Many of us, including Rabbi Julie, were powerfully influenced by Leon Uris' book Exodus, and by the subsequent movie starring Paul Newman. Exodus was based on a true story of a boat carrying Jewish refugees from the Holocaust being turned away by the British Mandate, which was in control of all Palestine at that time, preventing the refugees from finding safety in Israel. This book and this movie were formative for so many of us, shaping our understanding of the situation in Israel-Palestine. But was the whole story fairly depicted? What were we missing then and how do those gaps inform our views today? Let's join together in a lively exploration of these questions.

Click here for a summary of Leon Uris’ Exodus.

Session Two:  November 24, 2024 – What were we missing? 

The Jewish community is learning now that the story told in the book and film Exodus was not the whole story. We were missing big chunks of truth about Palestinian experiences, about the international context, and about our own history. We will begin to fill in the gaps to have a more honest background on the setting of Leon Uris’ Exodus. Through no fault of our own, most contemporary Jewish people were taught the Exodus narrative again and again in Hebrew school, synagogues, Jewish camps and trips to Israel. Now we are ready to face the truth, which is a complex multiplicity of interests, harms and tragedies and also passionate love of the same land. A better future can emerge only on a foundation of truth.

Zoom information will be provided to LHI Members; guests are most welcome and will need to register to access the Zoom link.

There is no charge for this series, although we suggest a voluntary donation of $18. from guests.

The third session of this series will be held on December 15 at 11:00 AM.  We plan to post recordings of these sessions to our YouTube channel.

Please note: These sessions will not be political debates or discussions about Middle East solutions. Rather we will engage in a deep personal exploration of our Jewish education about Israel, often informed by the book or movie Exodus, and round out the story.