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Summary
Chapter One
Barak is in Geneva, trying to get votes for the partition. The vote is akin to a global chess game with countries pledging support and then later pulling it. A test vote is taken, and the Arab nations win. Barak and his teamwork with friendly nations, and the day of the partition vote arrives. There is a victory for the Jewish people. A Jewish state in Palestine has been approved by the UN.
Chapter Two
In the wake of the vote, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the brutal mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin, all vow to crush the Palestinian Jews. A holy war is declared, and the attacks begin. The British begin their withdrawal, leaving the Israelis to defend their nation alone. The United States refuse to arm either side. Haj Amin, with the help of Kawukji, grow their already large armies. Kawukji gathers an army of Iraqi “irregulars” made up of thieves, murderers, and robbers. They are joined by Abdul Kadar, the most talented commander from the Arab side. The British refuse to patrol the road between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as the cities run low on supplies.
Ari is given command of Huleh Valley which is not ideal, because he’s still recovering. The valley is important strategically and would give the Palestinian Arabs a huge advantage. He worries that as soon as the real fighting begins, the Arab forces will realize how ill-prepared the Israelis are and there will be bloodshed across the settlements. David tells Ari that he has to go to Abu Yesha and talk to Taha. Kawukji’s men are coming in through this village.
Chapter Three
It’s Christmas Eve and Karen goes on guard duty at Gan Dafna. Dov returns and tells her he no longer wants only to kill; he also does not want to die. A changed man, he finally shares his emotions.
Kawukji’s irregulars and the Syrians start attacking Jewish people in earnest. Safed and Jerusalem begin suffering food and water shortages. Then, Fort Esther is turned over to the Arab forces when it was supposed to go to the Jewish people. Ari goes to British Major Hawks, who made the decision. Hawks feels terrible when he realizes this leaves the children of Gan Dana vulnerable. Ari offers him a way to ease his conscience, telling him to go to Gan Dafna and make a show of telling Dr. Lieberman he needs to evacuate the village. Hawks complies, and Dr. Lieberman refuses to leave as part of the ruse. Ari allows Arab forces to believe the British have left weapons behind during Hawks’s visit. The bluff pays off, and Gan Dafna is safe for now.
Ari goes to see Taha, who knows the irregulars come through Abu Yesha. Taha says there is nothing he can do. Ari knows that when the British pull out, Mohammed Kassi who is stationed at Fort Esther will tell Taha to block the road going to Gan Dafna. Ari tells Taha that if he doesn’t reject the order, Ari will retaliate. Taha asks for Jordana as a wife, and Ari punches him. Ari immediately regrets losing his temper, as this seals the fate of Gan Dafna.
Chapter Four
Barak is called to France to oversee an arms deal for the Jewish effort in Palestine. A secret plane is acquired, and the transport is planned.
Meanwhile, Kawukji chooses a kibbutz that he thinks will be a sure victory. The Jewish people fight off attack after attack. When they cannot withstand another, it begins pouring rain, bogging the Arab forces in mud. Kawukji sets his sights on Mishmar which will cut off Tel Aviv from Jerusalem. Again, the Jewish people score an unexpected victory. Kawukji summons Mohammed Kassi and tells him he better take Gan Dafna, or he’ll be killed.
Chapter Five
Taha doesn’t stop Mohammed Kassi’s invasion of Abu Yesha and their passage to Gan Dafna. The children of Gan Dafna now live in underground bunkers in anticipation of attack.
The Haganah has told each kibbutz to send its children to Sharon-Tel Aviv for safety, if they choose. In Gan Dafna, it’s decided that the small children will be smuggled out. Ari’s plan is for two hundred and fifty men to each carry one child down the mountain at night. Kitty and Jordana work with the others to drug the children so that they can be carried to safety.
Kitty admires Jordana’s efficiency and stamina during the mission. After the men leave, Jordana says that they are in God’s hands now. In the morning, they get word that the children are safe.
