“In the meantime, we need to determine what your formal status in Britain is going to be. Do you want to present your ambassadorial credentials, assuming you have them with you, to the King?”
“As a matter of fact,” Mizrahi responded, “my country would prefer keeping a low profile for a while longer. Why not refer to us simply as Palestinians for the time being. My official status can be an emissary from Palestine or just a private business man engaged in business with His Majesty’s Government. The Americans, I’m sure, will be interested in us, but there are advantages to keeping our relationship to ourselves. As opposed to the U.S. position we have no objections to Britain keeping its empire, as long as it is friendly to us. The U.S. may not be too happy with our assistance to you – it will diminish the importance of lend-lease and with it, their influence, on your policies. We don’t want to attract attention – from the Americans or anybody else.
“We do insist on complete secrecy, at least until after our rescue operation in Europe is finished. The Empire is home to thousands of German, Japanese and Soviet spies. We will give you lists, but you will have to be decisive about acting against them – especially since some are in high places in your bureaucracy, including your intelligence services. Even with this information leaks may happen. I suggest that we work out the appropriate protocols as soon as possible. Israel will not tolerate any threat to the rescue in Europe. This will also preclude any written communications, at least until we work out an appropriate procedure with your security services.”
Churchill looked both dismayed and surprised: “Sir, I understand your concerns. A list of spies will be helpful, but we will have to verify each one of them ourselves.”
“Mr. Prime Minister, this is exactly what I was implying. By the time you weed those out it may be too late. So we need to keep this relationship secret until my government decides otherwise.”
“Agreed. There will be only a very limited number of people that will know what is going on. Anything else we need to cover today?”
Mizrahi hesitated: “Our only immediate difficulty will be with current funds. We have significant amounts of currency, including American dollars and British pounds, but none of them are from this century. I suggest that your government establish a line of credit for us to draw on to be repaid in the near future. I assure you that you will get your money’s worth very quickly.” They shook hands and Churchill escorted his guest to the door.
After Mizrahi left, the British Prime Minister sat for a long while thinking about the current situation. He didn’t like his country’s position as a client of either the U.S or Israel – or both. To win the war Britain needed help. The Americans with their land-lease helped, and there was a promise of more substantial assistance in the future, but the price for this help worried Churchill. As things stood, the U.S. was building up a great military industrial capability and the P.M. could see how it would lead to American supremacy in the not too far future. He was also somewhat apprehensive of President Roosevelt’s antipathy to the very idea of the Empire. Until now he had no choice but to accept American help and pay the price. The Israelis may have brought a solution. It would not be free but, at least for now, the price was fairly clear and not too high. The question in Churchill’s mind was simple: could the Israelis’ help free him from the need to accept American handouts and building up American strength at British expense? He didn’t know the answer, it lay in the future, but he hoped that it would.
***
The Infrastructure Minister reviewed a plan submitted to him by the Electric Power Commission. It was a revamped version of a 1980s proposal to dig a canal from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea using the elevation difference to generate electricity. The original plan called for a 500 megawatt power station. The new version proposed a 1500 megawatt power plant and three parallel water conduits. Two of these were envisioned as huge underground pipes and the third was to be a navigable canal passing by Beer Sheba.
In their former time-line, the much smaller plan had been opposed by several environmental groups, whose lobbying had scuttled U.S. loan guarantees for the project. The environmentalists’ concerns were unwarranted: there was no danger of overfilling the Dead Sea. In fact, the Sea had almost disappeared by the time of The Event. Another claim was suspect from the very beginning: that the canal would change the climate so much that the Negev desert would disappear because evaporation from the canal would increase rain in the area. First, what was the problem with the desert turning green without all the artificial irrigation? And second, it was never shown that the miniscule amount of evaporation would measurably change the rainfall in the desert. There was a third claim, the one that finally scuttled the funding: that leakage of salty sea water from the canal would contaminate the aquifer and make the water under the Negev unusable. It did not matter that any leakage could be prevented by using appropriate building techniques or that the Negev aquifer was not used.
The Minister decided that he liked the new and larger power generation proposal. He still needed to present it to the full cabinet for approval and then find the money in the budget to build it. The hydroelectric project was a short term stopgap solution. He also decided to recommend starting development of the gas fields in the Mediterranean as soon as practicable – It shouldn’t take very long to make the area safe. Israel was producing about ten thousand megawatts of electricity and would need at least double that amount within a couple of years. Natural gas would provide clean and abundant power.
***
Amos Nir brought the meeting to order. The cabinet had a number of issues on their agenda, and he began with the most important: “We’ve been negotiating with the Brits since last Wednesday. We’ve met with some resistance on a number of issues, but mostly we’re making good progress. They’ve agreed to supply us with coal and oil through the port in Eilat and the Hadera pier. Food will go through the Suez Canal into Ashdod. To begin with, it will be mainly grain, rice, vegetables and fruit from the Far East, Australia and South Africa. We’ll be getting Canadian cattle but will have to expand our slaughter houses to process it. Coal will come from South Africa and oil from Iraq and the Emirates. They are resisting ceding Kuwait to us and, to a lesser extent, transferring control of the Sinai Desert. In their view giving away any part of the Empire sets a precedent they don’t want set. I expect that we will have to give them something more than upgrades to their existing weapons or threaten them directly, which, personally, I am in no hurry to do.
