned Lt. Gen. Sutherland." " Well, allocate it then." " Yes, of course, sir." " What's the query?" " I thought you might want... to draw extra transport from headquarters." " Don't babble on, man." "Give it to him." " Yes, sir." "And get on with it." "Very good, sir." "Smithers." "Take this and get it filled at once." " Yes, sir." " We'll have you taken care of in a jiff." "Can I order tea for you?" "Rather prefer a gin and tonic, if you don't mind." " Bowen, 23rd transport company." " Lt. Arnold, sir." "I want to see the Palestinian camp commander." "Right this way, sir." "This is the Palestinian commander, David Ben Ami." " How do you do?" " How do you do?" "We are relocating all the internees from the Star of David." "Here are your orders." "Where are you taking these people?" "Their destination is not included in your orders, Mr..." " Ben Ami." " Yes." "Thank you." "These people have not recovered from their last journey." "I cannot permit them to travel again so soon, just because of a piece of paper." "Piece of paper?" " This seems perfectly clear to me." " Sir, some of these people are sick." "You will turn the internees over at once." "I'm sorry." "I just cannot accept that responsibility." "I'll take the responsibility." " There, does that satisfy you?" " Of course, I don't approve, but..." "I guess it makes the record perfect." "Would you order him to place all his Palestinian... administrative personnel at my disposal while loading?" " Did you hear?" " Yes, sir." "You can call on me if you run into any trouble, sir." "Thanks, old chap." "Well, let's get about it." "Attention." "All passengers from the Star of David, listen carefully." "We have received orders to evacuate you immediately." "I repeat." "All those who arrived on the Star of David... are to be evacuated at once." "Please prepare to board the British lorries now passing through the camp." "Report at once to your nearest Palestinian guard point." "What does this mean?" "HMJFC?" "His Majesty's Jewish Forces on Cyprus, what else?" " What's going on?" " Military police." "They're blocking the intersection for through traffic." "I don't understand." "Go and find the commanding officer, will you?" "I'd better look into this myself." "Excuse me, Mrs. Fremont." "Stay here." " Sergeant, clear the way for my car." " Yes, sir." "I'm afraid this is most unusual." "We've had no warning." "I'll check with headquarters." "These orders are perfectly clear." "Signed by the Colonial Office and countersigned by Gen. Sutherland." "What's this?" "The whole area's tied up." " Who's in charge?" " O'Hara." "Permit me." "Bowen, 23rd GT Company." "Special detail, orders of Gen. Sutherland." "Here are the papers, sir." "Well, Bowen, I see you're going to be getting rid of some Jews for us?" " Yes, sir." "Shipping them back to Hamburg." " That's where they belong." "It's a German matter." "Let the Germans handle it." "Apparently the general's had second thoughts." "Why do you question these orders?" "I didn't question." "I just wanted to check with headquarters." "Countersigning is not the responsibility of junior officers." "The acceptance of responsibility... is what makes senior officers out of juniors." " Let them through." " Yes, sir." "Should have started this policy two years ago." "I don't care about the Jews one way or the other." " But they are troublemakers." " No question about it, sir." "Get two of them together, you've got a debate... and three, a revolution." "Yes." "And half of them are Communists anyway." "Yes, and the other half pawnbrokers." "They look funny, too." "I can spot one a mile away." "Would you mind looking into my eye?" "It feels like a cinder." "Certainly." "You know, a lot of them try to hide under Gentile names." "But one look at that face, and you just know." "With a little experience, you can smell them out." " I'm sorry, I can't find a thing." " Must've been my imagination." "Thanks." "Maj. Caldwell, are they taking everybody who was on the Star of David?" " Yes, ma'am, we are." " Then Karen's on one of those trucks." "Karen?" "Karen Hansen." "I have Gen. Sutherland's permission to take her to America." " We were on our way to pick up the girl." " How old is she?" "Fourteen." "She was assigned to the hospital." "Yes, it seems to me..." "Is that the girl that the... forgot his name, the camp commander, was talking about?" "David Ben Ami?" "Yes." "He knew she was supposed go with me." "I remember." "He told me the general had made arrangements for her... so I left her behind, on my own responsibility." " Very good, Bowen." " Thank you very much." "I appreciate your help." "Convey my respects to the general." "That I will." " Bit of a Jew himself, you know." " Not really?" "Good luck, sir." "Remember, I've been in Palestine." "I know what kind of life she'll live, if she lives." "I grant you that." "Besides, she must have been forced, otherwise she would've left a note." "We'll get her back for you, one way or another." "With her consent, of course." "Who was in charge of this evacuation?" "Chap named Bowen, sir." "Capt. Bowen." " What did he look like?" " Look like?" "A well set up sort of chap." "Proper bearing, decent decorations." "Spoke like any of us." " From what command?" " 23rd GT Company, sir." " Is anything irregular?" " Could be." "We don't list a 23rd GT Company on Cyprus." "You should have known that." "Yes, I should." " Perhaps I made an error." " It's human." "Who issued Capt. Bowen's orders?" "They originated with Bradshaw of the Colonial Office." "And, of course, you signed them." " You examined the signatures?" " Well, naturally, and I countersigned." "I signed no such order." "Neither have I seen such an order from the Colonial Office." "Well, those signatures must've been forged?" "We can't exclude the possibility." "With one exception, of course." " Your signature was genuine, wasn't it?" " Someone had to take responsibility, sir." "And you took it." "Now you've got it." "What do you propose to do with it?" "That boat..." "That Olympia..." "She's not going to Hamburg." "She's probably heading for Palestine." "Undoubtedly." "Telephone control, tell them to block the harbour." "Take a look at the situation yourself." "Very well, sir." "Mrs. Fremont." "Sir." "Let me have the microphone." "Attention, Olympia." "Attention, out there." "This is Maj. Caldwell speaking." "Attention, Olympia." "You have no chance to escape." "The destroyer Zebra is moving into position to block the harbour entrance." "Return to dock." "Otherwise we will board you." "We're bound for Palestine with an American captain and crew... and a passenger manifest of 611 persons." "We're carrying 200 pounds of dynamite in the engine room with fuses attached." "You let one British soldier step aboard this ship and we'll blow her up." "Have you heard me, Major?" "Message received." "Where would they find 200 pounds of dynamite?" " Get me Gen. Sutherland." " Operator." " Connect me to Gen. Sutherland." " Yes, sir." "In an ammunition dump, you blithering idiot." " Sutherland here." " Caldwell here, sir." "The Olympia threatens to blow herself out of the water, sir, if we board her." "I'm convinced it's a bluff, of course." "Boarding party en route, sir." "Call your boarding party back." "Signal the Olympia." "I'm asking London for instructions." "If she stays where she is, no one will molest her." "They've threatened to dynamite the Olympia if we board her." "Do you think they mean it?" "Nearly two years ago, a Haganah ship which we were detaining in the port of Haifa... did blow herself up. 236 refugees died." "General, I simply must get Karen off the ship." "Would you care to go on board the Olympia... and learn from the child exactly what happened?" " Will they let me?" " I'll try and arrange it." "If I succeed, you can do me a favour in return." "I'll do anything." "If force, or coercion of any kind, was used to get that child on board the ship... you must promise me to tell the entire story... at a press conference which I shall arrange." " Do you agree?" " I'll be glad to." "Reuben?" "Send this every 10 minutes, and keep on sending it." " Could we interrupt, please?" " Yes." "This is Dr. de Vries." "We elevated ourselves into a medical committee." "Good." "It's our opinion the sanitary arrangements on this ship are hopelessly inadequate." "Unless we make some additional bathing and toilet facilities... we'll have a serious health problem." "All right, we'll try to take care of it." "There he is." "This is Mrs. Fremont, from Gen. Sutherland." " How do you do?" "Hank?" " Yes." " We have enough scrap lumber to build privies on deck?" " I guess so." " Ten-holers." "Knock some showers together, too." " Okay." " Anything else?" " Not for the present, thank you." "This one to Haifa." "You wanted to see me?" "Yes, Captain." ""Yes, Captain." His Majesty's Jewish Brigade." "North Africa, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine." "The decorations are real." "Is that what Sutherland sent you to find out?" "You lied to me about the girl." "She's not at the camp, she's on this ship." "And you forced her to come aboard." " We don't force anybody." "Tel Aviv yet?" " No." "Go on." "You're