Paul Newman: Zionist Dupe

The following is taken from Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2001), Jack G Shaheen's invaluable compendium of almost one thousand films which portray Arabs as Public Enemy #1:

"Exodus (1960), UA, Otto Preminger Productions. Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson, Jill Hayworth, John Derek, Lee J Cobb, Sal Mineo. SP: Dalton Trumbo. D: Preminger. Based on Leon Uris's novel. PALESTINIANS, WORST LIST

"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. '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. Set in Palestine in 1947, Arabs aligned with ex-Nazis commit atrocities against fellow Arabs and non-Arabs. Jews wearing Arab garb terminate Arabs. Westerners and others, such as Hank, a Greek businessman, supply needed weapons, and fight and die for Israel. The movie's only 'good Arab' becomes a dead Arab.

"Scene: An American woman's bad feelings about Jews dissipate. Kitty Fremont (Saint), a widowed nurse from Indiana, is asked to tend Jewish refugees. Kitty balks, saying, 'I don't know anything about them'. 'In what way?' asks a British officer. Admits Kitty, 'Now that you mention it, I can't think. It's just a feeling I get'. Soon, Kitty befriends Israeli nationalist Ari Ben Canaan (Newman). She warns him, 'The Arabs won't let you keep it [Palestine]. 500,000 Jews against 50 million Arabs! You can't win'. When she learns that Arabs will attack, Kitty tells Ari, 'I'm with you!'

*A British soldier tells an Israeli youth, Dov (Mineo), 'Don't wander into the Arab section. Run into one of the Grand Mufti's gangsters [and] they'll kill you, son. They'll slice your throat'.
*Declares British General Sutherland (Richardson), 'The Arabs simply won't keep the peace... The Arabs are fanatic on the subject of Jewish immigration'.
*The camera reveals Jewish refugees aboard the ship, Exodus. They are warned, 'The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who sat out the war as Hitler's guest in Berlin, has met with representatives of the Arab nations to coordinate action against Palestinian Jews in the event partition is granted'.
*The camera reveals Jewish refugees in British detention camps, a 'barbed wire jungle'.
*Aboard the Exodus, the Star of David flutters in the wind. The ship's 611 refugees go on hunger strike. Mothers are willing to sacrifice themselves and their children for freedom in a Jewish state. Cut to a young couple, elderly men playing chess, and violin players.
*Irgun members bomb the King David Hotel. Declares a radio announcer, '91 bodies have been discovered so far'. Throughout, the Irgun terrorists are tagged 'freedom fighters'. Ari Ben Canaan plans to release '93 Jewish prisoners', including those Irgun bombers who ignited the King David Hotel. When an Irgun member asks Ari, 'What about the 400 Arabs in that prison?' Ari quips, 'If you turn 400 Arabs loose they are going to run in 400 different directions'.
*Believing Arabs will attack a Jewish youth camp, 300 children depart. A Jewish soldier is asked about reinforcements, 'How many men did you bring?' Only a few truckloads, but 'from the Arab side it looks like an army'.
*Ari's men enter a Turkish bath; mute Palestinians promptly surrender.
*Ari's father, Barak (Cobb), and a Hagana community leader, cite the Bible, telling General Sutherland 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'.
*Barak 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 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'.
*As Barak dedicates a new kibbutz, he thanks a charitable Arab village leader who donated the land. Next, Taha, the film's token Arab, utters a few words, 'We dwell together as friends. It is natural that we should live in peace'. Cut to Barak. He condemns Arab brutes, explaining that the kibbutz is named after Daphne, a Jewish girl. Daphne 'was a young soldier [only 17]. And the Arabs captured her and they tortured her to find out things from her. But she wouldn't tell. So they sent her back in a sack, tied to the back of a mule. They cut off her hands and feet and they gouged out her eyes'.
*A German wearing a white suit asks Taha to join an attack on a Jewish youth camp. I have '80 Arab storm troopers' under my command, he says. Taha refuses, saying, 'Why must we slaughter defenseless children?'
*Sighs Taha, 'When the Syrian Arabs murdered my father in his mosque, Ari's father saved my life, and my heritage'. Ari warns Taha not to return to his village. Says Taha, 'I am a Moslem; I cannot kill another Arab'. Cut to Taha's body, hanging from a rope, in his deserted Arab village. Painted on a nearby wall, the Star of David.
*At the Jewish camp Dov tells the refugee Karen, 'Stay down, girl, there are Arabs out there'. Later, the Arabs kill young Karen.
*Ari buries in one grave, the Arab, Taha (Derek), and the 15-year old European refugee, Karen (Hayworth). Says Ari, 'The day will come when Arab and Jew will share a peaceful life in this land they have always shared in death'.
*Prior to the Jewish victory, Ari's men say, 'Arabs... have been infiltrating the valley... There have been two ambushes... uprising in progress... We're heavily outnumbered'. Jewish children in the kibbutz are told, 'Arabs have been leaving [their] villages'. At no time does a character say, Jewish troops are terrorizing the Palestinians, forcing them from their homes.
*Never spoken in this movie are these words: 'Palestinian', 'Palestinian Arabs', 'Palestinian village', 'Palestinian state'. Instead, Exodus' Jews, Arabs, and Westerners say: 'Arab', 'Arab village', and 'independent Arab state'. On two ocassions, the phrase, 'Palestinian Jews' is mentioned." (pp 189-191)

Shaheen's new book is Guilty - Hollywood's Verdict on Arabs after 9/11.