Survive and Tell (cont.)

The first concerns the memorial for Colonel Marcus (The famous Micki Stone). I was invited to attend by the Association of Jewish War Veterans of the American Forces. I was, of course, asked to attend in uniform. When I arrived at West Point, the renowned military academy, I was received by tens of war veterans.

The Americans have a really nice custom, according to which, on Remembrance Day they arrive in droves and spend a whole day at a leisure location in the State of New York, participate in a memorial ceremony and then have a picnic. This is an interesting combination and ensures that the remembrance ceremony will always be held. The ceremony takes place next to Colonel Marcus's grave, in the presence of his elderly wife.

I was appointed a cadet escort, wearing full uniform of the cadets, who escorted me the entire day and made sure to inform me of the remarkable history of the academy that had produced many leaders and heroes. The most impressive and moving part of the day for me was, without doubt, the choir.

A group of cadets, conducted by a military rabbi, stood in the building that was used as a church and a synagogue, sung Hebrew songs, including the songs from the Palmach. I was so emotional and, even though I do not usually cry, found myself wiping tears from my eyes.

I experienced this experience on two occasions. The second time I was prepared for it but still encountered a pleasant surprise. I had met a very nice American couple through my work. He, apparently, was Jewish and she was not. His name was Dr. Craig Fields and his wife's name was Alison. Alison had a sister who was a cadet, first generation of women to be accepted at the West Point Academy.

I approached the Liaisons Officer at the Pentagon and asked if I could meet this cadet that during my visit to West Point. Today, in retrospect, I feel that I did not act wisely because I could have offended her, but at the time I did not see this as an untoward action. My request was granted and she lost a day of studies in view of my request, because not only did they allow her to meet me, but appointed her escort cadet. I hope that the day she spent with me and the stories I told her about women's service in the IDF balanced her loss.

The second event was a memorial ceremony for "The Friend", Ord Wingate. The Attaché, Bren, chose me to participate and represent him at the ceremony. I was very happy and saw myself flying to London, which is where I always feel at home. I soon came to my senses when I saw the orders. It became clear to me that he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, next to Washington.

The rabbi of the Pentagon administered the ceremony and the British and Israeli Attaches placed wreaths. This custom was instigated by the Americans because Wingate had been in their service when he was killed in one of the missions in Burma. Ord Wingate is buried in a mass grave with other officers and soldiers whose identity is unknown, because they died when their plane crashed into a mountain.

After I had found out that Wingate was buried in Arlington, I took every official visitor that came to the States from Israel to visit the grave of "The Friend".

In 1977, I think it was in March, Yitzhak Rabin, the Prime Minister, visited Washington. All the Embassy personnel and their families arrived to greet him at the Andrews Air Force Base. The plane landed. Rabin, his wife and entourage exited the plane and, without even stopping to greet even the children, to smile or wave, got straight into their car, followed by many security cars, sirens ringing. They went to meet President Carter.

Many of the people left standing at the airport, including many children, were disappointed and upset. We were very annoyed with the Prime Minister's cold and insensitive behavior. I do not understand why he ignored all of the attaches of the Embassy, of which he was once Ambassador (Maybe because of that). Was it due to disrespect, arrogance or just plain stupidity?

A few days later, we were standing on the lawns of the White House and watched President Carter's family greet Rabin and his wife, Leah. Again, he completely ignored us.

This angered all of the attaches and it was no wonder that news of this incident in Washington leaked to Israel and caused him to loose favor and, consequently, he lost the next elections. Dan Margalit won the scoop of his life.

During this historical visit, there was a scandal with regard to Leah Rabin's bank account. A captain from the Air Force, who was in charge of absorbing the F-15's and F-16's, visited the bank in which all the accounts of the Embassy personnel were held (mine as well). The clerk told him that Mrs. Rabin had been there a few minutes earlier. The officer informed this to Dan Margalit.

This episode came to light and, together with his behavior at the airport, caused Rabin's government to lose the elections to the Likud party. Only a few were happy about this.

Begin came to Washington. We again went to greet him at the Andrews Air Force Base. Begin exited the plane and came straight towards us. He was radiant and conveyed this happiness to everyone he met. Inbal, our little daughter, had been chosen to present a bouquet of flowers to Aliza Begin at the Airport. Begin shook hands as if he was still in the middle of the election campaign, smiled and kissed everyone and hugged babies. In spite of the fact that most of the Embassy personnel identified with the Labor Party, no one could hide their love of Begin, who behaved in such a warm manner compared to his predecessor Rabin, who was as cold as ice.

Before the elections, Yigal Yadin, who was admired by the entire nation and was destined to save us from devastation, visited the embassy. All of the embassy personnel gathered in the Events Hall and Yadin gave a lecture on the status of Israel and about the new policies that had to be introduced. Yadin answered questions and promised a multitude of promises. I got up and told him, to the dismay of everyone else, that he had wasted an hour on us because, in spite of the fact that we represent the State of Israel, we do not have the basic right enjoyed by every other citizen, to vote at elections.

Yadin gave the impression that he was hearing for the first time that Israelis abroad, including officials representing the State, were denied the right to vote in elections for the Knesset, in view of bureaucracy or other political considerations. He wrote a note to himself to deal with the matter upon his return to Israel.

Of course, no actions were taken and, to this day, Israelis serving abroad are denied the right that is granted to all other Israel citizens, and this is where we are very different from other western democratic countries. I believe that, eventually, a day will come when this problem will be solved.

The most important event of the year for the Israeli military attaches was held on Independence Day. Over the years it had become customary to hold a party to celebrate Israel's national holiday. I, myself, was invited to many of the Embassies for such events, but they were usually just another Washington cocktail party. The Israeli event was different, because it was similar to the parties held in Israel. Very free, informal – once one had passed through the reception line, a festive ambience reigned.

There was always a diverse assortment of participants - congressmen and cabinet ministers, Jews, colleagues and friends of the Embassy personnel, army personnel from all the forces and civil servants.

American clerks and junior officers loved to receive invitations to our Embassy because this was the only time they were able to personally talk with the "boss" of the organization they worked in and a good word from one of us regarding their diligence and efficiency could bring them the attention of their superiors.

No other Embassy had such an ambience and there was no other place (as far as I know) that danced the "Hora" with the full participation of all the participants of the event. Each one of the Attaches, including myself, held events at their homes for smaller groups. The person who surpassed all of us and held the most successful events was the Air Force Attaché and his wife, Yallo and Hasia Shavit. They loved this kind of life and they knew how to enjoy it. Yallo was the king of PR and fun.

He had many friends going way back from when he was the Commander of the Etzion Base, near Eilat, that was subsequently returned to Egypt in view of the peace accords. Yallo was the main host of Eilat and, in fact, he and Rafi Nelson (who owned a well-known leisure center) were the main attraction there.

Yallo extended his circle of associates and friends in Washington, especially after Ezer Weizman granted him, personally, the rank of Brigadier General. Yallo did not know English very well or, rather, he was not particularly eloquent, but that did not stand in his way. Everyone loved him and the more whisky he poured, the love for him grew.

One of the most important perks of an attaché was an attaché tour. Shlomo set aside the most interesting tours that were available once every three years for himself, such as the trip to the North Pole, from which he returned after only one day because of some problem or other.

I was lucky enough to be part of a particularly interesting trip that Yallo apparently organized for me. Yallo had received a personal invitation as Air Force Attaché.

I was competent with issues pertaining to the Air Force in view of my contacts concerning exchange of information. Officially I was accredited to all the services including the Air Force and, as such, I was entitled to be invited. I gather that Yallo asked Shlomo if I could join him. It really doesn't matter how the trip came about, I am so grateful to Yallo for that and, of course, Shlomo did not stand in my way this time.

The trip was very comprehensive and included most of the American Air Force bases. Unfortunately, the military plane with all the attaches took off on Yom Kippur (Day Of Atonement) and, therefore, Yallo and I flew on a civil plane after Yom Kippur to join the trip. The first base was in Alaska and from there we flew to California, Hawaii, Oklahoma and other places.

On the way to one of the bases, the escorting team prepared a surprise. They brought in two enormous cakes, one decorated with the Israeli flag and the rank of Brig. General in honor of Yalo's birthday and promotion and the second cake decorated with the Mexican flag in honor of the Mexican Attaché's birthday. Most of the celebrations focused on Yallo. All this occurred during the flight. The most interesting trips were, of course, to the bases which I would not usually be allowed to enter, in Alaska and Hawaii. In Alaska, we drove with the rest of the participants to visit the great iceberg and we stayed in Hawaii for three days of holiday – holiday and trips.

Signing the visitors book at the Arizona,
a memorial of the Pearl Harbor surprise attack

When we reached the Hilton Hotel in Hawaii, Yallo was already embracing two young girls that he had met in the elevator and he arranged a "night on the town" that carried on till the early hours. The next day, Yallo whispered to me that I had been invited to attend an evening in his honor that had been organized by a young friend, with whom he had become acquainted in Eilat. The next evening a few luxurious cars, including a Rolls Royce, a Cadillac, etc., the kind that I had only ever seen at exhibitions, drew up and took us to the private villa of his young friend. His friend was a millionaire in his own right, but he was the son of a millionaire from Oklahoma who had invented shopping carts for supermarkets, for which he had a world patent and is still earning millions. Apart from this, he had a number of oil fields in Oklahoma.

Yallo's friend had bought a villa in Hawaii from Kaiser, a shipbuilder during the 2 ^nd World War. When he bought the house, he also purchased the garage and all the cars that were in it. Being that Kaiser had also been a car manufacturer, he had his own collection pieces. All the elite attended Yallo's party, the Naval Commander, Air Force Commander, the Governor and other governmental representatives of the island. Jack Lord, the actor from the show "Hawaii 5 0", was not present.

