Persian Realm

The Late Paul Newman in the Classic Otto Preminger Movie EXODUS (1960) about the Birth of the State of Israel and its Struggle to Survive. Based on the Best Seller Book by Leon URIS and a screenplay by Dulton Trumbo (Spartacus).

Plot:

The theme is the founding of the state of Israel. The action begins on a ship filled with Jewish immigrants bound for Israel who are being off loaded on Cyprus. An Intelligence officer succeeds in getting them back on board their ship only to have the harbor blocked by the British with whom they must negotiate. The second part of the film is about the situation in Israel as independence is declared and most of their neighbors attack them.

World War II, the life of the Jewish nation is uncertain. The United Nations is contemplating taking a vote on creating a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Until then, many Jews are exiled from much of Europe - especially Germany - and as they have no where to go, they are sent to detention camps among other places Cypress. Ari Ben Canaan, a Palestinian Jew, wants to smuggle as many Jews as possible into Palestine. In his mind, the easiest way to influence the United Nations vote is by sheer numbers residing in Palestine. Ari commandeers a ship with 600 Jews, and after some obstacles, manages to make it to Palestine. Ari grew up in a mixed Arab/Jewish community in Palestine. His best childhood friend, Taha, is Arab and is now leader of the Arab section of the community. Regardless of the United Nations vote, the road to Ari's dream of a peaceful Jewish homeland in Palestine will be a difficult one because despite his own model community, extremist factions, both on the Jewish side and the anti-Zionist side, will never see living together in peace and advocate violence to achieve their own ends. Within this fray is widowed American nurse, Kitty Fremont. Kitty is initially naive about the conflict and hostile toward Ari's means of achieving his goals. However, she ultimately falls in love with him and with his dream despite their religious and cultural differences.

The Music Score  "THE EXODUS SONG: This Land is Mine":

By Andre Rieu and his Orchestra:

By Andy Williams:

ON PAUL NEWMAN:

Iranians mourned Paul Newman on Sunday in a rare instance of adoration of cinema trumping ideological and political differences By Darius KADIVAR (PersianMirror)

Recommended Readings:

The 'Tehran Children' was a group of about one thousand Jewish children, most of them orphans, who reached Palestine through Iran in February 1943. See Photos and Article

Iranian Diaspora Intelligentsia Unite Against Islamic Republic's Holocaust Revisionism By Darius KADIVAR

Esther's Children: A Portrait of Iranian Jews by Houman Sarshar

Signed, sealed & delivered by Fereydoun Hoveyda. The former diplomat participated in the drafting and voting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.