“On a different note, their Foreign Office is going to issue a new White Paper tomorrow, Tuesday, changing their Mideast policy. The new declaration will encourage Jewish immigration to Palestine. The Royal Navy is standing by to protect our ships. We convinced the Germans that any ships carrying refugees to Israel will fly the Caliph’s flag in addition to the swastika and whatever else they chose to put on them. Nitzan?”
The defense minister took over: “We’ll let the Brits know when one of our ships leaves port. We don’t want the Nazis using our flag to transport supplies to Rommel in North Africa.” The Defense Minister paused to look at his notes. “We'll have an additional satellite above the Atlantic in about a week and a half, this one with the ability to detect magnetic anomalies. Combined with our interception and decoding of German naval transmissions, the new satellite will let us pinpoint individual submarines. In the meantime, we are relying on optical imaging and radio intercepts, which works well enough, to locate U-boat wolf packs preparing to attack convoys.
“We also have Military Industries working at full capacity making 60mm hyper velocity cannon and ammunition to upgrade the British tanks. The first shipment went to Cairo just a couple of hours ago. I expect them to be installed in Crusader tanks and ready for action within a week. The quantities will likely not be enough to stop Rommel’s advance but it will crimp his style a bit.
“Also, I think Amos and I found a solution to the British reluctance to give up Kuwait and the Sinai. It involves some wait
ing time but will ripen in a couple of weeks.”
It was the Infrastructure Minister’s turn. He presented the proposal for hydro-electrical power generation, which met with general approval. The Finance Minister interjected: “Don’t worry about the cost of this or any other project. We are budgeting in shekels and can print as many as we need. I don’t expect inflation will be a problem either – By the time the new currency hits the market, we’ll have significant numbers of immigrants arriving, food and energy supplied by the Brits, and an economy growing fast enough to keep up with any inflationary pressures.”
“Then we’re in agreement to go ahead with hydro-electric power?” the Infrastructure Minister asked. Everyone nodded. “In the meantime we’ve made tangible progress in other areas. Two of our contractors are erecting temporary buildings to accommodate about five hundred thousand refugees. We’ll be signing contracts in the coming week with four more construction companies. We expect to use the buildings for several years so we’re building them to be as comfortable as possible, including indoor plumbing – much more comfortable than what the new immigrants got in the early days of the State. That’s a strain on our construction industry, but with more labor coming in, we’ll manage. Starting in about two weeks we’ll be able to accommodate 40,000 new refugees a month - 200,000 once we’re working at full capacity. We should be able to accept all of them within a year and a half. If necessary, we can triple this rate if some of the refugees live in tents. They won’t have plumbing but people won't be staying there very long.”
“By the time the first transports arrive we'll have a staff of clerks and instructors to help with absorption,” the Absorption Minister added. “The Security Service informs me they’ll be ready for screening as well.”
The Labor Minister sighed. “Some of the unions resent the massive hiring since they haven’t been consulted. A good example is the Military Industry Employees Union: they threaten to strike unless we guarantee that all the new hires get the same rights as those employed before the Event. As you know, current employees can’t be fired. With the big population surge we’re expecting, we can’t guarantee everybody secure employment for life. The law allows us to employ temporary workers without contracts. The unions believe the current labor shortage will force us to accept their demands. I am about to issue an order suspending union rights and activities for the next six months using the emergency laws. We'll see how the situation develops after that.”
“I was going to raise this question too,” the Absorption Minister said. “Most of the new instructors we are training joined one of the two Teachers’ Unions, which are increasing their demands. An emergency labor order will help me too.”
Amos summarized: “We seem to be in good shape generally, except for some labor trouble which we can neutralize for a while using the emergency laws. Hopefully everything will get sorted out shortly.”
“I don’t think we should use the emergency laws against the unions,” the Finance Minister interrupted. “The last thing we need right now is a serious internal fight. Why not tell them that six million new immigrants are on the way? There’s no reason to keep it a secret, which it won’t be for long anyway. Once they realize the labor shortage will be gone in a couple of months, I’m sure their stance will change. If they’re smart - and there are some smart union leaders out there - they’ll stop fighting us and start thinking about organizing the newcomers. This will be the first time in our history that they’ll have that opportunity and I think they’ll be eager to do so.” She leaned back in her chair and looked around the conference table challenging anybody to object.
“I am not sure you are right,” the Labor Minister said mildly. “Our unions have been part of the establishment since the beginning of the state. We have companies that are owned by them. They know very well how to play politics and squeeze the government but have been steadily losing ground in the private sector. I think they’ll try to use their power to paralyze the government, regardless of the labor market.”