Girls were brought to add color to the male setting, some of whom had most probably remained after a beauty pageant. Their beauty surpassed anything I had known. Till then, I had thought that such beauty was only to be found in films or on the cover of magazines. All this splendor was in honor of Yallo who behaved naturally in this unusual atmosphere, as if he had been born a millionaire and not in Nes Ziona.

We toured the island, the pineapple orchards, we swam in the sea and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. We participated in a guided tour of the sites that had been damaged during the Japanese air raid, the famous monument and the mast of the ship "Arizona". I thoroughly enjoyed myself and Yallo's company.

Anat, my eldest daughter, stayed in Israel. She was serving at the Hatserim Air Force base. During her first year of service, she had a road accident on the way to her Aunt's home in Omer, not far from the entrance to Omer. We were relieved to learn that she had not been badly hurt. We had been very scared.

We raced to Be'er Sheva to the sickroom at the base, but were reassured when we were informed that, even though she had suffered a head injury, it was not serious.

Six months after we had arrived in Washington, Anat received a month's leave and we were very happy when she visited us, but she was different to the Anat we had left behind. A little weightier, she had changed her hairstyle and was wearing sheepskin. Being that it was December, we went for a trip along the southeast region of American.

We went to Florida, visited the sites on the way to Georgia, such as St. Augustine, a small Spanish style town. At the entrance of the town there is a building that was once a prison and which is now a tourist attraction.

We visited Disney World in Orlando and many other leisure sites, Cypress Gardens and others. In Alabama, we stopped at Mobile and from there we traveled to New Orleans. We could not find a place to stay in this charming and famous city, because the city was full of tourists and guests who had come to celebrate the New Year, and watch the Sugar Bowl (American Football) game.

There was a carnival atmosphere in the narrow streets. The French Carre is always interesting, but even more so when there are special events such as Mardi Gras or, as in our case, the American Football Championships.

We stayed outside of the city, but were intoxicated by the beauty and special character of this town, which I visited later on as part of my job.

From New Orleans, we took to the marvelous highways of the States on our way to Atlanta where we searched for Scarlet O'Hara or Ret Butler, but we couldn't find them because they had "Gone With The Wind". We visited the underground city, the remains of Atlanta which had been destroyed in the fire instigated by General Sherman. We were amazed by the modern quarter on both sides of the Peach Tree and by the modern and beautiful hotels.

The cold winds emphasized the freezing weather. We could not walk the streets which were empty, apparently in view of the cold, but especially because of the Christian New Year.

The month that Anat spent with us passed too quickly and soon she had to return to Israel to complete her second year of army service. She returned to us at the end of her military service. She had no idea what she wanted to do, but from an early age she has shown great artistic talent and, over the past few years, had painted some drawings, sketches, mainly via my Rapidograph. Rikva said that she should continue her painting through formal instruction. We registered her, with her consent, at the renowned Corcoran School Of Art, which had just received academic authorization. Anat studied with enthusiasm and enjoyed every minute.

She studied there for two years while we were there and when we returned to Israel, stayed on by herself in the most terrible conditions. In order to survive there, she began to work at various jobs, including supervision and sale of tokens in an electronic games hall and as a Hebrew teacher. We paid for her studies and sent her money from Israel, but this definitely was not enough for her to exist without working.

We were very worried about leaving her alone in a big city, but this was her wish. We had another reason to be worried. Anat had been suffering from an illness (psychosomatic!) that apparently stemmed from fear and anxiety, where she would lose consciousness. She was hospitalized for a few days without our knowledge.

One night, she called and told us her circumstances that she had to sleep with her legs higher than her head because the blood was not circulating properly. We called a doctor, our friend, to examine and help her and he explained her condition to us. He had known about this beforehand.

We decided that she had to come back to Israel, but she wouldn't hear of it till she completed her studies. She had, and maybe still has, grievances against her parents. In her opinion, we did not educate her properly and did not give her the love that every child deserves from parents.

I do not wish to dispute this with her, because what is important is what she feels and maybe it's not that she just feels this way, perhaps it is true. I know that I was not the best father in terms of devoting time to the children. I am also not the type to cuddle, kiss and say nice words like "l love you", etc. My parents nor my brother, or even my wife, ever spoke lovingly. Perhaps, because I find it hard to express my love in words, Rivka also found it hard to express herself. I even find it amusing when I hear others talking in such a manner.

In my letters I am able to express myself more freely with regards to my feelings, but I find it unnecessary to express feelings out loud.

It is very important to express and show love, but it seems unnatural to me to say, without reason, just out of the blue, these words. Maybe there are other reasons, such as education and personal example at home, which cause a person to behave differently, meaning, to constantly speak words of love and caress. Our family used to only kiss in view of long separations or during a tragedy in the family.

