Exodus - Leon Uris [101]
“I resent the implications, Bradshaw. Perhaps I am one of a few hardheads who say the only way we are going to hold the Middle East is by building a powerful Jewish Palestine. I don’t speak of Jewish interest but I speak of British interest.”
Bradshaw interrupted. “Now let’s get to this Exodus affair. The implications are absolutely clear. We gave in on the Promised Land but this time we will not give in. This boat is in our waters and not in French waters. We will not go on board, we will not send them to Germany, we will not sink them. They will sit in Kyrenia until they rot. Rot—do you hear that, Tevor-Browne?—rot.” His hand began to shake as he grew angrier.
Tevor-Browne closed his eyes. “We cannot fight this out on moral grounds. We have no cause to keep three hundred children who were raised in concentration camps from entering Palestine. Oil ... canals ... Arabs be damned! We have no cause! We made ourselves look ridiculous by sending the Promised Land refugees to Germany.”
“I know your sympathies!”
“Gentlemen!”
Tevor-Browne stood up and leaned over Bradshaw’s desk. “There is only one way we can win this Exodus affair. The Jews have planned this whole incident to create propaganda. Turn the tables on them. Let the Exodus sail this minute. That is what they don’t want.”
“Never!”
“Can’t you see, sir, that we’re playing right into their hands?”
“That ship will not sail as long as I am in Chatham House!”
Chapter Thirty-one
MARK PARKER
DOME HOTEL
KYRENIA, CYPRUS
STORY GAINING MOMENTUM. KEEP THEM COMING.
KEN BRADBURY, ANS LONDON
KYRENIA, CYPRUS (ANS),
BY MARK PARKER
It is a ridiculous sight. One thousand armed soldiers, tanks, artillery, and a naval task force all looking helplessly out at an unarmed salvage tug.
The battle of the Exodus ends week one in a draw. Both the British and the refugees are holding fast. To date no one has boarded the illegal runner which has threatened to blow itself up, but from the quay it is only a few hundred yards distant and a pair of field glasses brings the boat an arm’s length away.
The morale of the three hundred children on the Exodus seems to be phenomenal. They spent the week in the harbor alternately singing and catcalling to the British troops on the quay and sea wall.
Mark’s reports went out daily, each new one adding new and interesting details.
When Cecil Bradshaw made the decision to make a test case of the Exodus he knew there would be a barrage of adverse criticism. The French press staged its usual uproar, although this time the insults were so terrible that the likes of them had not been heard in the history of the Anglo-French alliance. The story spread throughout Europe, and even the British press became split and questioned Whitehall’s wisdom in not letting the Exodus sail for Palestine.
Bradshaw was a wise politician and he had weathered many storms. This one was a storm in a teacup and it would blow over, he was sure. He sent a trio of friendly journalists to Kyrenia to counter Parker’s reports, and a half dozen experts worked full time to explain the British position. The British had a case and it was being presented well, but it was difficult to offset natural sentiment for a group of refugee children.
If the Zionists are so sincere, why are they endangering the lives of three hundred innocent children? The whole thing is a sinister and cold-blooded plot to create sympathy and becloud the real issues of the Palestine mandate. It is obvious we are dealing with fanatics. Ari Ben Canaan is a professional Zionist agitator with a record of years of illegal operations.
Newspapermen from half a dozen countries landed at the Nicosia airport and demanded permission to enter the Kyrenia area. Several large magazines also sent in teams. The Dome Hotel began to look like a small political convention headquarters.
In cafés in Paris the British were denounced.
In pubs in London the British were defended.
In Stockholm there