“What would your ministry want with a humble physician?”
Dan smiled. “Before I describe my business in detail I need a favor from you.” He pulled out a sheet of paper from the inner pocket of his windbreaker. “Take a look at this and tell me what you think the patient is suffering from?”
The paper was printed on both sides. It had descriptions of symptoms, results of an autopsy and the patient’s response to treatment. Jonathan read it twice before responding. “Well, first, this seems to be a medical history that is quite a number of years old. We stopped using Digitalis, or rather Digoxin, many years ago. Some places still use it for heart failure, but the advanced countries have better medication. It’s way too dangerous since a small mistake in dosage can cause serious side effects. There are test that were either not performed or are missing. Some are standard blood analyses and especially immune system tests – these were not available before the sixties. So it kind of dates this record. The other comment I have is that the patient wasn’t managed very well.
“As to the diagnosis: the patient obviously suffered from a number of ailments. The history you gave me covers only about 4-5 years. He has heart failure, hypertension and possibly metastatic melanoma – which probably killed him. But the main thing that jumps out at me is that he was severely misdiagnosed as having polio. I think that it’s more likely that it was Guillain-Barré syndrome. The rest of his condition, except for the melanoma, may be the result of incorrect treatment, or rather neglect of that one problem.”
“Are you sure about the polio?”
“Well, the chances, in my opinion, are about 70/30 that it was Guillain-Barré. That’s the best I can do with this piece of paper.”
“Okay, let’s assume you are right. How should the patient be treated?”
“That would depend on how long the patient suffered from the syndrome.”
“Let’s say for about 20 years before the beginning of this report.”
Jonathan fidgeted in his chair. “This is a long time. I’d have to examine the patient if he were still alive – which he’s not, judging from the autopsy report. There are therapies but their success depends on too many factors to give you a reasonable estimate.”
Dan finished his coffee in a gulp. “Thank you very much Dr. Brown. I’ll probably contact you again and explain what this is about. I have to admit that your diagnosis was surprising and I have to seek instructions on how to proceed.”
“And don’t forget a second opinion,” Jonathan smiled, “though it is not likely to help your dead patient.”
***
Dan Levine called his superior as soon as he got to the privacy of his car.
“How sure was the doctor about this not being polio?” his boss asked.
“He was pretty sure, 70/30 according to him. He would need to examine the patient to be entirely sure and, most importantly, he would need to run a blood test that doesn’t exist there.
“By the way, we selected this doctor because besides being an American he is a very good internist. He recommended a second opinion. I agree.”
“Okay” said the voice on the other side of the line. “Find a specialist and get a second opinion. We’ll decide what to do after we have that.”
***
The next day Dan met with an immune system specialist at the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem.
After carefully examining the page the specialist gave Dan the same diagnosis as Jonathan Brown: the patient likely suffered from Guillain-Barré syndrome. To be entirely certain and to determine to what extent the condition was treatable the patient would have to be examined and several tests run.
Dan left the Hadassah hospital for his office in Tel-Aviv. At the end of his hour-long drive he had a plan, but one element was still missing. He reported to his boss and suggested that they prepare some things immediately so that when the missing element became available they wouldn’t lose time.
“Go ahead,” the boss said. “If Jonathan Brown agrees, we’ll find a suitable candidate. As a matter of fact, I will start some inquiries now. If he doesn’t agree… well, I know you well enough. He will be with us.”
***
After a long meeting with the General Staff, Ephraim Hirshson called his deputy at the Brindisi base: “I need you to prepare plans to defend the base. Make use of the General Staff’s planning division and intelligence. We may be attacked by the Germans in the next couple of weeks or, at best, several months. Take into account an increase of the garrison – probably double what we have now, but the final decision is up to us. Update me daily on your progress.”
“Sir, I expected you here in a day or two. Is there going to be a delay?”
Hirshson worded his response carefully. “I am not sure about a delay, but there are a couple of things I need to take care of, including arrangements for additional forces. You’ll probably have a week more of freedom from me.”
From the General Staff he drove to his father’s house. He was scheduled to visit with his wife for a Friday night dinner but had made a special appointment to talk to Jacob. Ephraim didn’t support Jacob’s desire to enlist but decided to answer questions without trying to influence him.
Jacob was waiting for him in the living room. “Thank you for coming. I appreciate you taking the time from your busy schedule.”
“You are welcome, but no need to thank me. You would have done at least as much – We are family. I’ll do my best to help you.”
Jacob was quiet for a moment, collecting his thoughts. “You know, the experience I went through at the Ninth Fort and the interrogation in the forest changed something in me. After we arrived here, this change was pushed a bit further by the week of education we got to catch up to ‘modern times’. I was never a hateful man, but something changed. It seems to me that eliminating the Nazis is the most important thing I can do now. I mean direct elimination, like killing them, not just hurting them by improving the economy of Israel.”
“Is that why you want to enlist?”
“Yes and another reason: I don’t ever want to feel helpless again in the face of our oppressors. I believe that being a soldier in a Jewish army is a good way to achieve this.”
Ephraim said nothing for a long while. Jacob waited patiently.
“I understand how you feel. After all, I enlisted in the professional forces for similar reasons – call it patriotism. And don’t think that my parents were not against my choice of a career. I’m not sorry that I chose to be a soldier and I would do it again, but sometimes it’s hard. You lose your freedom of choice. You have to obey orders. They’ll take you away from home and family for a long time. The army takes care of you but also leaves you very little choice of what you can or can’t do. Even now as a newly baked Brigadier General I have limited choice and have to obey orders.”
Jacob was embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I noticed that you had slightly different epaulets but I have no idea what the rank signs are. Congratulations on your promotion.”