Rivka visited Anat and managed to convince her to return to Israel. We promised her that she would not have to live at home, that we would rent her an apartment in Tel Aviv and help her to become independent.

We purchased all the equipment that every Israeli returning from abroad brings with him and she returned to Israel. In Israel, she met Ido Ein-Dor, who had served with her at the squadron in Hatserim, she married him and gave us our first grandson, Oded, son of Anat and Ido Ein-Dor.

During the advanced months of her pregnancy, Anat stopped taking all of the medication without which, beforehand, she could not have survived.

She is in excellent health and the joy Oded gives her, even while she was pregnant, will guarantee that this will continue and the medical condition, which gave us nightmares for many years, will not return.

Ofra, as I have told you, arrived in America even before Rivka and Inbal. After the summer camp, she planned to go to the English speaking school. She became acclimatized very quickly but missed Israel very much. Our decision not to live in the "Kibbutz" was difficult for her because all her friends lived far away from us and she had to be driven to and from their homes. Ofra took the guitar that I had bought for Anat and tried to teach herself to play. Unfortunately, not one of my daughters plays a musical instrument and I see this as a personal failure.

In Washington, they teach guitar and driving at the school. Ofra loved both of these subjects. The high-school studies in America are much easier than in Israel and the choice of subjects much larger, which enables the student to transfer from class to class without much effort. More effort has to be made for academic studies. Ofra changed schools when we moved from Silver Spring, in view of the incident with the African American child, which I have already described. In spite of everything, she was advanced to the higher class and completed her high school studies after two years in the States and during our third year there, and registered at Montgomery College. Unfortunately, it was only at the end of the school year that we found out she had not actually used her time there for studies.

She had enjoyed the full social life that life on the college campus offers. In fact, she does not have a certificate of matriculation or confirmation of her year of studies at the college, which would have given her the right to be accepted at university in Israel.

Her lack of enthusiasm for studies is most probably an indication of the lack of education she received at home. Perhaps lack of attention or other psychological reasons connected to the education of the children, parent-child relationship, etc. When we returned to Israel, she enlisted in an army unit that she had decided upon during our stay in the States, the GHQ-Special Intelligence Reconnaissance Unit

At the Reconnaissance Unit, she found out that it was not all glamour as she had supposed and that there were people that one has to get along with and cope with.

After one year at the unit, Ofra requested to be transferred to another unit and there she completed her army service.

While I was in Washington I met Israelis that I would otherwise never have met, such as journalists, the media, bankers, doctors and other government representatives. Many members of the Knesset and many army officers visited this city and they all visited the Embassy at least once during their stay and if there a special VIP or friend of someone, a party was held for them.

When you are abroad, it is easier to make friends than in Israel. The guest wants the attention of the host to whom he is sometimes beholden. To my surprise these short acquaintances last longer if there is a reason to maintain them. For those serving abroad, in spite of being from different circles, there is an affiliation with regards to destiny, experience and mutual problems that strengthen and sustain relationships.

The willingness to help develops within a relatively short space of time. The Israel community, even if they are not neighbors, can be viewed as a kind of ghetto, far away from the homeland. During our stay there, Yair Aloni was also stationed there as delegate "Shaliah" for immigration.

Yair replaced the radio presenter, Shmuel Shai, Dan Margalit preceded Yoel Marcus from the "HaAretz" newspaper, Nahum Barnea from the "Davar" newspaper and Ido Disenchik from the "Maariv" newspaper. Prof. Israel Tamir was taking a sabbatical at the N.I.H. National Health Institute. Ruth Dayan used Washington as a base for her trips to South America for the World Bank for what can only be described as "Maskit" activities. From the women, I will only note the model, Batia Disenchik, Micka Tamir, ex deputy advocate for Tel Aviv and, of course, Tamar Avidar, who was the Attaché for Women's issues, a position that was originally established for Stella Levy, ex Women's Army Corps Officer. Amos Ettinger, Tamar Avidar's husband, had a great time there and traveled the world.

The Attaché of Agriculture, Eitan Israeli, and Histadrut (Union) representative Gil Shaul and Eitan Raf were very active, Adv. Tami Ben-David also worked for a short time with Eitan Raff. Professor Sussman, once General Manager of the Ministry of Defense, worked at the World Bank and Prof. Feldman, from the Weitzman Institute, took his sabbatical there. I have noted just a few of the most well known people but the community included many other good people. Brigadier General Uri Simhoni studied at the College for Strategic Studies next to the George Washington University and other army officers who were studying at advanced military schools often came to visit.

Brig. General Ran Ronen (Peckar), Yallo's good friend, regularly visited us from Boston where he was studying at Harvard.

We met all of these people and some of them came to our home. We enjoyed a marvelous friendship with them and, even after our return to Israel, continued to be in contact with them for a while, but we were to blame for not following through later on. I am sure that Yallo keeps in constant contact with all the people he met. I am envious of people such as Yallo and Hasia who, as far as I know, have the strength and willingness to keep in contact with all of the friends that they love.