not listening." "I heard every word you said." "I lied to you about the girl." "What else?" "I'm taking her off this death trap." "Don't tell me what you'll do on this ship." "You'll do exactly what I tell you." " Tel Aviv beginning to send." " Fine." "How do you know the girl wants to get off?" "I am trying to save a Jewish child." "Can't you understand that?" "Don't you have any respect for human life?" "Don't expect me to get hysterical over one Jewish child... and don't you get hysterical, either." "You're late, lady." "You're 10 years late." "Almost 2,000,000 Jewish children, butchered like animals... because nobody wanted them." "No country would have them." "Not your country or any other." "And nobody wants the ones who survived." "Jewish flesh is cheap, lady." "It's cheaper than beef." "It is cheaper, even, than herring." "You and your respect..." "Tel Aviv complete now." "If you can find the girl, if she wants to go, take her." "Take a dozen if you want to." "Kitty!" "It happened so fast, I couldn't even leave you a note." "I had to go, Kitty, to find my father." "When you asked me to go to America, I didn't know, and..." "Kitty, we're going to Palestine." "Karen, you don't know what it's like in Palestine." "And the British won't let you go, anyhow." "They'll have to, Kitty." "They'll just have to." "Because we're not going back to Karaolos, not ever." "Then let me take you to Palestine." "I can find a way." " The man in charge, Mr..." " Ben Canaan?" "Yes." "If you want to come with me, you have his permission." "I couldn't leave now, Kitty." "I don't know how to explain it to someone like you." "But we all came here together, and now we're trying to do something." "And I must stay here, Kitty." "Gen. Sutherland calling the Olympia." "This is the Exodus." "Come in, General." "I have received instructions from the Colonial Office in London." "No attempt will be made to board the Olympia... but the harbour will remain blocked." "You may return to Karaolos whenever you wish." "If you choose to remain in the ship... provisions and medical supplies will be sent to you as you need them." "Message completed." "Not even now?" "Kitty..." "I couldn't." "It's like leaving your family when things are bad." "I know." "If you want anything, let me know." "Yes." "Gen. Sutherland's your friend." "Tell him to let us go to Palestine." "They're just going to turn this ship into another concentration camp." "Go back?" "Nonsense." "Did we escape for just ourselves alone?" "No." "We've done it for hundreds of thousands of Jews all over Europe... who couldn't get out." "Also it makes news." "World news." "I want your attention for a minute." "Now you all heard Gen. Sutherland on the loudspeaker." "You must now make a decision." "You can go back to Karaolos..." "The only way to go back to Karaolos is by crawling!" "or you can stay aboard this ship." "Who are you making the propaganda for?" "Them or us?" "Quiet, please." "There's another possibility." "You were picked by Haganah for this ship... so that your escape to Palestine would have some meaning to the world." "If you still want it to have some meaning... if you want to finish what we began, you can go on a hunger strike." "Now you're beginning to make a little sense!" "We shall tell to the British, "We spit on your food."" "And the little food we've got here, we shall throw overboard." "We are going to Palestine, or we're going to die right here." "Listen, please." "Now just stop and think for a minute." "To go on a hunger strike is a very serious business... because once you strike... it can only end when you have won or when you are dead." "What is so unusual about the Jews dying?" "Is that anything new?" "I stay right here." "There is no excuse for us to go on living... unless we start fighting right now." "So that every Jew on the face of the earth... can begin to start feeling like a human being again." "You heard what I said." "Fight, not beg!" "Fight!" "Wait a minute." "Everybody aboard this ship... agreed to accept Haganah discipline." "I am now giving an order." "We will sit down... and we will maintain silence for 20 minutes." "Each one of us will listen to his own heart... and to his brain, too." "And then we will vote." "We will now maintain silence." "I saw the people on that ship." "They're not dangerous." "They're just poor, miserable people." "Why can't you let them go?" "You must understand that we British have shown, throughout our history... an extraordinary talent for troublesome commitments." "Palestine is a British mandate imposed upon us... by the League of Nations... which makes us responsible for keeping peace in the area." "The Arabs simply won't keep the peace if we allow further Jewish immigration." "I don't know much about the mandate." "But I do know the Jews were promised a homeland in Palestine." "During the First World War, Britain needed and accepted Jewish support... from all over the world." "In return... the Balfour Declaration of 1917 made such a promise." "That promise was reconfirmed during World War II." "This chap Ben Canaan probably wasn't lying when he said he fought with us." "Thousands of Palestinians did." "How can you promise something and then not deliver it?" "England was fighting for her life in 1917." "Nations are very like people in such circumstances." "They make promises they're not immediately able to fulfil." "During that same crisis, we made the Arabs certain assurances." "Hence, they have their claims, too." "The Arabs are fanatics on the subject of Jewish immigration." "Just now, we need their goodwill." " How is it ever going to end?" " I don't know." "The whole question now is before the United Nations." "I hope they solve it." "The sooner I stop operating detention camps, the happier I'll be." "That goes for every British officer and soldier I know." "Thank you." "Yes?" "The devil." "Of course." "Send a boat alongside at once." "I'll join you in 10 minutes." "They want to send 23 people back to Karaolos." "The rest have declared a hunger strike." " Can I drop you at your hotel?" " Of course." "a few news bulletins, and an announcement." "The evacuation of 2,000 British women and children from Palestine... was ordered today by the High Commissioner." "The United Nations Commission on Palestine still has not submitted its report." "The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem... who sat out the war as Hitler's guest in Berlin... has met in Aley, Lebanon, with representatives of the Arab nations... to coordinate action against Palestinian Jews... in the event Partition is granted." "The UN Commission on Palestine has arrived at Flushing Meadows... and is now preparing its final recommendation for the assembly." "News of the hunger strike aboard the Exodus... received front-page treatment this morning throughout the world." "The British embassy in Washington is already being picketed." "Now Dr. Odenheim has something to say to you for the medical committee." "It is very important that we save our supply of fresh water." "So we must ration it." "Every four hours, one cup." "On the other hand, everyone must wash his body daily." "This will be done with seawater." "Your platoon leader will call when your turn comes." "It is advised to conserve your energy." "So all necessary physical work should be divided... among as many people as possible." "If at any time you should feel light-headed or dizzy, do not be frightened." "It is, in no respect, serious." "Just sit down and lower your head between your knees." "All of us, of course, feel stomach pangs." " They are uncomfortable, but not dangerous." " That's right." "Final point... people can live a long time without food, a very long time." "Attention, everybody." "Here is the news, and some of it, I'm sorry to say, not good." "Dov Gruner and three other leaders of the Irgun in Palestine... were hanged today in Acre prison." "The United Nations Commission on Palestine is still delaying... its recommendations to the General Assembly." "Winston Churchill has called on the Labour government to end what he calls..." ""...this squalid war against the Jews," with all possible speed." " 500 Americans picketed..." " Your water, gentlemen." "UN headquarters in Flushing Meadows, demanded release..." "Your platoon's turn to bathe, Mr. Lakavitch." "Your turn to bathe." "Mr. Smolikov, will you please do me a favour?" "Refresh yourself with my bath, and then, little bit later, I'll take yours." " All right." " Thank you." "Sorry, Mr. Lakavitch." "You know the rules." " Can't you see the position?" " No exceptions." "I think you carry this bathing too far." " No exceptions, Mr. Lakavitch." " Fanatics!" "establishment of a Jewish state in the Holy Land." "Thirteen leaders of our National Committee in Tel Aviv... have begun a hunger strike in sympathy with the Exodus." "When more news comes in, I'll report it." "That's all." "Have you time for me, Ari?" "Always, Dr. Odenheim." "What can I do?" "We made a mistake... a bad mistake in letting the children be a part of this." "A child's body grows every hour." "They need food more than adults." "Their blood requires more sugar." "What should we do about it?" "When