title: Land of Broken Promises - Dalia
author: Penfold, Margaret
description: Thirteen year old Dalia Leitner, newly arrived in Palestine, hero worships her Palestinian born cousin, Shimon Mabovitch. She dedicates herself to becoming a pioneer farmer, creating fertile land from the wilderness. On leaving school, however, Shimon persuades her to join an underground organisation dedicated to bringing into Palestine illegal immigrants who are escaping Nazi Germany. Instead of farming, she has to apply for a secretarial job in the Police HQ in Palestine's major port. Things go drastically wrong and she returns to her original career choice, having quarrelled with Shimon. Two years into WW2, with Rommel poised to invade Palestine, the British and the Palestinian Jews unite in a joint effort to combat the Germans threatening to invade Palestine. Dalia joins one of the guerrilla units trained to sabotage a Nazi occupation. When the Germans are defeated at Al Alamain, however, the British dissolve the partnership and even confiscate their former partners' personal weapons. Feeling betrayed, Dalia dedicates the next few years to achieving an independent Jewish state and finding a suitable life partner, not an easy task as she is still very much in love with Shimon.