When Major General Arie Levy arrived in the States, for the position of the Head of the Ministry of Defense Acquisition Delegation in New York, it meant that a good friend from my days at the artillery corps had arrived. Our acquaintance had begun way back when he was a cadet at the Officers Course and I was a guest instructor on the subject of ballistics and ammunition. I watched his career with pleasure and admiration, because he succeeded and excelled in every position he held and achieved the rank of Major General as GHQ-Chief of Logistics, after he had been Chief Artillery Officer and Assistant to the GHQ-Chief of Operations.

I had visited the G.E. Company with Arie Levy and he had objected, as I had done, with regards to the Artillery Location RADAR. We went on a very interesting trip to Canada with Arie Levy's family and the family of Brig. General (Res.) Asher Levy. Asher was once Chief of Staff the Southern Command and, during his service in the States, managed the carpet factory for Member of Knesset Avraham Shapira (owner of Carmel Carpets). The highlight of this trip was, of course, the visit to one of nature's marvels, the Niagara Falls.

We visited Dr. Henry Shub's family, our ex neighbors, who had come to Israel from South America and had, in the meantime, settled in Toronto.

We traveled on a cruise ship to the 1000 Island region and other tourist sites in Canada and Southern New York. It was autumn time and we were amazed and speechless at the vivid colors, from white to black through yellow, pink and at the leaves that were about to fall from the trees.

While we were holding discussions at the Hughes Company on the subject of the AN/PQ-37 RADAR, Rivka, who was with me on the western coast, took trips to Southern California, including a daytrip to Tijuana in Mexico, not far from San Diego.

At the end of the discussions, we hired a car and went for a most marvelous trip to northern California along the coastal highway, stopping at Solvay, a replica of a Scandinavian city. We traveled to Monterey, peaked into the amazing villas along 17 Mile Drive and spend half a day at Carmel, the jewel of California.

We spent two days in San Francisco and took a guided tour of Alcatraz. During the tour, we were asked to enter the cells and they demonstrated the locking process. It was very frightening. For a moment I wondered whether this really was only a demonstration. I admit that I was filled with trepidation. I breathed a sigh of relief when the iron gates opened.

After a short trip to Sauselito and to the Red Wood Forest, we felt like traveling to the Yosemite Park.

We had not made a hotel reservation, arrived late evening at the Park and, after a long search, found a tent in which to spend the night. We were only able to see the beauty at daybreak. This is an enormous forest with old Sequoia trees, with a circumference of a few meters.

Most of the Israelis, who either study or serve in the States, usually take a trip from coast to coast, or at least travel one way by car and return by plane. Some of them stay at motels, and some of them take a motor home with cooking utensils. America is well equipped for such trips. There are many parking areas all across America to accommodate the millions of tourists, which supply services such as electricity, water and basic supplies.

We also planned such a trip but it never materialized because of reasons that I will not detail now. In all, the trip we took was to the South, including New Orleans, Canada and the Western Coast, including one of the most marvelous parks. Maybe one day we will complete the trip.

I just recalled an interesting event that few, if any, have heard about. I participated in a seminar and exhibition that was dedicated to LASER technology and electro-optics that took place in San Diego, California.

During the lunch break, one of the participants saw my name tag and asked me if I had heard the news, broadcasted a few minutes earlier, about the Israel General who was mugged and had his briefcase stolen. I had not heard about this and could not remember any Israeli General who was in the States. I phoned the Embassy in order to find out more details.

The Embassy knew about the incident. Major General Yekutiel Adam was participating in an advanced studies course in the States and forgot, lost or had his briefcase stolen, including certificates and cash. The Embassy informed me how to contact him and asked if I could offer my help. Of course, I immediately called him and he was shocked.

He did not know that I was on the western coast. He thought that the speedy and efficient service of the Americans had been passed on to the Embassy personnel, because it had happened only a half hour earlier and already someone was offering assistance. Kuti, who remembered me from the company commander's course when I was a cadet and he was commander, tried to minimize the damage but was very happy that I had offered to help. I really respected the man and was happy to assist him. He was a serious person and it is a shame that he was killed, especially that it happened during that needless Lebanon War.

From the various things I dealt with, I will note one exceptional incident. In 1977, there was an outbreak of the African Rift Fever, which caused the death of thousands of livestock and sheep in various African states.

There was a danger that this disease would spread to the Israel, via the Sinai desert. Within the agreement for cooperation between our Medical Corps and the American counterpart, I approached the authorities and asked for the relevant vaccine. In record time, and without any bureaucracy, I received an insulated box of vaccine. The vaccine was stored at a low temperature with dry ice. I flew the vaccine to the Kennedy Airport in New York and, with the help of the El-Al Manager at the airport, transferred the box to the pilot with the relevant storage instructions. The vaccine arrived in Israel 12 hours later. The State of Israel vaccinated over one million livestock, an act that halted the epidemic from entering Israel.

