The Embarkation

What makes a Jew a Jew? This question is often heard among young American Jews who have not been brought up to understand the spiritual values which the Jews gave to the world. “The Embarkation,” Murray Gitlin’s emotional novel, first published in 1950, gives to a certain extent a psychological answer to this question.

The central figure in the novel, Martin Tester, is an American soldier who is forced to become a deserter due to the anti-Semitism of his commander. He wanders around for two years in Italy, knowing that a court martial awaits him if he ever returns to the United States. An American who works for British Intelligence in Italy discovers him and guarantees that everything will be forgiven and forgotten, provided he spies on ships carrying “illegal” Jewish immigrants from Italy to Palestine. Having no choice, he accepts the offer. However, coming face to face with the first transport of Jewish refugees, he decides to help rather than denounce them to the British agents. He is helped in this by an Italian girl who falls in love with him and by other Italians of good will, who ask no questions…

“The book is very well-written and makes absorbing reading.”—The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle