Daniel, Clifton. "CYPRUS JEWS CLING TO PALESTINE HOPE :British Rush Camp Expansion, Act to Ease Life for Those Still Eying Promised Land. " New York Times (1857-Current file) [New York, N.Y.] 20 Aug. 1946, 1-2. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2004). ProQuest. University of Pennsylvania library. 9 Apr. 2008
In his article, Clifton Daniel describes the conditions of the temporary refugee camps for holocaust survivors. While there is a lack of water, appropriate food, and other resources, the Jewish people still hold hope they can soon immigrate to Palestine. After World War II, Jews who didn’t go back to Europe or couldn’t immigrate elsewhere were frequently sent to refugee camps under British control in Cyprus. Under the quota system only 1500 Jews were able to enter Palestine each month and the article describes the process as long and grueling because many of the refugees could not leave Cyprus for six months. Under terrible conditions, some of the Jewish people took leadership roles to create new communities and become somewhat autonomous. Additionally, Daniel goes on to describe violence in Palestine as the Irgun, a militant Jewish organization, bombed a railway in response to the ordered death of eighteen Jews by the British.
Daniel’s approach to describing the conditions in the refugee camps seems to perfectly emulate those in the movie. In fact, some of the British soldiers in the movie mention that they do not enter the camps and allow the Jewish people to keep to their own. They feel that the Jewish Refugees are not only able to handle the situation, but prefer to live without any outside interference. The extreme difficulties in the camp along with a strong desire to enter Palestine and start a new country seems to be evident in both the article and movie. The struggle between British laws and Jewish ambitions is demonstrated throughout the historical analysis of the article and visual effects presented by Exodus. In the movie, Ari continuously struggles to side-step British laws and bring Jewish refugees illegally into Palestine. The overwhelming similarities give credibility to the movie as providing a realistic story.