During my last year of service in Washington the Camp David talks took place. This was a year full of state and social events surrounding these talks. I was lucky enough to have been in Israel in November 1977 when the Egyptian President Anwar Sa'adat made his historic visit to Israel. I attended the reception given by the American Ambassador, Samuel Lewis, and nobody knew whether the visit would materialize.

I heard the many assumptions and speculations that this was just a cunning stunt by the devious Sa'adat, who had instigated the Yom Kippur War and was, again, planning a trap, as suspected our Chief Of Staff, Motta Gur. When Sa'adat passed through the reception at Ben Gurion Airport, he said to Motta Gur: "I was not bluffing". I imagine that it was rather embarrassing for Motta to hear that directly from Sa'adat.

The peace talks in 1979 were held up in view of a specific problem in Israel and the Government had to show some form of achievement to the Americans, who were pushing for an agreement. For this purpose, Ezer Weitzman, the Minister of Defense, traveled to Washington.

It was decided to accelerate the talks, which had lasted for a long time, to come to an agreement for close cooperation within the sphere of defense and to enable the Israeli Defense Industry to sell its products to the American Defence Forces.

I was responsible for implementing the agreements for cooperation regarding research and development and represented our interests opposite the Middle East Task Group (METG). I worked opposite Col. Richard Jarrett and Lt. Col. Paul Forster. The two officers were to coordinate a memorandum of agreement (MOA) and I was their contact. In view of the limited time and in order to enable Ezer Weizman to return to Israel with a signed agreement, everyone, including the State Department, shortened the work process.

Upon Minister Ezer Weizman's arrival, I was attached to the limited team at the Pentagon and the State Department to draw up a draft of the MOA, to be approved by the Ministers of Defense accordingly.

The Americans on the team received instructions to complete the document within 24 hours, because it was imperative to give Ezer the document so that he could return to Israel with an achievement. In view of the objection of the right wing to the conditions of the peace agreement being formed, it was vital that the Government present preliminary fruits of achievement to the Knesset and nation, together with the wholehearted support of the American senate and the President.

The draft had practically no amendments and became final and we typed it very speedily, even while the ministers and guests were filing into Dr. Harold Brown's conference room. Apart from the ministers and personal escorts in the room, there was also the IDF Attaché, Shlomo Inbar, Dr. Bill Perry, Assistant Minister of Defense for R&D, the two METG officers and myself. I held in my hand the original signed documents and, after I had prepared copies, sent them to Israel.

A little while after this event, Minister Gideon Pat visited Washington. There was a discussion about the meaning of the MOA and there were some misunderstandings. Shlomo Inbar suggested that I attend the discussion, as one who had participated in preparing the document. Perhaps I could shed light and provide the necessary clarifications.

Gideon Pat asked that I explain the intentions of the document. I explained all that I knew from the discussions and talks, according to which the final document was based. The basis of the document was, being that the State of Israel develops and produces unique equipment and equipment parts, some of them especially for use in desert warfare – to counter Soviet weapons – and that the USA army could utilize this equipment, it was agreed to approve that the Israeli Industry participate in tenders opposite the American Industry.

This understanding was based on weapon systems. Minister Pat was very angry with me that I, instead of extending the wording regarding the concepts, had abbreviated and, because of me and others concerned, Israel could not sell textiles, tires and other products to the American army. Shlomo Inbar came to my aid and said that he had also understood the MOA to refer to what I had explained, but Minister Pat remained disgruntled. I understood Minister Pat's concern and his demand, but this was not the basis of this agreement.

When the talks began at Camp David, Ezer Weizman again visited us. Ezer was already on very good terms with the Egyptian Minister of Defense, General Ali. Shlomo Inbar held a party at his apartment. Ezer wanted the Egyptian military attaché to attend the party. At first, the attaché refused to come, but Ezer insisted. He called General Ali and the Military Attaché, General Abu Razala, arrived.

This was a real sensation. Another historic event in a chain of events connected to the talks and the peace process.

There were Pentagon personnel at the party, including the Heads of Intelligence. Reporters from the Israeli press stationed in Washington were nearly always invited to the formal events of the Embassy.

This event was really a celebration. The photographers flashed their cameras, the noise was loud, everyone drank whisky or juice and there was such a great mood as I had never experienced at any other event.

I knew that I was in the center of one of the significant hours of our nation, a dream that I had dreamed, but never really believed would come true - peace with our neighbors and especially the largest and strongest of them.

Peace was still a long way off, but we were on the right road and, if we kept to this road, we would achieve our goal. Moshe Dayan was the most striking and interesting personality that visited Washington. Ambassador Dinitz a marvelous host, knew how to turn any occasion into an unforgettable event, whether it was a Purim party or formal gathering for Independence Day. Sihma Dinitz loved parties and made everyone feel as if he loved him personally. He gave every person his undivided attention, whatever his status in the Embassy's hierarchy.

