Exodus, the best-selling 1958 novel and 1960 film, marketed the new state of Israel to Americans.  Exodus crated an Israeli myth of origins that appealed to American conceptions of its own revolution.  This myth of Israel's "specialness" mirrored American exceptionalism in the Cold War.  Created in the aftermath of the 1956 Suez Crisis, Exodus became the dominant narrative of Israel's birth but is haunted by the Palestinian narrative of the Nakba.
Hosted by: International Forum for US Studies

In conjunction with: Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Department of English, Department of Media and Cinema Studies, Program in Jewish Culture and Society, Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory