The ship then sailed to Sete, a French city on the Mediterranean coast, to pick up its refugee cargo.
The British again subtly intervened--they bribed the operator of the tugboat responsible for pulling the ship out to sea. In a risky move, the Exodus crew distracted guards and cut the cable to the tugboat.
The struggle between the Jews and the British--who had been their liberators throughout Europe just a few months before--continued until a 1949 United Nations agreement granted a portion of Palestine for Jewish settlement.
"I like to think that...a combination of American Jews, Holocaust survivors and Palestinian Jews helped create the state of Israel," Lavine concluded.
After answering some questions, Lavine lead the audience in singing "Hatikvah," the Israeli national anthem, which the Exodus passengers sang to lift their spirits during the bleakest parts of their journey.
Lavine's visit was part of a series of events at Hillel this week celebrating Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day. This is Israel's 51st birthday. Tonight at 5:30 p.m. Ambassador Dennis Ross, the special envoy to the Middle East, will speak in Hillel's Beren Hall.