| General Fiction posted May 23, 2024 |
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the story behind the story
The Unknown Exodus
by jim vecchio
Today with the Information Highway at our fingertips, and instant anything, many of us have the teeniest of attention spans.
There are some who have actually sat through the 1960 movie, Exodus, and felt they learned something from it. Even in its day, there were those who couldn’t bear the length of the Otto Preminger-directed film. There is a story that comedian Mort Sahl stood up three hours into a showing of the film and yelled out, “Otto, Let my people go!”
There are also those who read the 600-odd page book. Perhaps some of the more…explicit sexuality…kept them going.
Anyhow, neither the book nor the film adequately captured the novel by Leon Uris. To Otto’s credit, he did hire Uris as a screenwriter, but then fired him and brought in, unashamedly, Dalton Trumbo, the infamous blacklisted writer, to do the film.
Though the ending was a departure from the novel, let me forewarn those who plan to see the movie, have some hankies ready for that scene. Paul Newman, in my opinion, has his best scene at that point.
The movie purportedly was the story of God’s people, exiled into many lands, finally assembling and demanding the home that God granted them.
Paul Newman starred as Ari Ben Canaan, who was able to commandeer a ship and gather hundreds of Jews onboard for a trip to their land.
It may surprise you to know, this was a fictional character.
The historical figure Paul represented did not have his name or legacy mentioned in the work.
That man was Yossi Harel. A name everyone should know, but precious few, do.
To shorten a long and hard period of History, Britain controlled Palestine.
Yossi Harel conducted clandestine operations that served to deliver 24,000 Jewish people to their homeland. He commanded four large ships, including the one mentioned in the movie, the Exodus.
Not noted in the movie was that Exodus never made it to its destination. The American merchant vessel, President Warfield, was in deplorable shape and about to be scrapped. It was secretly purchased and transformed, such as it was into the Exodus 1947.
As loudspeakers blasted out Israel’s National Anthem, British forces blasted into Eternity three passengers and injured hundreds of others.
Most were taken to a Nazi S.S. camp.
However, this did bring much attention to the cause of God’s people. A situation largely denied by United States press, including the Old Grey Lady.
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations finally agreed to end British possession of the land and allowed passage of God’s people to their state.
Yossi Harel took part in many other brave accomplishments.
He spoke in La Jolla, California, in 2005.
A portion of his words: “With all these casualties, they kept coming, they didn’t stop,” he said. “A nation destroyed was coming back to life.”
In 2008, at the age of 90, in his home at Tel Aviv, he went to The Lord he had served so well.
Teach Me Something writing prompt entry
Today with the Information Highway at our fingertips, and instant anything, many of us have the teeniest of attention spans.
There are some who have actually sat through the 1960 movie, Exodus, and felt they learned something from it. Even in its day, there were those who couldn’t bear the length of the Otto Preminger-directed film. There is a story that comedian Mort Sahl stood up three hours into a showing of the film and yelled out, “Otto, Let my people go!”
There are also those who read the 600-odd page book. Perhaps some of the more…explicit sexuality…kept them going.
Anyhow, neither the book nor the film adequately captured the novel by Leon Uris. To Otto’s credit, he did hire Uris as a screenwriter, but then fired him and brought in, unashamedly, Dalton Trumbo, the infamous blacklisted writer, to do the film.
Though the ending was a departure from the novel, let me forewarn those who plan to see the movie, have some hankies ready for that scene. Paul Newman, in my opinion, has his best scene at that point.
The movie purportedly was the story of God’s people, exiled into many lands, finally assembling and demanding the home that God granted them.
Paul Newman starred as Ari Ben Canaan, who was able to commandeer a ship and gather hundreds of Jews onboard for a trip to their land.
It may surprise you to know, this was a fictional character.
The historical figure Paul represented did not have his name or legacy mentioned in the work.
That man was Yossi Harel. A name everyone should know, but precious few, do.
To shorten a long and hard period of History, Britain controlled Palestine.
Yossi Harel conducted clandestine operations that served to deliver 24,000 Jewish people to their homeland. He commanded four large ships, including the one mentioned in the movie, the Exodus.
Not noted in the movie was that Exodus never made it to its destination. The American merchant vessel, President Warfield, was in deplorable shape and about to be scrapped. It was secretly purchased and transformed, such as it was into the Exodus 1947.
As loudspeakers blasted out Israel’s National Anthem, British forces blasted into Eternity three passengers and injured hundreds of others.
Most were taken to a Nazi S.S. camp.
However, this did bring much attention to the cause of God’s people. A situation largely denied by United States press, including the Old Grey Lady.
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations finally agreed to end British possession of the land and allowed passage of God’s people to their state.
Yossi Harel took part in many other brave accomplishments.
He spoke in La Jolla, California, in 2005.
A portion of his words: “With all these casualties, they kept coming, they didn’t stop,” he said. “A nation destroyed was coming back to life.”
In 2008, at the age of 90, in his home at Tel Aviv, he went to The Lord he had served so well.
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Writing Prompt Everybody knows something that not everybody knows! Choose something interesting or unusual that you know a bit about and craft it into an informative article. It could be related to: Your job or hobby or passion A location where you've lived or visited A how-to guide for a process Something you researched for your own interest The sky's the limit for this informational exchange. No poetry No stories (ex. Don't tell us about your vacation but rather something you learned/observed while on it) No word limit, but articles and attention spans are generally maxed out by 1000 words. Nonfiction. Don't make it up! |
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