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since Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:04:17.
Exodus: Core Zionist Propaganda -- America Should Get in Bed with Israel
6 min 39 sec - Oct 10, 2007
6 min 39 sec - Oct 10, 2007
Exodus (1960, UA)[1] is practically a course in Zionist הסברה or propaganda. It goes through practically all the standard false claims to justify Zionist Ashkenazi colonization and aggression against the native population of Palestine. The movie leaves out the book's characterizations of Arabs as smelly or dirty, but it does include the de rigueur association of Nazis with the anti-Zionist resistance. In point of fact Labor Zionists themselves tried very hard to work with Nazi Germany and did so fairly effectively until 1939 while al-Hussayni was fairly quickly dispatched to Bosnia, where he did not speak the language, when he finally tried to approach Germany for aid. 
Both the director Otto Preminger and the author Leon Uris had many revisionist associations. Therefore, it is not too surprising that Exodus contains a Jabotinskian or Revisionist justification of Zionist terrorism that in 2002 underscores the hypocrisy of the Israeli and American Ashkenazi reactions to legitimate terrorism against the State of Israel. Like most Hollywood movies that contain the theme of nation creation, the movie ends with a poignant sacrifice for the sake of the nation. Exodus is particularly creative in this regard because one of the martyrs on behalf of Zionism is a Zionist Arab. Exodus is exceptionally explicit in sending the message that the USA should get in bed with Israel.
[1]The following passage is excerpted from Reel Bad Arabs by Jack G. Shaheen.
Exodus (1960), United Artists, Otto Preminger Productions. Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint. Screenplay: Dalton Trumbo. Director: Preminger. Based on Leon Uris's novel.
In the 1950s, when Americans were largely apathetic about Israel, the eminent public relations consultant Edward Gottlieb was called on "to create a more sympathetic attitude" toward the newly established state. And so, he sent Leon Uris to Israel to write a novel, which became the bestseller Exodus. Art Stevens writes, "Uris' novel solidified America's impressions of Israelis as heroes, of Arabs as villains; it did more to popularize Israel with the American public than any other single presentation through the media."
Exodus introduced filmgoers to the Arab-Israel conflict, and peopled it with heroic Israelis and sleazy, brutal Arabs, some of whom link up with ex-Nazis. The movie's only "good Arab" becomes a dead Arab.
Zionist organizations such as Irgun tried to end the British occupation of Palestine through a campaign of attacks, for example, bombing the King David Hotel. Under such pressure, Britain handed the problem off to the UN, and the UN simply handed more than half of Arab-owned Palestinian land for the Zionists to establish a Jewish state. Throughout the film, Jewish nationalists are tagged "freedom fighters"—though with the tables turned today, films follow the Israeli and US governments in denying this label to Palestinian "terrorists" trying similarly to end the Israeli occupation.
Likewise, the film's British, unlike the real British, seem more concerned about Arab than Jewish violence. A British solider tells an Israeli youth, "Don't wander into the Arab section. Run into one of the [Jerusalem] Grand Mufti's gangsters [and] they'll kill you, son. They'll slice your throat." A British General declares, "The Arabs simply won't keep the peace... The Arabs are fanatic on the subject of Jewish immigration."
At no time does a character reveal that Jewish troops are terrorizing Palestinians, forcing them from their homes. Ari's father Barak (Cobb) addresses Jews, saying, "[We] changed these mosquito-infested swamps into such [fertile] fields. On a quiet night you can hear the corn grow... The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem has asked you [Palestinians] to either annihilate the Jewish population or abandon your homes, and your land, and seek the weary path of exile. We [Jews] implore you, remain in your homes and we shall work together as equals in the state of Israel." Ari echoes his father's advice, telling the crowd: "Now, we'll be equal citizens in the free state of Israel. Why should they [the Palestinians] 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?"
Never spoken in this movie are these words: "Palestinian," "Palestinian Arab," "Palestinian village," "Palestinian state." Instead, Exodus Jews, Arabs, and Westerners say: "Arab," "Arab village," and "independent Arab state." On two occasions, the phrase "Palestinian Jews" is mentioned.
In 1937, two-plus decades prior to Exodus, the Ray Film Company's, The Holy Oath, a Yiddish language film with English subtitles advanced a similar "good" Jews and "bad" Arabs theme. Screened in New York City, The Holy Oaths objective was not so much to entertain audiences, rather to muster viewers' support for a worldwide Jewish movement to gain and rebuild Palestine. To engage viewers, The Holy Oath shows Arabs, not Jews, at Jerusalem's wailing wall. Throughout The Holy Oath, the Jewish protagonist declares that God gave this land [Palestine], flowing with milk and honey, to the people of Israel. To illustrate, footage selectively displays Bedouins roaming the sterile cities of Hebron and Jerusalem. Even Eleanor Roosevelt thought the Palestinians were all nomads, so she believed there would be no problems evicting Palestinians from their homes.
