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Summary
Chapter Six
Ari knows an attack Gan Dafna is coming. The one factor in his favor is that Kassi has no formal military training, and his attack will be predictable. He bases his defense on this knowledge. When Kassi and his troops arrive, they are confused by the quiet of Gan Dafna. Kassi finally attacks and the strategically placed land mines force the enemy into a funnel. The battle is intense, and the Jewish people repel the Arab forces. Zev tries to take Fort Esther, even though this was not in the plan. He gets caught in barbed wire and is used as bait for more Jewish forces, but they are too disciplined to fall into the trap. Ari gets close enough to throw him a pinned grenade and Zev kills himself and several of Kassi’s men when they come out of the fort and surround him.
Chapter Seven
The siege in Safed begins the day after the partition vote. Although the Arab forces have all the strategic parts of the city, the untrained cabalists refused to leave. Ari slips Joab and fifty of the Palmach into the city. Ari gives a desperate Joab a weapon called the Davidka, the little David. Once the Jewish people figure out how to use the weapon, it is used to take Safed. The first few Jewish victories create Arab refugees.
A plane full of ammunition lands and Jewish people start racking up victories. The Arab Legion announces it will retreat and moves for the Lebanese border with no one chasing them. Abdul Kadar is killed, and the Arab forces lose their one trained commander.
Chapter Eight
During their intense battles, the guerrilla forces of Haganah have become an organized army. They fight with their knowledge of past battles and learn more with each conflict. In spring of 1948, the British leave. On May 14th, 1948, World Zionists and leaders of the Yishuv meet and publicly declare the independent Jewish state of Israel. They extend their hands in peace and welcome immigrants from all over the world. Surrounding Arab countries immediately send forces to the Israeli border.
Chapter Nine
Egyptian, Syrian, Iraqi, and Saudi Arabian forces attack Israel. Again, Israelis are able to hold strategic positions they were expected to lose. The irregulars take the Old City of Jerusalem and the Arab Legion breaks promises that it made to the Israelis. In the chaos, Maccabees open fire on civilians in the city of Neve Sadij, bringing a terrible blight upon the new nation. The fighting goes on for weeks, but the Israelis manage to hold the Sea of Galilee, Tel Aviv, and Western Galilee. Military experts all over the world are stunned by what they see playing out in Israel. Even during all the turmoil, the Israelis continue to establish new settlements.
Analysis
Ari is quiet and practical in the wake of Kassi’s attack on Gan Dafna, which irritates Kitty. The Israelis have won yet another unlikely tactical victory, but Zev’s zealous attempt to take Fort Esther led to his death. Kitty is angered when Ari cannot show any emotion over the death of his young friend. This scene highlights how even though Kitty has spent a good deal of time in Palestine, she still does not fully understand how the mind of a battle-worn Israeli works. Ari does mourn his friend, but not in the way that is not familiar to Kitty, so she does not approve of it. She wants Ari to weep for Zev and his young wife, but Ari knows that Zev died fighting for Israel, which is a perfectly acceptable and honorable death for young Israelis in the throes of claiming their freedom. The interaction is upsetting for both Ari and Kitty because their worldviews are so fundamentally different.
The small, untrained citizenry of the Jewish quarter of Safed make the bold decision to stay and fight to the last man, from the first day the city comes under siege. For decades, the people of the city have run every time there was aggression by the Arab people, and this time they will not run. This decision is typical of the Israelis during the war and shows just how important the idea of a country they can call their home is to them. Despite their bookish, peaceful ways, the small, ultra-religious population of Safed is just as dedicated to their freedom as all the other Israelis. Illustrating the stalwart dedication of the Jewish people, Uris reports that even while the meager army somehow manages to defend its quarter, school classes continue on time for the children, their newspaper continues to be published, and the people regularly attend synagogue. With the help of Little David, a weapon that represents the David-and-Goliath myth of the fierce and principled underdog, the Jews of Safed are victorious. More than just a strategic location, Safed becomes a symbol of great defiance.
In the six months since the UN vote in favor of partition, the Israelis have defended their land from the enemies that surround them with a relatively tiny army and barely any weaponry to speak of. It seems almost impossible to believe, and many wonder whether or not the Jewish effort has been blessed with divine intervention. But the reality is that the Israelis have something that the Arab people do not: an unshakeable belief that they are fighting for the very right of Jewish people to exist at all. In the climax of the novel, the Jews of Palestine declare their independent State of Israel on May 14, 1948, and the statement is read over the radio. It is a statement that helps to explain the necessity of a Jewish State, as well as the seemingly inexplicable success of the ragtag Israeli forces. By detailing the Jewish people's exile from their homeland thousands of years ago, the centuries of brutal oppression, and their successful efforts to reclaim the land and revive the Hebrew language, David Ben Gurion’s statement provides context for the world to understand the importance of this event. It is both a presentation of the Jewish case for Israel’s existence and a rallying cry for Jewish people all over the world. Ben Gurion also extends the rhetorical hand of peace to Arab people to build the state of Israel in cooperation with the Jewish people. With this statement, Israel seeks to announce itself on the world stage and hopes to shore up sympathies among the nations of the world.
