Exodus Page #13

you cannot recognize it either.

- What does this have to do with attacking?

- Gan Dafna commands the Jezreel valley.

The Mufti must pass through this valley

on his way to Safed.

He's made Safed his provisional capital

until the last Jew is exterminated.

- There are 650,000 Jews in Palestine.

- Temporarily.

The Grand Mufti was our guest in Berlin

during the war.

Since I and my group of friends

are now his guests...

...we have placed our experience

in handling Jews entirely at his disposal.

I have 80 Arab storm troopers in my command.

You will supply 300 men

by tomorrow at midnight to join them.

We will give you the arms.

My people are shepherds and farmers,

not fighters.

The 80 men of whom I spoke

were trained by myself, personally.

They will see that your villagers fight like lions.

I'm leaving three of my officers

and six of my men behind...

...to assist you in gathering your forces together.

My village is just as well situated

to control the valley as Gan Dafna.

Must we slaughter defenceless children

for what we don't need?

We've chosen Gan Dafna

because we want a quick victory.

I'm not going to take chances.

Well, you must now excuse me.

I have to deliver a message from the Mufti

to the British commander at Fort Esther.

I'm travelling under a flag of truce.

I shall return later.

We'll be your guests tonight.

I understand you have other guests in the house.

- A Jewish couple.

- The woman is an American.

See to it that they are here when I return.

I wish to interrogate them.

Personally.

- Ari, you must leave here right away.

- Why?

Don't ask why. Leave. Don't let anyone see you.

- Go through the olive grove.

- What happened?

You must evacuate Gan Dafna

by midnight tomorrow.

- I don't understand.

- Don't ask questions, just do it.

If the children aren't out of this valley,

they will be butchered like sheep.

If the Mufti's men are in the house

or if they're attacking Gan Dafna, tell me.

Haven't I told you enough already?

Do you want me to dishonour myself completely?

Goodbye.

They're the same gangsters

who murdered your father.

- You can't get involved with them.

- Ari, I know what I'm doing.

We grew up as brothers.

If there's trouble with the Mufti,

let's face it together, as always.

I'll get word to the Palmach.

We'll defend Abu Yesha and Gan Dafna

instead of surrendering them.

I cannot do it.

Today, more than ever before,

I realize that I'm a Moslem.

I cannot go against my own people.

I cannot kill another Arab.

If you were ever my friend,

prove it now by leaving this house.

May Allah watch over you all the days of your life.

- Who goes?

- Dov Landau.

I knew they wouldn't catch you.

- Who's in charge?

- Jordana Ben Canaan.

Only, she isn't here now.

She went to Fort Esther

to try to make them give our guns back.

- Have you got headquarters set up here?

- In the dining hall.

Don't hold a Molotov like that.

Here, hold it like this.

We've less than 100 heavy machine guns

in the country.

Most of our ammunition

isn't accurate beyond 100 yards.

Now, the Palmach have about 6,000 other arms...

...and the Irgun, another 1,500.

- From now on, we work together.

- Something coming through.

Haganah Safed calling.

"We've had an Arab uprising in progress

since sundown.

"We have 40 rifles...

"... 42 homemade Stens...

"... one machine gun and one mortar...

"... plus handmade grenades.

"We still hold the centre of the city...

"... but we're heavily outnumbered. "

- Ari, how are you?

- I'm fine.

- How many guns have you got?

- Eight.

And about 180 Molotovs.

The British confiscated the rest.

I know. I heard.

Jordana went to Fort Esther

to try to get them back.

There's a detachment of Palmachs on the way.

But the Jerusalem road has been cut

in a dozen places.

I sneaked ahead to let you know.

The order is for every kibbutz and moshav

and village to fight to the end.

Nothing's to be surrendered.

- Is the transmitter working?

- Yes.

Then send this:

"Gan Dafna expects an attack in force

by tomorrow night.

"If the Palmach is on the way, tell them to hurry.

"We have 300 children here and eight guns. "

That's all.

Keep on sending that.

The commander refuses to return our weapons.

He said it would only provoke violence.

And he won't interfere in local problems,

except to punish troublemakers.

I suppose that means us,

if we try to defend ourselves.

They must know that

the whole border's alive with armed Arabs.

I think the Mufti's men have

taken over Abu Yesha.

Taha warned us to evacuate here

before midnight tomorrow.

How many children do we have here under 13?

About 150.

We'll have to get them to Beth Amal tonight...

...and secretly, so the Arabs don't know.

We'll go around the valley instead of through it.

That's near the border, but we must risk it.

We'll go through Ein Or

and down the other side of Mount Tabor.

You can't go down the other side of Tabor

in daytime, much less at night.

You'll kill half of them.

I'd rather lose half of them there

than all of them here.

With luck we'll be back by sunrise.

That means the older children

must handle things until we get back.

- What if they attack tonight?

- That's a risk we'll have to take.

Dov, you organize outside the fence.

Jordana, you take the inner area.

Make it look as though

we've got 1,000 people here.

Let's get to work.

Get dressed. Hurry up.

Get up, get dressed. Report to the dining hall.

Will you help me?

I want you to stay here.

If anything happens, they'll need a nurse.

Have you forgotten

every 15-year-old girl in Gan Dafna...

...is a nurse, and a good one?

Stay here, anyway.

I don't want you mixed up in this.

Either I'm with you, or I'm not with you.

This is your choice,

and this is the time to make it, right now.

All right, you come along, then.

That's a Haganah order.

Now...

I want you to walk two by two,

holding hands so that nobody gets lost.

We're going very close to the border.

So from when we leave...

...until the time we get to Beth Amal,

nobody says a word.

Nobody coughs, nobody sneezes,

nobody cries, nobody even whispers.

Do you understand?

- Will you promise?

- We will.

- No, say it.

- We promise.

- Not one word.

- Not one word.

Mr. Ben Ami, how many men did you bring?

Only two to a truck,

but from the outside it looks like an army.

Where is Jordana?

David! I'm so glad to see you.

- Halt! Stay where you are.

- It's me, Dov.

Watch out.

- What are you doing out here?

- Sixty Palmachniks just came.

- I know, I heard the trucks.

- So you can come back now.

No, I don't go back

until somebody relieves me of this position.

Stay down.

There are Arabs out there.

Ari said they won't attack until tomorrow night.

I killed one about three hours ago.

Down there.

Dov...

...you have a beautiful name.

Sometimes I whisper it to myself.

- You'd better go back.

- When you do.

I'm 15 years old now.

- I'm not little anymore.

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