a mistake is made, you admit it... you analyse it, and you correct it." "Doctor, don't you feel well?" "Who cares if an old man feels well?" "Major!" " Who the devil are you?" " Jorgenson, of the UP." " Thanks, Major." " All right." "What is this?" " Information, sir." " Information for whom?" "For the tourists, of course." "One of our many special services." "And I suppose these are tourists?" "No, sir." "These people are contributors." "We are collecting donations for the Red Cross." "Forgive me." "What did you say?" "What were you two talking about?" "I said to him:" ""These are nice fat ones, for this the archbishop will bless you."" "He said to me, "I do my share."" "Word for word, a literal translation." "Don't try to deceive me." "You're collecting all this for the Olympia." " You see through me like a piece of glass." " Complete waste of time." "They won't accept food from us, nor from you." "True, but they will accept from the Red Cross when they sail." "Perhaps you're right." "What do you mean, "when they sail"?" "It was my poor way of expressing confidence in British justice." "Good day." "You'd better go up and tell them." "Give me a hand here." "Let us through, please." "It gives me great pain to inform you Dr. Odenheim has suffered a heart attack." "He is dead." "Shall I send it out?" "Why not?" "Professor Dr. Samuel Odenheim... head of the first clinic for Internal Medicine... at the University of Vienna, author of many medical textbooks... died today in the harbour of Famagusta... on board a cramped freighter going nowhere, because there wasn't room for him on this earth." "Ought to make news somewhere." "Attention, please." "Prepare all children under the age of 13... for return to Karaolos." "This is an order." " Out to the ship once more?" " Yes." "You know, they're in their 92nd hour, and starting to crack already." " I didn't know that." " Fading fast." "They never would have started this nonsense... if Ben Canaan hadn't held a gun to them." " Do you really think so?" " Undoubtedly." "Poor, ruddy beggars." "I don't see how you stand them." "Then let me ask you this, if I may." "Do you have the power to call off this strike?" "I have." "If a compelling reason turned up." "Why?" "Then call it off." "I've been talking to Gen. Sutherland." "He's a humane man, but there's nothing he can do." "You've made the issue so flatly that no one can help you." "I know it, I feel it." "Either you compromise, or you lose." "We won't lose." "If the British give in and let us go, we've won." "And if we starve to death aboard this ship, we've still won." "They'll wait." "They'll wait until you're too weak and then come aboard and take you off." "It doesn't take much strength to set off 200 pounds of dynamite." "You'd still set it off, knowing you've lost?" "Of course." "Without any regard for the lives you'd be destroying?" "With every regard in the world for them." "I don't understand." "Each person on board this ship is a soldier." "The only weapon we have to fight with is our willingness to die." "But for what purpose?" "Call it publicity." " Publicity?" " Yes, publicity." "A stunt to attract attention." "A letter to the newspapers." "A help-wanted ad to the official journal of the United Nations." ""Wanted by 600 men, women and children, a country..." ""...a native land, a home."" "That's all they're dying for." "Just to call attention to Israel... without ever having seen it themselves." "Does the vulgarity of it shock you?" "You can't fight the whole British Empire with 600 people." "It isn't possible." "How many Minutemen did you have when they fired... the "shot heard round the world"?" " I don't know." " 77." "Look, please understand me." "I wish you could win." "I wish it were possible for you to have a country of your own." "But it isn't." "You're offering the lives of all these people for something that can never happen." "I know." "I've been in Palestine." " When were you there?" " A year ago." "Mr. Ben Canaan, even if you get a partition and a free Jewish state... the Arabs won't let you keep it." "500,000 Jews against 50 million Arabs?" "You can't win." "You think I'm a fool." "But I came to appeal to you to call off the hunger strike... and avoid a tragedy." "Why don't you appeal to Gen. Sutherland?" "What can I tell him?" "Tell him what God said to Moses:" ""Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, 'Thus sayeth the Lord:" ""'Let my people go, that they may serve me."'" "Exodus, Chapter 7, Verse 26." "We have been asked to talk to you, Mr. Ben Canaan." " Do you have time?" " Of course." "Excuse me." "We have made a decision among the mothers." "To send the children back to Karaolos now will show weakness." "The British will see that we are not serious people aboard this ship." "It doesn't matter what the British think." "I cannot take the responsibility for letting children starve to death." "We will take the responsibility." "We will not send them back, and we will not go back with them." "I'm sorry, Mrs. Frankel." "The children must go back." "You go back if you want to with them." "Now, that's a Haganah order." "You're an important man, Mr. Ari Ben Canaan, but you know nothing." "Look at these babies of mine." "Born behind barbed wire." "For the first time they don't have to look out through a fence like little animals." "They are free now, and nobody... no Englishman, no Haganah, will ever lock them up again." "Look at Mrs. Hirschberg here." "Hers will be the first, when she has no more milk to give." " Tell him." " I will not take him back to Karaolos." "He will go to Palestine with me, or here on this ship, we will die together." "I will not take him back." "When are you going to stop this thing and let them go?" "Unfortunately, I can't answer that." "The affair's entirely in the hands of London." "But you don't like what's going on." "You know how wrong it is." "Why don't you say so?" "Why don't you make a public statement about it?" "I can't do that, Kitty." "I'm a soldier." "I know you're a soldier, but you're also a Jew... and all these people out there are Jews, too." "I don't like to disappoint you, but I'm not in any degree a Jew." " But I thought..." " I know the rumour." "There had to be some explanation... for my attitude towards this unpleasant business." " I'm sorry for flying off like that." " You're getting to be quite a Zionist." "As a matter of fact, I'm glad you did fly off." "You asked how I, as a Jew, could let this happen to other Jews." "Now I find myself asking how can any man let it happen?" "Jew, Gentile, Buddhist, Mohammedan... no matter what he is." "Signal the air base." "I'm flying to London within the hour." "You know, you're an interesting woman, Mrs. Fremont." "Sutherland won't let one member of the press come aboard... and you shuttle back and forth like a carrier pigeon." "I know you suspect me, and I know nothing I say can make you trust me." "But I wanted to tell you that Gen. Sutherland has left for London." "He understands your situation, and he is trying to help." "Thanks." "Is that all?" "I heard of Dr. Odenheim's death." "I'm a trained nurse, and I worked with him at Karaolos." "If I can be useful, I'd be glad to stay aboard." "Without food?" "I think I can go without food as long as you." "I'm glad to have you on board, Mrs. Fremont." "Glad to be aboard, Mr. Ben Canaan." "Whatever move you make, you were dead 10 minutes ago." "I asked for an opinion from Romania?" "Do you think the British will give in?" "We'll give in first." "These schlemiels." "Maybe they think they've been hungry once in a while." "They don't even begin to know what real starvation is." "If you hate these people so much, why do you want to go to Palestine with them?" "Because there, Jews fight instead of talk." "When I get there, I'm going to join the Irgun." "They know how to do it." "I'm going to blow up every British installation I can find." "I'm going to kill Englishmen... and kill and kill them... till there won't be any more." " But the British aren't all bad." " They're rotten, the whole bunch of them." "The British, all the Russians, the Poles..." " Not the Danes." "When I was there..." " Them, too." "Don't tell me." "That's not true." "The Hansens were Christians, and they adopted me." "One little exception." "That proves something?" "There are lots of exceptions." "You just listen to me for a minute." "When the Nazis marched into Denmark... they ordered every Jew to wear a yellow armband... with the Star of David on it." "And when they..." " That's the worst thing that can happen?" " I said, listen!" "You don't know what you're talking about." "The next morning, when every Jew in Denmark had to wear his armband..." "King Christian came out of Amalienborg Palace for his morning ride." "And do you know something?" " He wore the Star of David on his arm." " But why should..." "And you know something else?" "By afternoon, everybody was wearing Stars of David." "Jews and Danes, and, well, just everybody." "Why'd they do that?" "If you don't just know why they did it, Dov... well, maybe that's what's wrong with you." " Get the Olympia." "I want to talk to them." " Yes, sir." "Control Headquarters