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Kitty represents the neutral American gentile who does not understand the Jewish people or their struggle, and doesn’t care to. Uris admits to writing Exodus explicitly from the Jewish perspective, as a persuasive work. His argument is largely aimed at American gentiles because of the vital role America plays in supporting Israel politically and financially. Thus, the character of Kitty Fremont is a vehicle to prove that, while most American gentiles may feel that the Israelis’ struggle is not theirs, everyone should see the urgency of the Jewish cause. Kitty begins the story totally wrapped up in her own life. She is still running away from the trauma of losing her husband and daughter within a month of one another. When she sees Karen for the first time, her heart goes out to the girl, but her actions are selfish. She sees in Karen an opportunity to get her old, simple American life back. Kitty’s involvement in the struggle for Israeli independence is therefore incidental for much of the novel. She is there for Karen, Kitty tells herself, and once Israeli independence is achieved, she and Karen can go to America and live in middle class bliss.
Without fully realizing it, Kitty’s bond with Israel and the people there grows, and eventually the Israelis’ struggle becomes her own. Again without being cognizant of it, Kitty’s past trauma is what initially connects her to Karen, Ari, and indeed the broader Jewish community. A privileged, middle-class gentile from America might be prone to brush off the Israeli conflict as a far-away fight between people that have nothing to do with them. But Kitty’s experience with grief and tragedy connects her to the Israelis in a fundamental way. Just like Ari and the freedom fighters, Kitty wants nothing more than to live in peace and raise a family in her home country. But also like many of the Jewish people in the story, outside events have torn the possibility of peace from her. This is the common ground that ultimately brings Kitty into the struggle. She finds that the Jewish people's struggle for peace is a universal one that all people can relate to, and one that she finds meaning in devoting her life to.