During the peace talks, Dayan and Weizman visited Washington and Simha held parties in their honor, to which all the senior personnel of the Embassy were invited, meaning the attaches. There were no political discussions at this party, only stories surrounding it. They told jokes and anecdotes from the various meetings and discussions. Even Dayan, usually very quiet and tired, took part.

Ezer, Dayan's brother-in-law, very much respected and admired him. Ezer's status in the "Herut" Party had never been stronger and he could have allowed himself, as Minister of Defense, to demonstrate superiority towards his aging brother-in-law. But no, he spoke of him with adoration and respect.

When the Camp David peace talks were over, the official and public signing of the peace agreement had to take place.

The city was adorned with the flags of Egypt, Israel and the USA. All of the Embassy staff received invitations to the White House to be present at this unforgettable scene, while history was in the making – the ceremony for the signing of the agreement. I taped the event on my 8 mm camera. The mood was festive and everyone was ecstatic. We all held the three flags in our hands, which we had received at the entrance to the White House, in the northern garden. The anthems were played, the leaders stood to attention and we stood silently, as if we were in a dream.

Gen Gazala, the Egyptian Defence Attache
at a reception at Shlomo's appartment

In our heads we had many thoughts and memories, each one had his/her own load. I remembered the 1948-49 battles in which I had fought against the Egyptians. Sa'adat reminded me a little of the Sudanese Soldier who I had met and killed face to face at an army post in the Negev.

I remembered my history teacher telling us about wars and peace agreements and, for the first time, I felt superior to him for the fact that I was actually present during the making of history, about which the history teacher will tell his pupils.

The speeches that were strictly prepared by the leaders were in keeping with the event. I, who had not been very fond of Begin over the years, could not help but be moved by his words, which were a combination of pride and modesty.

Again, I am sincerely grateful to the IDF and I do not have enough words to express my appreciation and my happiness that they gave me the chance to be present at such an event, that very few were lucky enough to attend.

In the evening, an immense party was held in a giant marquee at the White House.

All the dignitaries from all over the world were invited and so was I, Shalom Eitan, from the little town of Lipcani, next to the Prut river in Bessarabia. It really had been worth it to survive and tell, not only the horrors of the holocaust, but also about peace with one of the mightiest Arab countries.

Return to Israel

In August 1979, we returned to Israel. We sent an airfreight with a number of essential items and the rest of our stuff such as furniture and electrical equipment, which every Israeli brings back with him – we sent by sea. We returned to our empty and neglected apartment. I did not imagine that it was possible to ruin an apartment in such a manner in three years. Rivka did not want to return to the apartment so we looked for an apartment to rent.

The apartments available were not as good as our own apartment could be after renovations. We decided to refurbish the apartment Israeli style, according to which we knew when we would start and how much it should cost, but would never know when it would be completed and what the final cost would be.

After I had arranged the general renovation of the apartment, I began to look for a job because I knew I could not stay in the army, even though I loved the army and identified with its main goal – to defend the State of Israel, my homeland –even though I wasn't actually born here. I held meetings with associates that I had met during my service in the army in order to check work options and to begin a new stage in my life in Israel.

Everyone was very nice and gave me ideas, recommendations and various strange offers. Only a few actually offered me work, mainly Elta, Tadiran, the Israel Aircraft Industry and a number of less well-known organizations.

I wanted to work at Elta, because I was better acquainted with this company than the other organizations and I saw myself closer to the issue of RADAR and electronic warfare, but we did not reach an agreement in view of a prosaic issue, such as a car. As someone who had been used to traveling in a company car, since the age of 18, I could not reconcile myself to the fact that I would invest all my compensation on a car in order to travel to and from work. Furthermore, the General Manager of Elta, Moshe Ortas, tried to persuade me that it was worthwhile for me to receive car maintenance payments than receive a company car, but he did not agree when I offered to take his car and waive, in his favor, the car maintenance payments…

Akiva Meir, Deputy General Manager of Planning & Development of Tadiran, suggested that I become Head of the Development Department in his division, not before he tried to persuade me to become Tender Manager of a project called "Even Yekara" (Precious Stone).

Tadiran

On October 15^th 1979, still on "discharge leave" from the IDF, I began to work at Tadiran. There weren't any extensive activities in the department, especially in view of Akiva's absence. Akiva was occupied at that time with his effort to be appointed General Manager of El-Op, which had recently been purchased by Tadiran in partnership with the Federman Family from the Ministry of Defense and other foreign investors. The Federmans were not that keen that the General Manager would be an employee from Tadiran but, in the end, they were persuaded.

During the intermediate period, Shmariyahu Shapira approached me. I do not now if this was his own initiative, or in view of friendship, or in someone else's name. He suggested that I contend for the position of General Manager of El-Op, because I was not yet identified with Tadiran. I phoned Micky Federman, but he informed me that they had already reached a decision about the appointment.