calling the Olympia." " Do you hear me?" " This is the Exodus." "Stand by for Maj. Caldwell." "You are no longer interested in your last rook, Mr. Lakavitch?" "We pause for politics?" "Gen. Sutherland, at his own request, has been relieved of his duties on Cyprus." "I have just received a message from the Colonial Office." "I quote:" ""His Majesty's Government, having no desire to witness needless suffering..." ""...grants permission for the Olympia to sail to Palestine..." ""...and to disembark its passengers at the port of Haifa."" "That is all." "Ari Ben Canaan!" "Well, happy landing, Mrs. Fremont." " You'll find your luggage at customs." " Thank you." "Have you seen Mr. Ben Canaan?" "I want to thank him for letting me on the ship." "He and the other Haganah guys went over the side two hours ago." "Too many British soldiers on the reception committee." " Karen?" " Have you seen Dov?" "No, not since he left the ship." " He was assigned to Gan Dafna." " He'll show up." "I'm going to the American consulate and then to the Jewish Agency." "As soon as I find anything, I'll come to Gan Dafna." "Gan Dafna, all aboard." " Bye, Karen." " If you see Dov, tell him where I am." "Inside." "This is no accident, he's got the address written down." "Fetch the car." "Here, you dirty little Irgun swine." "Hello?" "Shalom." "Yoav, take the dog out." "Again?" "A boy about 17 just went into Asa's house." "They took him in a police car." "Get a look at him." " What's your name?" " Karen." "What's yours?" "Edna." "Come, we'll go up and eat something." "Now, if you will please resume a little order..." "I will introduce a man who has done more than any other... to establish our village of Gan Dafna." "Only 10 days ago... he was in London, negotiating with the British." "Today he is home again." "I have the honour to present Mr. Barak Ben Canaan... member of the Executive Committee... of the Jewish Agency for Palestine." "My dear young friends, I know you're very tired." "You've had a long trip, so I'm not going to make speeches." "It's good to have parties like this." "But it's also good to know what you're here for." "You are here to learn." "You are here to work." "You are here to build a Jewish homeland in Palestine." "It says on the banner "young heroes." Very fine." "But here at Gan Dafna you will find that even the biggest hero... must work in the fields, just like the littlest coward." "Boys and girls, when I came to Palestine 47 years ago... it was not a musical reception with little cakes served." "I came walking, with my little brother... all the way from Russia." "And over in that valley, the swamps, and mosquitoes so big... they were picking fights with the sparrows." "Now we have changed those swamps into such fields." "On a quiet night, you can hear the corn grow." "Oranges so big... five already make a dozen." "Over there you see the Arab village of Abu Yesha." "In those days, my old friend Kammal... may God rest his soul... was mukhtar of the village." "And then one day, he donated to us this ground... on which you stand, for a youth village." "So, we began to build this place." "And again it wasn't a matter of little cakes and music." "It meant more sweat, more work." "Look about you." "You will see Arab children here." "Three of them, grandsons of that same Kammal... the mukhtar who gave us this land." "It grieves me that he isn't with us today to see all this." "But he's been gathered to the bosom of Allah." "Speak always that name with respect." "With us, instead, we have the son of Kammal, Taha... an honour to his father's memory." "Raised part of the time in my house, with my own dear son, Ari... and with my dear daughter, Jordana, who sits beside him in this place." "I want you to give particular attention to what he's going to tell to you." "Here is Taha, son of Kammal, since five years... mukhtar of Abu Yesha." "Thank you, Barak Ben Canaan." "Village president, Dr. Ernst Lieberman." "In this valley of Jezreel, we dwell together as friends." "It is natural that we should live in peace." "Since even our words for it are almost exactly the same." "We say salaam... and you, shalom." "Let us seal our friendship forever with that most beautiful of Hebrew toasts." "L'chaim, to life." "L'chaim!" "Come on." "Dov Landau." "Immigration says you're legal, so we've no reason to keep you." "The Jewish Agency sent a bus ticket and lunch money." "You're assigned to Gan Dafna." "You take my advice and go there." "Don't hang around Haifa." "You'll get in trouble." "Don't wander into the Arab section." "Or you'll run into the Mufti's gangsters and they'll kill you, son." "They'll slit your throat." "And keep away from the Irgun." " And then, after the ghetto was destroyed?" " I hid in the sewers for five months." "Eating what?" "When I couldn't sneak out at night and steal garbage, I killed rats." "And then one night they caught me." " And they sent you to Auschwitz?" " Yes." "To what work were you assigned in Auschwitz?" "I told you that twice already." "It was mostly clean up." " Cleaning up what?" " The camp area." "That's all there was to do." "That and working in the kitchens." "And when Auschwitz was liberated, you walked to Germany?" "You asked me that already, too." "May I talk with the young man for a moment?" "So you want to blow up British installations for the Irgun?" "Yes." "You're an expert dynamiter, true?" "Just try me." "There's still a point or two we do not completely understand." " Will you assist us in making them clear?" " Sure." "And make certain to tell the truth?" "Why shouldn't I tell the truth?" "This is always hard to answer." "First, I will ask you, please, to recreate for me again how it was in Auschwitz." "Now, think most carefully about it, and describe it to me." " Describe what?" " Whatever you like." "For instance, how it was that people were chosen to live or to be killed." "First you undressed... and then they clipped your hair." "And then you all lined up, and you went to the station room." "So the way you remember it, they were men, women, children... all together and all naked." "Yes." "And then the doctors examined you... and told you what gate to take." "There were three gates." "If you were to be killed, then you went through the left gate." "Which most of them did." "Yes." "Most." "But if you were strong enough to work, then you went through the right gate." "Which you did." "Yes." " And then they assigned you to..." " You said there were three gates." "Who went through the third gate?" "Girls." " All the girls?" " No." "Only if they were young and pretty." "What happened to them?" "The SS guards kept some of them." "The rest were sent around to army camps... for the soldiers." "You have a good memory." "Now, those who went through the left gate to be killed... how was the killing accomplished in Auschwitz?" "They went in to take showers, 2,000 or 3,000 at a time." "And the doors were locked." "And then came the gas." "Very professional." "One thing I overlooked." "You say you got this dynamiting experience in the Warsaw Ghetto fighting Nazis." "That's right." "You blew up quite a few Nazis with this dynamite?" "All I could." "Good." "Now, return to Auschwitz, please." "From the gas chambers, the bodies went where?" "The ovens." "At Auschwitz, they had crematoriums only at the last." "Before the installation of the ovens, what happened to the bodies?" "They buried them." "How?" "In trenches and holes." " And who dug the holes?" " I don't know." "I ask you again, who dug the graves?" "I don't know." "They had demolition squads." "At least sometimes they did." "To blow holes in the ground... then dump the bodies in." "That is correct." "Now may I tell you something, Dov Landau?" "At no time did the Jews use dynamite in the Warsaw Ghetto." "They had no dynamite." "Do you remember better now?" "Maybe." "So it was not possible for you to learn the use of dynamite in the Warsaw Ghetto." "You learned about dynamite in Auschwitz... making mass graves to receive the dead bodies of your people." "True?" "Yes." "Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of them." "And you saved your own life by working in that camp as a Sonderkommando." " Correct?" " Yes." "It was the duty of those Jews who became Sonderkommandos... to shave the heads of other Jews." "Yes." "To remove dead bodies from the gas chambers." "To collect gold fillings from their teeth." "Yes!" "What could I do?" "We take into consideration that you were less than 13 when you entered Auschwitz." "Even so, we must have the truth." "Is there anything else?" "Yes." "Then tell us." "No, I won't tell you." "Please, don't make me tell you." "Kill me." "I don't care." " I won't tell you." " Tell us." "They used me. like you use... a woman." "You will repeat for me the following words:" ""I, Dov Landau..." "I, Dov Landau..." ""...do give my body, my brain, my soul and my being... do give my body, my brain, my soul and my being..." ""...without reservation or qualification... without reservation or qualification..." ""...to the freedom fighters of the Irgun." "to the freedom fighters of the Irgun." ""Under torture, even unto death..." "Under torture, even unto