A Tribute to Leon Uris

Leon Uris passed away last month at his home on Shelter Island, N.Y. This piece is an attempt to at least partially pay my respects to this great man, as a friend and also as a former Soviet Jewry activist.

I was privileged to meet Leon Uris in person in the fall of 1989 during his B’NAI BRITH-sponsored visit to the USSR. And though that was the first time I met Leon in person, I feel that I had met him long before that through his books, or rather THE book. The work I am referring to is of cause “Exodus”. It is impossible to underscore the importance “Exodus” has played in the life of the Soviet Jews. To the best of my knowledge, I do not think “Exodus” was published in Russian in Israel or United States, though even if it were; it would have been next to impossible to bring it through the airtight fortress set up by the Soviet customs agent and the KGB. The only copies I have seen in Russian within the Soviet Union were typed through carbon paper or sometimes hand-written. Someone among the Soviet Jewish activists must have translated the book into Russian and typed the first four or fives copies on a typewriter in the obscurity of his or her tiny apartment. And thus this amazing book began its triumphant journey through the hearts and minds of thousands of Soviet Jews and many times non-Jews. These underground copies successfully fought the Soviet propaganda machine for 30 years, until “Exodus” finally won by witnessing a time when it is finally legal to own and read this book in Russia.

My Moscow friends were privileged to present a copy of the typewritten “Exodus” to Mr. Uris in 1989. He became very emotional; it was obvious that this weathered copy typed on thin grey paper was probably the dearest symbol of appreciation of his works that he ever received. A couple days after that momentous event I was honored to have another chance to speak with Mr. Uris at the first Moscow Jewish café where Mr. Uris was visiting with community activists. That night Mr. Uris told me “while there are many successful writers in the world, there are few who are privileged to have their readers risk prison time for distributing and reading their books.” We had another shot of vodka with him for his new books, and another one for our luck. He knew how desperate we were at that time: many of us waiting for 10 or more years to leave Russia. It is my strong belief that Leon Uris had a unique ability to sincerely connect with the person he was with; it made one feel as if he had known Leon for years rather than just met him for the first time an hour ago. This ability to listen and truly feel someone else’s joy and pain was probably one of the traits that enabled Leon to be such a wonderful storyteller.


The power of Leon Uris’ “Exodus” goes well beyond what he probably ever imagined. Most of the Soviet Jews who had a chance to read this book while still held in Russia have a special connection to the book because it evoked in the reader a reaction or emotion that is hard to describe. Sometimes, it was the unlikely readers who were most affected. A small troupe of the underground Leningrad Jewish Theater was preparing to travel to Riga for a performance that had been rehearsed for the past two years. Two or three “magnificent concert halls” for 80, or maybe even 100, people were booked with enormous difficulties, hand-made costumes were packed, and the theater troupe was ready. It so happened that the entire group was detained at the railroad station under some foolish pretext and had to spend next few days in prison – just enough time for all the arrangements to go sour. By pure chance, one of the performers either smuggled in or received in a daily package a copy “Exodus”. A bored-to-death prison guard agreed not to confiscate and destroy the book if the detainee allowed him to borrow it for a night.

I was told that the next morning the guard returned the book and said ”I do not think it is all true what the book says, but even if only half is true, you all have a good reason to go through all this trouble for your cause.” In such a profoundly anti-Semitic country as Russia, where the police was especially subjected to constant anti-Jewish propaganda under the guise of anti-Zionist education it is nothing short of a miracle that “Exodus”, in one night, even if for just one person, was able to reverse centuries of history and countless hours of brainwashing.

Despite being a world-famous author, I remember Mr. Uris as being very down to earth, very sociable and very understanding of our precarious situation. He was very warm and friendly, and not at all condescending or pitiful as some of our Western friends that have visited in the past had been. On his trip to Russia, Mr. Uris brought with him three boxes of paperback copies of “Exodus” and personally signed them to all the B’NAI BRITH members in Leningrad. He did the same with the B’NAI BRITH members of the two other lodges that existed in the former USSR at that time – Moscow and Riga.

I was privileged to exchange letters with Mr. Uris throughout the past 15 or so years. He was always very responsive and diligent in his response. In June 2000 we had made plans to meet up and reminisce – I was able to get my hands on a copy of a videotape made during his visit to Leningrad in 1989 and was planning to deliver a copy personally during my trip to NY City. A couple of days before the visit Mr. Uris called and asked to reschedule the trip due to his ailing health. We tried to reschedule my visit a few times after that, but it never seemed to work out. Though I wish I could have expressed my gratitude to Mr. Uris in person before he passed away, I have a feeling he died knowing that he has done a great service to the world Jewry. The success of his books around the world, the trouble some people went through to read his books, the personal narratives people like me were lucky to share with him – all serve as a testament to Leon’s greatness as an author and as an inspiration to many, many people. Mr. Uris will forever live through his books in the minds of millions of readers, and he will forever live in the hearts of people like myself who had the honor of meeting him personally.

July 2003