Chapter 16
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I had heard that some jews, upon first arriving in Israel, experienced a religious fervor. Others were just grateful to be safe at last. I would definitely say that my experience was much closer to the second. But mainly it was the shock of the climate change. The P.O.W. camp at Leningrad was very cold in summer. Now I was in a desert, very hot. This would take some getting used to. Fortunately mom and Willow were here to greet me at the airport. I hadn't seen either of them in over a year, Willow was older than I remembered. We all hugged and cried, whatever happenned at least we were together, as a family. We ate at a cafe in the airport, the food would also take some getting used to. Back in America we hadn't really kept up with kosher meals. We did avoid pork, but even there I cheated occassionally. Still, it was a lot better than whatever it was they gave us at Leningrad. We didn't talk much during this meal. I didn't want to talk about the war or Camp Leningrad, and mom and Willow didn't want to talk about the harassment that they'd experienced in America. So the meal was mostly silent, but we tried to enjoy each other's company. Even at the airport, it was clear that israelies were divided over us new immigrants. The dirty stares by some employees let us know that some weren't happy with us taking up their resources, bringing our problems to Israel. Our waitress was friendly, congragulated us even on getting away from anti-semitism. I didn't say anything, but it did occur to us that this waitress lived on tips. After dinner the three of us walked to our new home. The government encouraged people to walk when possible rather than use public transportation, gasoline for private automobiles was strictly rationed. At any rate, our new home was a hotel for refugees, and within walking distance. The sound of planes taking off and landing would just be something we'd have to learn to live with. I was surprised that our room contained a few keepsakes from our home in America, although mom admitted she'd had to sell other things to pay for her and Willow's passage to Israel. I slept on the couch, which was a lot more comfortable than my cot in Leningrad. Surprisingly I was able to sleep through the first night, perhaps it was just the exhaustion from the trip, but it worked.
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The next day mom took me to the government employment agency. While I was waiting in line I heard some people joke about how we were being given sanctuary, but sanctuary was not something that you were suppossed to enjoy. There were stories from the middle ages of princes and nobles seeking sanctuary at monestaries, and then being forced to clean up horse poop. Israel believed in giving sanctuary to oppressed jews, but immediately put us to work. That seemed fair to me, but I wondered if I'd also be cleaning up horse poop. With gasoline being rationed, and I had seen a few horses being used, I couldn't rule out the possibility. However, when I told them about my experience in the coal mines, they gave me a physical to verify that I was healthy and not pregnant. They assigned me to a cleanup crew. I was somewhat relieved it didn't involve horses. Israel had been at peace with the aliens for over a year, but the damage was still there. The nearby city of Tel Aviv still had rubble that needed to be cleared away, buildings had to be rebuilt. And there were still estimated to be over ten thousand bodies buried in this rubble. I began to wish that I would be cleaning up horse poop.
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My third day in Israel I began my job cleaning up Tel Aviv. Eight hour shifts, five days a week, one hour for lunch on each shift. I didn't mind the hard work of moving rubble. Strangely enough, the stench was somewhat familiar. With all the air raids in New York City, I had actually slowly gotten used to the stench of dead bodies. But actually seeing the dead bodies, uncovering them almost every day, that was the worst part. These bodies were loaded on a truck. The doctors took what DNA samples they could for identification, and then burned the bodies. The bodies were burned to prevent the spread of disease, the identification could provide their families with at least some form of closure. Before this job I had never understood the appeal of smoking, but some did this during the lunch hour just to replace the stench of the dead bodies. The last hour of each shift was spent showering, but I still returned home every night with the stench.
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My job was five days a week, Monday through Friday. Saturday was the sabbath. Mom said we should try to adapt, so we went to temple on Saturday. We ate meals that required little work, like cereal and tv dinners. The radio stations aired no regular programming on Saturdays, but we kept ours on. If there was a sudden attack, then there would be a report telling us to get to any bomb shelter or basement we could find. Otherwise, the radio was just static until just after sunset. I mainly used Saturday as a day to rest and sleep. Sundays were for fun, to go to the movies or to a local baseball game. I enjoyed games at the local Moe Berg Stadium. I still remembered as a child, watching this on television. Seeing the Israeli Golems plat the team from Saudi Arabia, I think they were called the House of Mohammed. Back then Israel and Saudi Arabia were hoping for friendly relations. But like most countries, Saudi Arabia cut ties with Israel after the non-aggression pact was signed. I used this opportunity to bond with some of my friends from work, and to hear their stories. Some from Jordan and Russia, said they hadn't really experienced much anti-semetism until Israel signed the non-aggression pact. Others, particularly from Germany and Iran, said that they were harrassed by their government long before the aliens made first contact. It was primarily the american jews that I gravitated towards. Some told me horror stories about how they were treated in the american military. As I said before, Hamilton wasn't the only anti-semetic officer, he was just the one I was stuck with. sending jewish soldiers on more dangerous assignments was not unusual, nor was justice blind. Gentile soldiers would get a warning for minor infractions, jewish soldiers were severely punished for the same behavior. One such story involved a jewish soldier raping a young female soldier. Her friends then had this man killed. I supposse I couldn't entirely blame them, if he was guilty. Notice I use the word "If" because I wasn't there. I haven't the slightest idea if this man was guilty of rape, certainly they didn't let the courts handle this matter. Yet it wasn't particularly uncommon for commanding officers to get away with raping young jewish soldiers. But despite this, there were some who wanted to return to the fight. They still considered themselves to be american, and were willing to fight for their country. One such man, Abe, he had signed the document renouncing America, but considered that oath to have been made at gunpoint, and therefore non-binding. Abe liked to say how when he was captured he gave the aliens only his name and rank. You were suppossed to give your serial number as well but Abe claimed he couldn't remember his serial number. Abe was planning to sneak back to America and rejoin the war effort, and asked if I wanted to join him. I said I would have to think about this. This was the question that has plagued me since Leningrad, whether to remain in Israel or return to the war in America. I still hadn't answered this question in my own mind.
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November I tried to bring up the subject to my mother. Not surprisingly she was opposed to the idea. We got into an argument, a very loud argument. The next day I was going to the truck for Tel Aviv, when two police officers arrested me. It was illegal under israeli law to plan to fight the aliens, or to help others to do this. I wondered if my mother had been the one to inform on me, but our argument was so loud I couldn't rule out the possibility that one of our neighbors had overheard us. They were all desperate refugees, perhaps afraid that if they didn't report this, the government might be suspicious of them. And the government had to show that they were enforcing the law. The aliens weren't so naive as to think that they could control all of their citizens, but they did expect prime minister Hoffman to discipline those who broke the law. I was held in prison for three weeks, long enough to frighten me and show the aliens that they were neutral in the war. During my time in prison I worked in the prison laundry and the kitchen. I tried to keep busy reading and watching baseball. Even in prison baseball was still played. Mom visited me every Sunday, and I attended temple services on Saturday. I learned that not every guard approved of these arrests. One guard was also from America, and she still believed in America. She was reporting to her friends back home, which people were being arrested for wanting to fight for America. My arrest here would protect me if I wished to return to America. When I was released I found out that Abe had also been arrested for trying to return to America. He wouldn't be released for another month. I decided that his release date was my deadline, by then I would decide whether to stay or return. Even up to the day of his release I was going back and forth in my own mind. When Abe was released he asked me outright if I would be part of his group to return. I said "Yes." It was spur of the moment. But once I said it I vowed I would not change my mind again.