death..." ""..." "I will never divulge the name of a fellow member of the Irgun."" "I will never divulge the name of a fellow member of the Irgun." " You wanted me?" " Yes." " So?" " I've got to see Akiva." "Where is he?" "We tell Haganah where our leaders are hiding?" "Forget Haganah." "Akiva's my uncle." "And Barak Ben Canaan is your father." "We trust him as we trust the Grand Mufti." " His son's different?" " Just tell Akiva and let him decide." " I don't even know if he's in Jerusalem." " So tell him anyway." "If I can find him, where can I telephone you this evening?" "I'll be here on the terrace from 7:00 on." "Do you like the view here?" "Mr. Ben Canaan." " Are we both eating alone?" " I am." " Or I was." "Won't you sit down?" " Thanks." "I know all the good things on that menu." "May I order for you?" " Would you like a drink?" " I had one at the consulate." "I had another one when I came to my room." "Have another one." " Dry martini." " Two very dry martinis." "Excuse me, sir." "I'll take the hors d'oeuvres, clear soup... fillet of sole... salad... and some of your very good Chablis." "We'll order dessert later." "Yes, sir." "What were you doing at the consulate today?" "I've asked them to help me find Karen's father." "Yes, the girl." "Please forget what I said... about getting hysterical over the life of one child." "I didn't mean it." "I know you didn't." "What happens if you find out her father's dead?" "Then I'll take her back to America with me." "If she likes it there, I may adopt her." "Won't your husband have something to say about that?" "My husband was killed a year ago... in a border skirmish near the Sheikh Hussein bridge." "You mean, here in Palestine?" "He was a news photographer covering the Near East." "About the girl's father, if you like, I can put some of our Haganah boys on it." "The British High Commissioner to Palestine." "Taken over the whole south wing of the hotel in British general headquarters." " Don't you feel uncomfortable here?" " I guess I'm as safe here as any place else." "Besides, I spent 14 months in prison." "Tell me about yourself." "Where do you come from?" "I don't come from anywhere." "I'm a sabra." "A native-born Palestinian." "My father was born in Russia." "He has a farm near Moshav Yad EI." " Do you like farms?" " I was raised on one." "I'd like to show you ours." "That'll be a little difficult." "I've rented a car and I'm driving to Gan Dafna tomorrow to visit Karen." "That's only a few miles past Yad EI." "I'm going up myself in the morning." "Do I know you well enough to ask you for a lift?" "I think so." " My name is Kitty." " Ari." "Thank you." "I'll teach you a Hebrew toast." "L'chaim!" "I know it." "To life." "Good for you." "A year's a long time in the life of a pretty woman." "Have you found another man?" " Nothing serious." " Why not?" "Many reasons." "One of them is that my husband's work filled his whole life." "I presume that's good, at least most men seem to think so." "But I feel a man who has nothing but his work is only half a man." "And you want a whole one?" "Exactly." "The other half of his life must be a woman." "What else?" "What else?" "Excuse me, sir." "Telephone for you, call, please." "Excuse me." "I'll be right back." "Come with me." "Now?" " I have to go back to the terrace." "I want..." " You want to arrange to have us followed." "Let's go." "Ari." "Come in." "Sit down." "You must have some tea." "There's an extra glass around here somewhere." "You look better than ever, Uncle Akiva." "It's an active life." "You've been active yourself recently." "This Exodus business shows in your heart you're really an Irgunist." "Two hundred pounds of dynamite?" "Immediately, the British draw proper conclusions." "Now, it's no accident that brings you here tonight." " May I speculate?" " Of course." "The Irgun has been blowing up too many British installations." "We behave rudely to our British guests." "So the leading intellectuals of the Haganah, after endless meetings and much debate... have at last reached a decision." " Correct?" " It's close." "They say, "Send Ari Ben Canaan"." ""The old criminal's getting soft in the head"." ""He loves the boy." "Maybe Ari can stop his indelicate activities."" " Also correct?" " Also." "But they want something more." "If the UN votes for Partition, we'll have the Arab world on our backs." "Our only hope is an alliance between Irgunand Haganah." "An alliance to fight?" "Of course." "The minute Haganah adopts our policy of fighting instead of talking... an alliance between us becomes automatic." "You're not being fair." "When it comes to fighting, Haganah has lost more lives than Irgun." "We fight to defend ourselves, or to capture positions that we can occupy and hold." "When you attack it's just to spread terror." "Your duty is done." "You have given me the official line." "But what about you, Ari?" "Forget Haganah for one moment, and tell me what you think." "I think these bombings and these killings hurt us with the United Nations." "A year ago we had the respect of the whole world." "Now, when they read about us, it's nothing but terror and violence." "It's not the first time this happens in history." "I don't know of one nation, whether existing now or in the past... that was not born in violence." "Terror, violence, death." "They are the midwives who bring free nations into this world." "Compromisers like the Haganah produce only abortions." "Before you have a country, you have to have people." "That's the job we've done." "Tens of thousands of people smuggled in... with the whole British Navy blockading the coast." "The population we've built is our most valid argument for independence." "How can we ask the UN for a just decision... when we keep blowing up things like a bunch of anarchists?" "You have just used the words "a just decision."" "May I tell you something?" "Firstly... justice itself is an abstraction... completely devoid of reality." "Second, to speak of justice and Jews in the same breath... is a logical uncertainty." "Thirdly... one can argue the justice of Arab claims on Palestine... just as one can argue the justice of Jewish claims." "Fourthly... no one can say the Jews have not had... more than their share of injustice these past 10 years." "I therefore say, fifthly... let the next injustice work against somebody else for a change." "You just changed the subject on me." "You noticed." "I suppose that means more bombings and more killings?" "I'll put it this way." "Let the National Committee keep on trying to talk the British out of Palestine." "We have no objections." "We will continue to bomb them out." " Now tell me, how is your mother?" " She's fine." "And little Jordana?" "Little Jordana just won her second marksmanship medal with the Palmach." "And that young rascal, David Ben Ami, she's still interested?" "She can't wait till he gets back from Cyprus." "And Barak... still counts my name among the dead on Yom Kippur?" "Ten years." "It's a long time to be dead to the only family you have." "Doesn't he understand I must work for Israel in my way... just as he works for it in his?" "You can't talk to him about it." "I've tried." "Of course." "It's not much of a home, is it?" "With only Rose's samovar to make a memory real." "Every time I come home, I stop here to look for a minute." " You want to look with me?" " Sure." "It's beautiful!" "The Valley of Jezreel." "If you dug straight down far enough there, you'd find the ruins of Meggido." "You'd find the very same paving stones that Joshua walked on when he conquered it." "That's Abu Yesha." "That's an Arab village." "To the left is Gan Dafna." " Do you know your Bible?" " In a Presbyterian sort of way." "That's Mount Tabor." "I remember." "Where Deborah gathered her armies." "That's where she stood when she watched Barak march out to fight the Canaanites." ""So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and 10,000 men with him."" "It's in the Book of Judges." "The Canaanites had 900 iron chariots... but Barak had men." "3,200 years ago." "That's when the Jews first came to this valley." "It wasn't just yesterday or the day before." "Isn't your father's name Barak?" "In Russia, he was Yakov Rabinski." "But when he came here, he took the name of Deborah's general." "He called himself Barak Ben Canaan." "Barak, the son of Canaan, and this valley became a Jewish land once again." "He can give you the date every clump of trees was planted there, to the month." "Don't get excited." "We're not debating now." "I'll grant anything you say." "I just wanted you to know that I'm a Jew." "This is my country." "I do know." "I understand." "Sometimes it's not that easy." "It's the easiest thing in the world, Ari." "All these differences between people are made up." "People are the same, no matter what they're called." "Don't ever believe it." "People are different." "They have a right to be different." "They like to be different." "It's no good pretending the differences don't exist, they do." "They have to be recognized and respected." "I recognize them." "I respect them." "Don't you understand that you make me feel like a Presbyterian... when you can't, for just a minute or two, forget that you're a Jew?" "You're wrong, Ari." "There are no differences." "Ari, my boy." "Papa, this is Mrs. Fremont." "Shalom, Mr. Ben Canaan." "Welcome to Yad EI, Mrs. Fremont." "If you'll excuse me, I will tell your mother." "Mama!" " Mama, where are you?" " I'm here, Barak." " Have you hurt yourself?" " No." "Ari is home." " Ari?" " He's downstairs!" "Wait a minute." " He's got a girl with him." " A girl?" " An American girl." " How do you know she's American?" "Sarah, I travel." "I can recognize national types." " What is her name, Barak?" " Mrs. Fremont." "Mrs?" "So, where is her husband?" " Why does she go chasing after my Ari?" " Whether she's chasing him, I don't know." "If you ask me, "Is Ari chasing her?" Frankly, that is a possibility." "For you maybe." "Not for my Ari." "Better stop talking like a goat." "My Ari comes home and there's not a thing in the house to eat, not a bite." "Hello!" "Rebecca." "Now, say "ah."" "Yes?" " What a nice surprise." " Tell my daughter, Jordana." "Of course." "No trouble at all." "There." "You're all right." "Jordana, your brother Ari is at Yad EI, I just spoke to your papa." "Ari?" "Take this for me." "Now, young ladies and gentlemen... can you give me a little style?" "It's not fair keeping David in Cyprus so long." "He could be doing something just as important right here in Palestine." "That's exactly what he says." "But he tells me in his letter that he may be gone another year." "I know Haganah would call him back, if you would only use your influence." "Any girl that falls in love with a Palestinian boy has a long wait coming." " A nice piece of strudel, Mrs. Fremont?" " I couldn't." "Mrs. Fremont, you're a very pretty girl, but you could stand a little weight on you." "Also your colour is not too good." "If it wasn't for me, David wouldn't be in Cyprus working for Haganah." "He wanted to join the Irgun." "You know that." "I saw Uncle Akiva in Jerusalem." "He sends you his love." "You will not mention that name in my house." "Father, he's all alone." " He wants to forget what happened..." " To me, he is dead." "At this moment when the very existence of a free Israel hangs by a thread... before the UN, he presents us to the world like a bunch of murderers!" " He has a right to do..." " He is dead!" "I don't remember his name, I don't remember his face, he is dead!" "Barak." "I have to get to Gan Dafna, now." "That is if you are ready, Mrs. Fremont?" " You should see it before dark." " Sorry you have to leave so soon." " Maybe I'll wrap your strudel." " No, don't bother." "Goodbye, Mrs. Ben Canaan." "And thank you for the good food." "Bye." "I hope you'll come back soon." "The next time maybe a little hungrier." " Goodbye." " Goodbye." "Barak, you should be ashamed of yourself, in front of a stranger." "And do you know something else?" "I've been elected to the Rooms Committee, Bungalow 12." " Already?" " Yes." " You remember Edna, the girl with freckles?" " I think so." "She's helping me with Hebrew, so I can catch up with the others." " Hebrew?" " Yes." "We have a language of our own now." "And there's something else, too." "When you're 16, you join the Palmach." "They're soldiers, and everybody joins, also girls." "I didn't show you the statue of Dafna." "She was a young soldier." "The Arabs captured her and they tortured her to find out things from her." "But she wouldn't tell." "So they sent her back to Yad El in a sack tied to the back of a mule." "They cut off her hands and her feet, and they gouged out her eyes." "But she wouldn't tell them anything." " She was very young." " Seventeen." "She and Ari Ben Canaan were in love." "They grew up together." "They were sweethearts all their lives." "That's why Ari never got married." "They named the village after her." "And there's something else, too." "Dr. Lieberman knows my father." "I mean, he's read my father's books." "He knows who my father is." "That's wonderful." " We have to go to supper now." " I'm sorry, I couldn't eat a thing." " I had too much at Yad EI." " Then I'll come back afterwards." "You're just going to love it here, Kitty." "What's the matter?" "You act like a stranger." "I feel like one." "I guess I'd feel the same way, too, if I suddenly found myself in Indiana." "You just don't understand us yet." "Stop saying that." "I can understand just as well as you can." "I didn't come here to fight with you." "I have to get to Jerusalem." "I came to say goodbye." "Ari." "What?" "I had an accident on the road today." "It wasn't your fault... but I'm going to drive more carefully from now on." " You don't really mean that." " I do." "You were right." "We are different." "I've been feeling the difference all afternoon." "I feel... outside." "The way your mother and father..." "They were perfectly charming, I don't mean that, but... the way they looked at me, the way your sister talks to me..." "It doesn't make any sense to discuss it, no sense at all." "If it doesn't make any sense to discuss it, we'll just forget it." "If I get any word on the girl's father, I'll let you know." "Goodbye." "Goodbye." " Hello." " Hello." "How have you been?" " Fine, thank you." " Hello." "Karen, you do understand that it's been a long time since you've seen him." "He may have changed so much, you won't recognize him." " I'll recognize him." " Good." " Doctor?" " Yes?" " Dr. Engel, Mrs. Fremont." " Good day." " And Karen." " How do you do?" " The young lady understands, does she not?" " Yes, we told her everything." "That's good." "I'll just be a moment." "He's tired." "The King David Hotel." "Able Baker 2." "Message." "Over." "Able Baker 5." "Code word, "Nelson." Out." "The whole of the south wing... of the King David Hotel has been completely destroyed." "Eighty-three bodies have been recovered so far, and the search continues." "A 9:00 curfew has been ordered for all Jews." "Stand by for further..." "You have done a good job." "They were given three warnings, and they laughed." "If they want their own people slaughtered, we will oblige them." "Let's get you some food." "First I must wash up." "150 wounded British..." "The fire is now under control." "The number of dead has risen to 91." "Hands up!" "You're under arrest!" "Get up." "Sergeant, you take on the door." "You and you search the grounds." "You round the back." "You come with me." "You look in the cupboards." "You stay here." "We'll find him." "He can't have left the compound." "The Military Court of Jerusalem has found Akiva Ben Canaan..." "Benno Bronstein and Ludwig Zimmer... guilty according to Section 58 of the emergency regulations of 1946." "They will be transported forthwith to the military prison of Acre." "There, two weeks from date of sentence, they shall be hanged by the neck until dead." "May God have mercy on your souls." "Get him ready, sir?" "Akiva Ben Canaan." "Visitor." "Communication centre." "You have?" "I'll take it down." "Hold on." "Barak Ben Canaan." "God, don't let my brother die... at the end of a British rope." " Shalom." " Shalom." "I thought you were on Cyprus, David Ben Ami." "I've been called back." "You shouldn't have brought them here, Yoav." "You not only risk our lives, the Druze here in this village trust us." "There's danger not only from the British, the Arabs will slaughter the village." "He insisted on talking to you, and I have orders... from Akiva that Ari Ben Canaan may see us any time he wants to." "Well, you're here." "What do you want?" "The UN may vote on Partition by the end of the month." "We listen to the radio also." "Half the leadership of Irgun and 40 members of Haganah... are rotting down there in Acre prison." " Including Akiva, your uncle." "So?" "If Partition is voted, we'll need every man to fight the Arabs." "Irgun, Haganah, what difference does it make?" "I spent 14 months in that prison." "I know every inch." "I can show you..." "That town is surrounded by 10,000 British soldiers." "8,400. 1,600 are pulling out tomorrow for Jerusalem." "Acre isn't a prison, it's a fortress." "It hasn't been successfully attacked since the Crusades." "He picks a place in the middle of an Arab city, surrounded by the British Army... and says to us, "Go fight."" "Napoleon bombarded it for 61 days." "Napoleon didn't have 93 men inside." "You have." " What about the 400 Arabs in that prison?" " We waste Irgun blood to free Arabs?" "If you turn 400 Arabs loose, they are going to run in 400 different directions." "Each'll have a detachment of British soldiers on his tail." "I will not listen." "I do not trust anybody from the Haganah." "If we can't trust each other, there'll be no Israel, even if Partition is voted." "Akiva is Ben Canaan's own blood." "This is no trap." "How many Irgun does your plan call for?" "Twenty-six, divided into four attack groups..." " and Dov Landau." " What do you want with Dov Landau?" "Akiva's execution is six days away." "We need a man inside Acre prison by tomorrow night." " Landau must surrender now." " He'll be sentenced to death." "Akiva is your uncle." "Why don't you surrender?" "Because Landau will be sentenced within a few hours... and sent to Acre." "It'd take weeks for me or anyone else." "It must be Landau." "If we can agree on a plan, and if Dov is necessary... and if we can find him, I will give him the choice." "But I will not order him to do it." "Please, tell us what you have in mind." "Stars are British command posts." "Numbers are outside detachments." "Letters are inside groups." "There is a Turkish bath house that adjoins the south prison wall." "Hammam al-Pasha, I know it." "I'll take a man to the first detachment." "You occupy the baths, move to the roof... and dynamite the prison wall here." "Inside groups will move against the yard and the cell gates." " With what?" " Anything we can smuggle in." "Dynamite, gunpowder, grenades." "Now, we move into action simultaneously from the outside and from the inside." "Hey, Moshe!" "Peretz Dresner." "Mrs. Peretz Dresner?" " Is everything in order?" " Okay, Chief." "Coberg." "Cohen." "Morris." " Feuerstein." " Here." " Misra." " Yes." "Bach." "Sorry." "Bedtime." "All right, Bill." "Good boy." "On time." "Stand back!" "Everybody down." "Flat." "Someone placed a fuse." "Come on, in here." "Come on, start climbing." "...the present moment stands at 15 dead... with 251 prisoners still at large, including all of the condemned terrorists." "A network of roadblocks has been set up throughout Palestine... while a house-to-house search is now under way... in Acre and neighbouring Druze villages." "A 7:00 curfew has been proclaimed for Jews." "Standby for further bulletins." "Get down." "Is Akiva hit?" "We are both hit." " Do you want me to slow down?" " No, you must go faster." "Get off the road." "Is the pain bad?" "Mortal wounds give no pain." "I'm already occupied with dying." "Not for a long time, Uncle Akiva." "In this fatal optimism, you are Haganah." "In methodology, you are Irgun." "But in the heart, you are Israel." "Kiss Barak for me." "We must get out of here before they come back." " Are you hurt badly?" " No, I'm all right." "Give me your handkerchief." "You head for Ein Or." "I can get to Gan Dafna from here." " Are you sure?" " I'm sure." "Shalom." "A bulletin. 22 residents of the Druze village of Isfiya... have been arrested for alleged complicity in today's prison revolt at Acre." "Stand by for further bulletins." "A bulletin." "The commandant of Acre Prison has discovered evidence indicating... that the surrender of the notorious Dov Landau... was part of the Irgun plot to organize the uprising from the inside." "Security police are reported closing in on Landau... along the southern approaches to Haifa." "Stand by for further bulletins." "Quiet, please." "I have an announcement." "Arabs from across the border have been infiltrating the valley... for the last three or four nights." "There have been two ambushes." "From now on, no one will leave the village area without permission." "Don't worry about Dov." "If anybody in this world can give them the slip, he'll do it." "I know." "They'll never catch him." "But I just keep thinking how scared he must be right now." " Dov?" " Why, yes." "He gets so scared." "Why, inside, he's just scared all the time." "You know, perhaps later on, we'll be able to get Dov to America, too." "Kitty." "I cannot go to America with you." "I must stay here." "Mrs. Fremont." "Will you come to the hospital right away?" "It's an emergency." "Please, hurry." "A British search party has just turned Yad El upside down." "Mother telephoned." " They must be coming here next." " We're almost finished." "We must get him out of here." "His right lung is punctured." "If he's moved, the chances are 8 to 10 he'll haemorrhage, and that would mean death." "Of course, you're his sister, Jordana." "It's for you to decide." "No stranger has been here." "However, everything is open to you." "We are happy to accommodate." "Sir." "Mr. Coats." " Quite an arsenal they've got piled up here." " Pretty little collection." "What's wrong?" "Nothing's wrong, but you must lie still." "But I'm the only doctor they had." "You can't leave all these children without a doctor." "Don't worry, children, I'll be back." "Dr. Lieberman's been arrested." "They found weapons in Gan Dafna." "Here's the adrenalin, they have no plasma." "How is he?" "I opened the wound." "It's draining." "Will he live?" "I don't know." "His temperature's 102." "If it keeps going down, we may have the infection checked." "If not, it means it's spreading and forming pockets all through the chest cavity." "When the Syrian Arabs murdered my father in his own mosque..." "Ari's father saved my life and my heritage." "Ari and I used to live together in Yad EI." "We shared the same room." "To me, his house was life itself." "Now to think that... my house may become his tomb." "I can't find his pulse." "Norway votes... for Partition." "Pakistan... against." " Who cares?" " How is it now?" "24 for Partition, 9 against, and 8 abstaining." "If we get over the next 4, I think we're in." "Republic of Panama... for." "The Republic of Paraguay... votes... for Partition." "The Republic of Peru... for." "The Philippine Republic votes... for." "We've got two-thirds." "I'm going to announce it!" " But we haven't got the final vote yet." " What's the difference?" "We won!" "The Polish People's Republic votes... for." "Although the vote is not yet complete, I can now tell you... that in 5 months and 16 days from this moment... on May 15... 1948... the British will leave Palestine forever!" "Please, don't make a demonstration yet." "Because I've still to read this statement from the National Committee." ""The final vote of the United Nations on the question of the Partition of Palestine..." ""...into an independent Jewish state and an independent Arab state..." ""...is as follows:" ""33 for..." ""...13 against, 10 abstentions."" "We would wish the hour of parting between us... and England... to be one of honour." "We must record that in most instances..." "British soldiers carried out the unrelenting policy of their government... with tact and compassion." "There are many cases on record of British soldiers and sailors... risking their lives to save Jewish refugees." "And to the Arab population of Jewish Palestine, we make the following appeal:" "The Grand Mufti has asked you either to annihilate the Jewish population... or to abandon your homes and your lands... and to seek the weary path of exile." "We implore you... remain in your homes... and in your shops... and we shall work together as equals... in the free state of Israel!" "What's wrong?" " You've won your freedom." "I've lost mine." " We never had freedom, you or I." "All our lives we've been under British rule." "We'll be equal in the free state of Israel." "The resolution guarantees it." "Guarantees are one thing, reality's another." "They've made my lands and village part of Israel..." "These are still your lands." "They always will be." "I'm a minority." "We've always been friends in this valley, Taha." "Minority, majority, we've proved it makes no difference." "If it makes no difference, why have you fought so hard?" "Because we had hundreds of thousands of people with no other place to go." " Where shall my people go?" " Why should they go anywhere?" "This is their home as well as ours." "Don't you see?" "We have to prove to the world that we can get along together." "If we don't, then the British are right, we cannot govern ourselves without them." "Excuse me." "All our lives we've understood each other and loved each other." "Now, when it means everything, I can't reach him." "You'll make him understand, Ari." "I know you will." "You know, you're wonderful." "I look at you... and I ask myself, what are you doing here in the middle of somebody else's fight?" "You should go back to America." "You've had your civil war." "I'm going to stay." "I'm going to stay as long as you'll have me." "I love you, Kitty." "My father gave them the land upon which Gan Dafna stands." "My children go to school at Gan Dafna." "I am the mukhtar of this village and will not attack." "We know you are the mukhtar." "Understand the Grand Mufti has publicly committed himself... and every Arab man, woman and child to die... rather than accept the partitioning of Palestine." "His Holiness does not recognize the decision of a few elderly gentlemen... at Flushing Meadows, who call themselves the United Nations." "As you are a Moslem, you cannot recognize it either." " What does this have to do with attacking?" " Gan Dafna commands the Jezreel valley." "The Mufti must pass through this valley on his way to Safed." "He's made Safed his provisional capital until the last Jew is exterminated." " There are 650,000 Jews in Palestine." " Temporarily." "The Grand Mufti was our guest in Berlin during the war." "Since I and my group of friends are now his guests... we have placed our experience in handling Jews entirely at his disposal." "I have 80 Arab storm troopers in my command." "You will supply 300 men by tomorrow at midnight to join them." "We will give you the arms." "My people are shepherds and farmers, not fighters." "The 80 men of whom I spoke were trained by myself, personally." "They will see that your villagers fight like lions." "I'm leaving three of my officers and six of my men behind... to assist you in gathering your forces together." "My village is just as well situated to control the valley as Gan Dafna." "Must we slaughter defenceless children for what we don't need?" "We've chosen Gan Dafna because we want a quick victory." "I'm not going to take chances." "Well, you must now excuse me." "I have to deliver a message from the Mufti to the British commander at Fort Esther." "I'm travelling under a flag of truce." "I shall return later." "We'll be your guests tonight." "I understand you have other guests in the house." " A Jewish couple." " The woman is an American." "See to it that they are here when I return." "I wish to interrogate them." "Personally." " Ari, you must leave here right away." " Why?" "Don't ask why." "Leave." "Don't let anyone see you." " Go through the olive grove." " What happened?" "You must evacuate Gan Dafna by midnight tomorrow." " I don't understand." " Don't ask questions, just do it." "If the children aren't out of this valley, they will be butchered like sheep." "If the Mufti's men are in the house or if they're attacking Gan Dafna, tell me." "Haven't I told you enough already?" "Do you want me to dishonour myself completely?" "Goodbye." "They're the same gangsters who murdered your father." " You can't get involved with them." " Ari, I know what I'm doing." "We grew up as brothers." "If there's trouble with the Mufti, let's face it together, as always." "I'll get word to the Palmach." "We'll defend Abu Yesha and Gan Dafna instead of surrendering them." "I cannot do it." "Today, more than ever before, I realize that I'm a Moslem." "I cannot go against my own people." "I cannot kill another Arab." "If you were ever my friend, prove it now by leaving this house." "May Allah watch over you all the days of your life." " Who goes?" " Dov Landau." "I knew they wouldn't catch you." " Who's in charge?" " Jordana Ben Canaan." "Only, she isn't here now." "She went to Fort Esther to try to make them give our guns back." " Have you got headquarters set up here?" " In the dining hall." "Don't hold a Molotov like that." "Here, hold it like this." "We've less than 100 heavy machine guns in the country." "Most of our ammunition isn't accurate beyond 100 yards." "Now, the Palmach have about 6,000 other arms... and the Irgun, another 1,500." " From now on, we work together." " Something coming through." "Haganah Safed calling." ""We've had an Arab uprising in progress since sundown." ""We have 40 rifles..." ""...42 homemade Stens..." ""...one machine gun and one mortar..." ""...plus handmade grenades." ""We still hold the centre of the city..." ""...but we're heavily outnumbered."" " Ari, how are you?" " I'm fine." " How many guns have you got?" " Eight." "And about 180 Molotovs." "The British confiscated the rest." "I know." "I heard." "Jordana went to Fort Esther to try to get them back." "There's a detachment of Palmachs on the way." "But the Jerusalem road has been cut in a dozen places." "I sneaked ahead to let you know." "The order is for every kibbutz and moshav and village to fight to the end." "Nothing's to be surrendered." " Is the transmitter working?" " Yes." "Then send this:" ""Gan Dafna expects an attack in force by tomorrow night." ""If the Palmach is on the way, tell them to hurry." ""We have 300 children here and eight guns."" "That's all." "Keep on sending that." "The commander refuses to return our weapons." "He said it would only provoke violence." "And he won't interfere in local problems, except to punish troublemakers." "I suppose that means us, if we try to defend ourselves." "They must know that the whole border's alive with armed Arabs." "I think the Mufti's men have taken over Abu Yesha." "Taha warned us to evacuate here before midnight tomorrow." "How many children do we have here under 13?" "About 150." "We'll have to get them to Beth Amal tonight... and secretly, so the Arabs don't know." "We'll go around the valley instead of through it." "That's near the border, but we must risk it." "We'll go through Ein Or and down the other side of Mount Tabor." "You can't go down the other side of Tabor in daytime, much less at night." "You'll kill half of them." "I'd rather lose half of them there than all of them here." "With luck we'll be back by sunrise." "That means the older children must handle things until we get back." " What if they attack tonight?" " That's a risk we'll have to take." "Dov, you organize outside the fence." "Jordana, you take the inner area." "Make it look as though we've got 1,000 people here." "Let's get to work." "Get dressed." "Hurry up." "Get up, get dressed." "Report to the dining hall." "Will you help me?" "I want you to stay here." "If anything happens, they'll need a nurse." "Have you forgotten every 15-year-old girl in Gan Dafna... is a nurse, and a good one?" "Stay here, anyway." "I don't want you mixed up in this." "Either I'm with you, or I'm not with you." "This is your choice, and this is the time to make it, right now." "All right, you come along, then." "That's a Haganah order." "Now..." "I want you to walk two by two, holding hands so that nobody gets lost." "We're going very close to the border." "So from when we leave... until the time we get to Beth Amal, nobody says a word." "Nobody coughs, nobody sneezes, nobody cries, nobody even whispers." "Do you understand?" " Will you promise?" " We will." " No, say it." " We promise." " Not one word." " Not one word." "Mr. Ben Ami, how many men did you bring?" "Only two to a truck, but from the outside it looks like an army." "Where is Jordana?" "David!" "I'm so glad to see you." " Halt!" "Stay where you are." " It's me, Dov." "Watch out." " What are you doing out here?" " Sixty Palmachniks just came." " I know, I heard the trucks." " So you can come back now." "No, I don't go back until somebody relieves me of this position." "Stay down." "There are Arabs out there." "Ari said they won't attack until tomorrow night." "I killed one about three hours ago." "Down there." "Dov... you have a beautiful name." "Sometimes I whisper it to myself." " You'd better go back." " When you do." "I'm 15 years old now." " I'm not little anymore." " You shouldn't have come here in the first place." "But, Dov, you're always fighting." "And you're always in a place where you might be killed." "If anything should happen to you before I told you how much I love you..." "I just wouldn't want to live anymore." "Please, love me." "I'm not afraid." "Honest, I'm not." "When things are all over, I'm going to marry you." "You'll be Mrs. Dov Landau." "You're going to have respect." " They will tip their hats when you go by." " And I will smile." " I told you to go back twice already." " Dov!" "From now on, you do what I say." "You understand?" "Now, keep down." "Be careful." "Take cover wherever you can." "Shalom, Dov." "I've come to relieve you." " Is Ari back?" " Yes." "He got the children safely to Beth Amal." "It's been very quiet the last few hours." "Shalom." "Shalom." "We are going to attack Abu Yesha before they move." "Good." "We'll never be stronger than we are right now." " Have you seen Karen?" " I sent them all to bed hours ago." " What's my assignment?" " Patrol Gan Dafna while we move out." "Let's be sure they don't surprise us while we surprise them." "David will jump them from behind... and my group will attack directly through the olive grove." "David, you'd better take Jordana with you, she knows the village." "Nothing seems to be moving over there." "The muezzin hasn't called for the morning prayers, either." "Cover us." "Somebody come and help me cut him down." "What's the matter?" "This is Taha... mukhtar of Abu Yesha." "And this is Karen..." "Secretary of the Rooms Committee, Bungalow 12, Gan Dafna." "We have no kadi... to pray for Taha's soul." "And we have no rabbi... to pray over Karen." "Taha should have lived a long life... surrounded by his people and his sons." "And death should have come to him... as an old friend... offering the gift of sleep." "It came, instead, as a maniac." "And Karen, who loved her life... and who lived it as purely as a flame, why did God forget her?" "Why did she have to stumble onto death so young?" "And all alone?" "And in the dark?" "We of all people... should no longer be surprised when death reaches out to us." "With the world's insanity and our own slaughtered millions... we should be used to senseless killing." "But I am not used to it." "I cannot and will not get used to it." "I look at these two people, and I want to howl like a dog." "I want to shout "murder"... so that the whole world will hear it and never forget it." "It's right that these two people should lie side by side in this grave... because they will share it in peace." "But the dead always share the earth in peace." "And that's not enough." "It's time for the living to have a turn." "A few miles from here, people are fighting and dying... and we must join them." "But I swear... on the bodies of these two people... that the day will come when Arab and Jew will share... in a peaceful life... this land that they have always shared in death." "Taha, old friend... and very dear brother." "Karen... child of light... daughter of Israel..." "Shalom."