By Donald H. Harrison

In 1961, Jews who wanted to stay in Morocco remained under the protection of
that Arab nation¹s king. But those who wanted to emigrate to the "enemy state" of Israel were treated as criminal offenders.

Such fine distinctions between the motivations of Jews were lost on rapt Arab crowds greeting Egypt's President and chief Israel-hater, Gamel Abdel Nasser, on a visit to Morocco. The enthusiasm quickly degenerated into pogroms and the burning of synagogues.

In such circumstances, clandestine groups of Jews operated, as they had before the creation of Israel, to sneak refugees to the promised land via boats such as the Egoz. Now, however, the problem was not eluding British blockades barring entry to Israel, but sneaking the refugees out of Morocco in the first place.

Set against the drama of escape, the movie focuses on one family's divisions as its members ponder whether to stay or to go. This is a true story of egos and Egoz.

A father, who owns a medium-size hotel, disdains the idea of going to Israel, where, so far as a previous experience taught him, Ashkenazi Jews treat Sephardic Jews as uneducated riff-raff.
There is no such hesitation for a daughter who is in love with an idealistic Zionist and who asks her parents' blessing for a quick wedding ceremony before the dangerous trip to Israel. A son who loves a Moroccan Arab woman, but fears his own family has little love for him, provides a counterpoint.

Perhaps the most nuanced character is the mother, frightened by the mobs, wanting to keep her family together, and awed by her husband. Should she go, even if her too-proud husband stays?

The logistics of attempting to auto-caravan people over golden-hued, winding roads to a cove on the Moroccan coast, even as the family is relentlessly tracked by a cynical security official who seems worthy of movies of the Casablanca genre, build the suspense of this beautifully-photographed movie.

Once the passengers finally get aboard the Egoz, they break into spontaneous song, possibly feeling the same sense of relief that the ancient Israelites did when they escaped Pharaoh's troops by crossing the Reed Sea. However, in the Moroccans' case, the celebration is premature. Their unseaworthy boat proves no match for roaring, storm-tossed seas.

• Egoz will be presented by the San Diego Jewish Film Festival at noon, Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the AMC La Jolla 12 Theatres.