A few days later, I heard that Avika had been appointed General Manager. In my opinion, this was an excellent choice. Even though I could have accomplished many positive things, I have no doubt that Akiva brought with him knowledge and vital experience in industry, whereas I was still a novice. Albeit, I had a greater knowledge of the electro optics sphere, but this was not El-Op's problem. Akiva accomplished excellent work there.

In view of Akiva's appointment as General Manager of El-Op, the department was left without a manager. Elkana Kaspi, General Manager of Tadiran, called me to take upon myself the position of replacement Corporate VP R&D & Planning, until it was decided who would be appointed for the job. He requested that I did not form any aspirations for the job because he would not consider appointing a person who had not worked at Tadiran for at least a number of years. I agreed with him and was rather surprised that he had chosen me as replacement and not Meir Ben-Shushan, Manager of Planning, who had worked for many years at Tadiran and was more experienced than I was in the industry.

In my opinion, Meir Ben-Shushan would have been more suitable for the job, and not only as a replacement. A few months later, Meir Ben-Shushan was appointed a new position in the Control Department, where his skills were "wasted" and he, of course, left Tadiran quite quickly after that. The Planning and Development Department did not have vital jobs at that time in the company. The situation became worse over the years.

At the end of November 1979, discussions took place again regarding the Tender Manager for the "Even Yekara". Project. Ish Horowitz, General Manager of the Telecommunications Division, in which the project was due to be run, called me for a chat that lasted for many hours. Ish, a very nice, eloquent man, tried to persuade me to take on the job, but I stood my ground.

Ish Horowitz was disappointed with me that I had not agreed to the appointment and, especially, that he had been unable to persuade me. I saw the issue as being closed, but Ish did not.

At the beginning of December 1979, I was called to Akiva's room. Akiva occasionally visited his room, which he was supposed to finally vacate on December 31^st. In the room, apart from Akiva, there were Ish Horowitz, Shmariyahu Shapira and Zachi Raviv. These were in fact the 4 senior VPs and, at that time, they all enjoyed great influence in the company.

Each one in turn and in his own style, explained to me how important it was for the company to present a tender and how they had unanimously reached the conclusion that I was the perfect man for the job and that, in any case, this was only for the preparation and presentation of the tender. There was no obligation even to execute the project. Amongst the arguments they presented to me, I will only refer to my suitability as a person and as a manager, Guri Melzer's, the partner, agreement for the appointment and the fact that I was very popular with the client, both the Ministry of Defense and the Communications corps. I was unable to evade the issue. My argument that I was not suitable for the job and that I lacked knowledge and experience in the sphere of communications and managing a project of this size, was to no avail.

The four of them gave me to understand that, if I wanted to stay at the company and if I did not want to leave the company with the title of "did not succeed", it was preferable that I accept the "ruling". I finally accepted the assignment, without choice and with the feeling of submission.

Eight years later, I was still involved with all my heart and soul in the "Even Yekara" project, which I managed with great managerial, organizational, professional and physiological effort. The project was a great success and the gloomy predictions of failure were proven false. I really loved this job.

Summation Of The Chapters

I see my extended family and myself as being very fortunate and happy that we survived the grip of death since the Molotov agreement in 1939 and up to the end of the 2^nd World War. I am so grateful that we did not experience the same fate as 6 million of our people who suffered and eventually died, or were viciously murdered.

After years of hope and dreams of arriving in Israel, we fulfilled our wish. We progressed and raised families and even contributed our part in the development of the State of Israel and, especially, my brother and myself devoted many years towards the security and defense of our country.

I do not know how to sum up my life, up to this book. I only know that I have always worked, many hours, very often far from home and my loved ones. The army played an important part in my life, especially when I felt that I was contributing to strengthening the security and the economy of the country.

I did not utilize my time for my own benefit or gratification, but I cannot say that I especially suffered. I do not remember if I encountered particular disappointments because my expectations have never been high or especially ambitious. It seems to me that my expectations were very balanced and this is why I never experienced great disappointments. However, it could also be that these balanced expectations inhibited my ambitions and aspirations which one needs in order to make supreme efforts, sometimes including unorthodox measures, in order to achieve special goals.

I am not sorry that I sufficed with what I had. My achievements express my aptitude and the efforts I was prepared to make, including the level of moral values that I set for myself.

I, personally, did not know how to exploit life, even for my personal enjoyment but, in all, I am thankful for my good fortune. My children did not receive enough of my attention, at an age when they needed it most, and for this I am sorry. Most probably Rikva also has just reasons for being angry, that I did not pay her enough attention or love as she had hoped, but this was not because I did not want to or that I did not love. As I have already explained, I simply was not brought up that way and I never saw the importance of expressing my feelings out loud.

I fulfilled my vow to Survive and Tell.

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