“Hannah’s right,” Amos said. “We may as well let the country know about the new immigrants. It will cause an upheaval, but we have to make the announcement sooner or later. May as well do it now. If after the announcement the unions relent, I’ll be very happy. If not, we can still use the emergency laws.
“We’re planning on taking all our people out of Europe within a year - and we should be counting on at least six million. When they start arriving by the hundred thousands, we’ll have enough labor to accelerate the construction process and hopefully the unions will stop bothering us, at least for a while.
“We’re going to be building like crazy, everything from housing to metallurgical plants to oil refineries. We’ve got to be self-sufficient as soon as possible – preferably within two years. We'll have to purchase some equipment, probably from the U.S.”
***
“May I have your attention,” the Reverend John Walker said loudly. He had gathered his group again to make several announcements. The crowd was noisy and cheerful. Most had just returned from a tour of several holy places in Jerusalem and were discussing their trip. “I want to tell you about the discussions I’ve been having with the authorities. Please feel free to interrupt at any point with questions.” The room quieted down and everybody looked at him expectantly.
“The government recommends we postpone the tour of Bethlehem we’ve been planning as there may be trouble from Palestinian extremists. How many want to go anyway?” Most raised their hands. “Ok, we go tomorrow as planned. The bus will be in front of the hotel at 10 am
“On a different note, I’ve been assured that anyone needing medical treatment will be treated free of charge at any hospital. I’ve also been instructed to tell you that anyone who wants to work will be issued an Israeli ID and work permit. There’s a serious labor shortage and most of us will be able to find jobs. Any questions?”
“Do we have to work or is it a choice?” an elderly man asked.
“The way they explained it to me, all men over 67 and women over 65 will receive Israeli Social Security payments, which should be enough to live on. Anyone younger than that will have to work to get an income unless they are disabled.”
“That’s not fair!” one of the younger women exclaimed. “I have a perfectly nice job back home and don’t want to work for these people.”
“Dear Elizabeth,” the Reverend said patiently, “you mean you used to have a job in the U.S. we came from. That world and all our sources of income there don’t exist yet. We can’t expect to live on charity here and be tourists forever. We need to contribute to the society we’re part of. I recommend that everyone - including retirees - discuss the situation with the labor advisor that will meet with us the day after tomorrow. They promise to help everyone find appropriate jobs.” The group looked somewhat surprised and dismayed but there weren’t any more questions.
The weather was pleasant and the traffic sparse for their trip to Bethlehem the next day. There were two checkpoints between Jerusalem and their destination. At both of them Israeli soldiers boarded the bus and politely asked for identification. Bethlehem, the boys told the group, was dangerous, filled with terrorists prepared to attack civilians. At the second checkpoint an officer boarded the bus: “I highly recommend that you postpone your trip, sir. We have information attacks are being prepared in the territories under Palestinian control and you are taking a grave risk going there.”
“Are you saying we are prohibited from going into Bethlehem?” Walker asked.
“No. This is a free country, and unless there is an emergency border closure, you are free to go. But, again, I highly recommend that, for your safety, you stay in secure areas.” The officer shrugged: “I can’t stop you, but you are taking an unreasonable risk.”
“Thank you. I’ll discuss it with my group,” the Reverend responded as he climbed back on the bus.
“Sir,” the bus driver addressed him after closing the door “I would like to say that the
Israeli army always says these things to tourists. Our bus belongs to an Arab-owned company from Nazareth. My fellow Palestinians are not stupid; they don’t attack tourists. They have nothing against you. It is the Israeli occupation that causes all these problems.”
“Thank you, my friend,” the Reverend smiled at the driver. “I suspected as much. Let’s go.”
The bus continued on its way and arrived in Bethlehem a little behind schedule. Reverend Walker guided his group around the streets of the ancient town and into the Church of the Nativity. “This is a sacred place,” he told them.
The next thing he knew, there was an eerie quiet. He didn’t know where he was. It took him a while to realize that a severed human leg, still dressed in pants was on the floor in front of him.
The quiet was the result of severe damage to his hearing – being less than ten feet from a suicide bomber can do that. His group was decimated. Most of them were seriously injured, ten were dead. The Reverend was one of the lucky ones. He was operated on three times in two days. They removed most of the nails and ball bearings that were imbedded in his legs and chest and reattached one finger that was hanging by a sliver of skin on his left hand. Nobody could cure his nightmares in which he relived the blast. He felt guilty for surviving and was afraid to fall asleep.
Chapter 9
On Thursday, June 26, 1941, six days since The Event Noam Shaviv was in his tent. His company was spread out over ten kilometers of the Egyptian border. Their chances of stopping anybody from crossing would be extremely unlikely if it wasn’t for the electronic fence. This morning he had received a call from battalion intelligence: “We have reliable information that an attempt to cross into Egypt will be made today or tomorrow by a single infiltrator.”
Noam transmitted the new information to his platoon commanders and an hour later drove along the line to check how the company was doing. As usual, he had remarks for his platoon commanders, but generally he was satisfied and let his men know it.
The Shield: a novel Page 12
