To America and Back Page 17

It was after the battle of Latroon, in the area of the Biblical Ayalon Valley (the moon was staying there – while the sun was not moving for a whole day in Givon: all happened in Jushua’s time).

  Rumors had begun to reach Nahumik’s small hometown. They were bearing on their wings a bad message, like Job had gotten from his messengers in ancient times.

  About half of an Israeili battalion was missing from the battlefield, and no one could tell exactly what had happened to its soldiers.

  “Why cannot anyone tell us the true, clear, explicit facts?” The townsmen were asking. “The doubts butcher our hearts, and the blood strikes our temples as thousand hammers. And it can’t be otherwise… What was common to all the rumors? – that they were not optimistic, and they were stubborn like rocks and blood sucking as ticks, and sticky as a mastique. And all the people tended to believe in what they had been telling. Oh, It’s a bad sign. Oh, how wicked is the mind to tell what the heart wishes to hide and delay. Oh, black, sad, chaotic prophesy. May God deny you.”

  The rumor that Elkano was among those missing soldiers- was strengthened by a simple fact: In his last visit at home, he insinuated that he would be joining an armour vehicles’ squad. Instead of attacking further on to the eastern side of the country and conquer some mountains, Ben Gurion decided that breaking the way to the besieged Jerusalem would be the first priority of Elkano’s regiment. So he was one of the warriors, who were heading to take positions in the Latroon area.

  It was a flat valley. On it had existed the only road from Tel Aviv and the seashore- to Jerusalem. ‘All the Jewish people know what Jerusalem means’ – so said the Israeli Government. ‘It is and will be the core of the land. Eeverything in Jerusalem is connected to the Jewish history: There is the Wailing Wall – remnant of the devastated Temple. In this old Holy City’s streets – prophets-poets were walking and shouting about the sins of the Israeli kings and other ruling classes and high society richmen, and demanding Social Justice…Jerusalem was captured many times but re-settled, and now besieged again.’ Cruel satanic history, away with you!

  A few days after the first rumors, new rumors were arriving in town. Then came others, and though sometime they were contradicting each other, people believed in all of them:

  Some rumors were telling that most of the missing soldiers were taken in prison, and a few had been slaughtered.

  Other rumors said the opposite, and others added that there were many wounded remaining on the battle-field, but some had succeeded to escape and got back to our lines; these escapers didn’t report about it, as they were still fighting in other frontiers…

  “But I say”, said Kaplansky to a client, and Nahumik heard, “that a very heavy shelling was there on our troops. The Trans-Jordanian army – called Arab Legion, was having the best artillery. Its batallions had invaded to the west bank of the Jordan river – from its eastern side; and helped by British Command, these armies’ assaults were causing us heavy losses.”

  “But the word “failure” is out of our lexicon,” said another man, “because not only women believe in the power of words to change situations. So we should neither admit it – nor utter this word…”

  “Our leaders know the sad truth,” said another man to mustached old Mekler, who’s just arrived in the store, (while Kaplansky went into his apartment to bring him some special photos)“as well as our army commanders and many newspapermen know. . But everyone will ask you not to set panic within our lines. Now, don’t tell the most terrible rumor, that I’ve heard today: Even those who were thought to be in prison – are not alive. It means, that they were shot dead or butchered by knives. God will save their souls! That’s it’…

  Due to the enormous amount of rumors and their meanings – all parents and brothers and sisters and close friends of the missing soldiers- were shocked and frustrated: No one knews exactly what had happened to their beloved ones, but all signs were showing that a bloodshed had taken place there. If the enemy had only admitted that the dead were in his hands- we would have had a better feeling, isn’t it so? But we have only rumors and whispers and nothing precise, clear cut message. A mourning atmosphere is hanging around on the walls of our houses, and our townmen are seated inside in dumbness.

  In these hard times you’ll hardly find a fellow, who would dare to say a word of encouragement. Because it’s clear as a daylight: If the army’s speakers are silent, and the public media and politicians are also swallowing their tongues, it means that the facts are terrible. We are fighting – our back to the sea, few against many.

  Only by the sacrifice and courage of our youths –we’ll win. By hook or by crook – You can’t but win. Don’t deny, however, that for long weeks we will be dangling between despair and hope. And that despair created the phenomenon, that almost every healthy youth had gone to that terrible war, even invalid youths like Shmerl the butcher assistant. The town’s streets have been emptied from joys of youths- boys and girls as well. What can we do? Wait with patience. Yes, that’s what is needed now…

  So, why should you have even a tail-of-thought, that those tens of guys, that adolescence was shining from their faces, are gone forever? Don’t call the Latroon Valley- a cursed graveyard… The Jordanian artillery was really heavy and butcherous, but some of our men succeeded to get out from hell. My heart only pains, that some had fallen, without even tasting real life…

  No, don’t surrender to the bad rumors. The acute lightening that hit us, will pass away. Our body is still functioning and we should inhale pure clean air into our lungs. Maybe all our life we will wait for our missing one. We should be living so, with the morbid feeling of loss all around, till the final breath in our life. Our limbs will be cut and our thoughts will be wandering, and we will always stand at the margin of the living ones… We will not know any more a real relief of joy- until we will be ourselves pushed into our graves, and unite with our loved ones – somewhere in the universe of loss and nothingness. Other people will celebrate the great events, that our New State of Israel will have, and we’ll feel that it’s ours- but not for us; because it has been built upon our devastation. T h e s e are true and direct words, not hiding anything. It’s our ‘moira’ as the old Greek tragedy writers would say: our destiny, – and no other!

  “But – Mr. Mekler, please listen to what Rabbi Aaron had told Mrs. Yoishe Esters, whose son was among those missing:

  ‘Rumors are heavy and dark as Sheol? I daresay, that everything still can be changed. If no one confirms anything, there is still some hope… But I ask everybody:

  Where are the British? They have been the rulers here till two months ago? They have left spies and Intelligence Agents all over the Arab camps, I say. We should scream day and night- and find out what has really happened.”

  Some of the women in the market were saying, and Nahumik listened to them, that the Army was bluffing our citizens: It was telling that no one could have the lists of surviving soldiers. Yes, because there existed many fronts all over – and the fight was moving more quickly than the beaurocracy could afford- for finding who had been where… And take into account, that Jerusalem is besieged now: No one is out – and only few are strealing to come in. The missing soldiers maybe there, I say… No, I would not swear it, but… No true Jew is allowed to swear nowadays. Hopefully, with God’s help, we will be saved.

  CHAPTER 18