Analysis
Uris describes the partition vote as an uphill battle for the Jewish people. The midtown Manhattan apartment that serves as headquarters for the delegates is just as much a battlefield as the villages back in Palestine. The painstaking fight for their freedom is won because Barak and other diplomats know that the odds are not in their favor, and they work tirelessly for it. This situation is no different than so many other instances where the Jewish people have faced adversity and frustration regarding their aims in Palestine. During the deliberations, Barak and his colleagues feel that they have the truth behind them, and this gives them a sense of confidence and optimism. From the perspective of the Jewish people, they have created a fertile, thriving oasis in Palestine while under constant duress, and the Arab people have remained mired in the past. Even when they are victorious, though, the Jewish people know there is no letting up. They must look ahead and prepare themselves for the daunting war that they know will come.
After experiencing so much turmoil, Karen has remained kind and compassionate, and Dov is changed for the better. In Chapter Three, thinking she has lost Dov forever, Karen seems content, even though violence is again swirling around her. When Dov returns, he feels remorse for having stolen items from Gan Dafna to get by before joining the Maccabees. So far, the only emotion Dov has shown is his strong feelings for Karen. The fact that Dov now cares that he has hurt others illustrates how much he has changed. Spending time with Akiva during the last part of Akiva’s life has had a deep impact on the angry and impetuous Dov. Dov takes Akiva’s advice to not be so serious and to enjoy the time he has to heart. Involvement with Akiva’s Maccabees has also allowed Dov to get the anger and violence out of his system. Now, he is committed to making Karen happy and is willing to be open about it. As the war with an unlikely victory for the Jewish people begins in earnest, Karen and Dov embark on an uncertain future in a free Israel.
Many Jewish people ackowledge that the war that is beginning is going to be brutal and destructive on many levels. They will have to face the well-armed and seemingly endless Arab forces that are bearing down on their villages. Even the typically hopeful and positive David becomes morose when considering the dark situation his people are in. When Ari goes to visit Taha, he finds that the situation has turned Taha cold, and Taha unflinchingly refuses to do anything to help Ari. Taha still bears his feelings of being an “other” among the Jewish people, regardless of his history and friendship with Ari. He confirms these feelings when he crudely asks for Jordana to be his wife and Ari responds with anger. Once Taha’s feelings of inferiority for being an Arab man are thus confirmed, he easily rationalizes his lack of loyalty to Ari. The scene highlights a few things. Ari is usually calm to the point of being cold and detached, but Taha’s proposal is enough to make Ari act impulsively and emotionally because it involves his family. It also reveals bias on the part of the Jewish people, as it is unthinkable to Ari that his sister would marry a non-Jewish man. The scene also shows the way this particular war destroys loyalty and relationships. The conflict between the Jewish and Arab people has finally destroyed the unlikely friendship that began a generation before with Barak and Kammal. Now, Ari and Taha are relegated to their respective side of the conflict, considering themselves enemies just like everyone else around them. Ari and Taha’s is a dynamic that plays out in Palestine writ large, with long-term consequences for a future Israel, the Middle East, and international politics.
The mission to get the children of Gan Dafna to safety is chronicled by Uris with precise detail. This attention to detail while carrying out every task, whether it is a battle, or the escape from Acre prison, emphasizes the ability of the Jewish people to focus and carry out difficult maneuvers with accuracy during stressful circumstances. Kitty is beginning to recognize and appreciate these qualities in Jordana now that the two women have called a truce for the sake of their village. Jordana is young, but she shares the same drive, toughness, and skill shown by Ari. Although she is not outwardly religious, Jordana exudes a confidence and calmness that comes from her faith in Eretz Israel and the Jewish mission to recreate their homeland. This faith gives her the exterior of a warrior, though inside she wishes that she could express her emotions. Expressing emotion is something that Jordana feels sabras are not supposed to do. However, while Kitty and Jordana rest after executing the mission to get the children out of Gan Dafna, Jordana lets her guard down and speaks glowingly of David in a rare show of vulnerability. She wishes that she could experience a normal life somewhere else, but also could not bear to be away from her home. Like Ari, Jordana has deep feelings that she constantly pushes down, only showing a strong façade. She is not completely comfortable with her identity as a fearless warrior, but it is also a part of herself that will never die, even if her country eventually experiences peace. This characteristic, portrayed now in Jordana and later in Ari, is one that is shared by all of their fellow countrymen.