“Thank you. You are the first member of the family to know. I only got promoted today.”
Ephraim glanced at his watch. “I will have to leave in about twenty minutes. My wife expects me for dinner and will kill me if I’m late, so let’s try and make the best of the time we have. We can continue this conversation on Friday – we will be here for Sabbath dinner”.
“I really have a couple of simple questions. But first, don’t think that I am completely ignorant of what an army is. I may be young but I have some experience and I heard a lot from my late father. I would like to know what to expect if I chose to enlist.”
Ephraim smiled. “It’s been a while since I was in the predicament of being a young recruit. In any case, things changed since then. I did spend some time with the Instruction and Training command. That was about seven years ago, so take my information only as a general picture not an accurate prediction. At the time you enlist they will give you a medical. If you are found healthy and your medical profi
le is determined to be 97% you will be sent to basic training.”
“Wait,” Jacob interrupted, “why 97%? As far as I know I am 100% healthy.”
Ephraim scratched his head with an amused look on his face. “Being a Jewish male you are missing a tiny piece of your original body. This makes your medical profile 97%. If you ever meet a male IDF soldier with a profile of 100%, he will turn out to be an uncircumcised Christian. There are some in the IDF.”
Jacob smiled. “That sort of makes sense. So what is included in basic training?”
“You are close to 21, which means that you won’t get the same training as the 18 year olds. It will still be infantry training, but not as long and not as hard as for the youngsters. There are several basic training courses for older recruits, people with lower medical profiles and those that have professions the army is interested in who are not going to be infantrymen. It is quite certain that with the abbreviated training you won’t be accepted into a combat unit. Which will leave you with a number of choices, including attending army courses and becoming a technical specialist, like an auto mechanic.”
Jacob looked disappointed. “I wanted to volunteer for one of the elite units, like Golani or the commandos.”
“Ah, I see that you researched the subject.” Ephraim shook his head. “I don’t think they will take you because of your age and limited Hebrew. But this is my opinion. You can try and see what happens.”
Jacob nodded: “Well, thanks for the information. I’ll think about this. Maybe I should go to the induction base in Tel Hashomer and talk to them.”
“That’s a great idea. Call them first and ask to make an appointment with captain Ezra Vilnai. If they make difficulties tell them that you‘re my relative. He will know the answers to all your questions.”
Jacob smiled. “Isn’t this nepotism?”
Ephraim smiled back. “Sure. A little, but it doesn’t count. If I asked them to actually do something it would have been unethical. This is just treating a relative well.”
***
Jacob got his answer from the army recruiting office in a couple of days. It was disappointing. After a long conversation with one of the personnel assignment officers he was offered a number of options, which boiled down to a simple answer to his question: he didn’t have a choice – all new immigrants under the age of 25 were inducted into the army for service periods that varied with age. In Jacob’s case he would have to serve at least six months.
After he reported to the base he would go through several weeks of basic infantry training and be assigned to a support unit. To serve with a combat unit he needed six month of basic training and then advanced training – longer than his whole service. There were provisions for volunteers but an application would be considered only after he successfully finished basic training.
After mulling the problem over Jacob decided to wait until he was done with his basic training. It seemed to him that if he demonstrated good abilities and persisted in his efforts he had a chance to be accepted into a fighting unit.
It didn’t take Ze’ev and Noam very long to persuade him that while he was waiting for his induction into the IDF he could prepare for the possibility of continuing as a civilian after his short military service.
***
Two months later Jacob Hirshson had his surveyor’s license. The whole family had celebrated the opening of his new office in the central Sinai city of Refidim. His army service was still several months away. In the meantime he was being drawn into the new business. It seemed to him now that this may be as patriotic as serving in the armed forces. He also recognized that this perception might change after he was part of the IDF.
Uncle Chaim was working for Jacob as an operations manager. The new surveying business was in great demand as construction was booming. Jacob had the business savvy to hire every qualified new immigrant he could find, even before he had his business license or an office. He paid them a salary while they got their licenses; now he had nine surveyors working for him. The funds had come from Ze’ev in the form of a loan and line of credit. He had no doubt that his money would be repaid soon. Chaim was still somewhat unhappy with the idea that his nephew employed him. Jacob’s father never worked together with Chaim and Jacob didn’t either. That was partly due to Chaim being observant and Jacob’s father an atheist, but also because of different interests. Chaim was settling in though, and his mood kept improving as he realized that Jacob really needed him.
Jacob’s mother Sara seemed happy keeping house, which was all she’d ever done. The family lived in one of the new houses in Refidim. The city was a sprawling affair. Buses were ubiquitous and polluted the desert air with their fumes and noise. Everybody was looking forward to the numerous tram lines promised.
Sheina, together with her cousin Tzipora, was studying computer science at Beersheba University. It was hard. They were busy all day long, five days a week and kept studying in their dorm on weekends. There was a lot of catching up to do both in Hebrew and in science studies. But they were happy and had even found time to go out and make friends.
***
Days after his paternal relatives had moved to Refidim, Ze’ev went to meet his mother’s family. They arrived at Haifa’s newly expanded port passenger terminal, which was barely coping with the tens of thousands of new immigrants arriving daily. Ze’ev walked for a long time, comparing the faces he saw to old pictures. He walked by them several times without recognizing them before deciding to ask one of the numerous volunteers for help. The three people approaching the counter in response to the public announcement didn’t look familiar. Ze’ev introduced himself.
“Yes, yes,” the man responded. “I was told by the people in Brindisi that you would meet us here.” Nachman Frumin accepted that they were related but didn’t accept the relationship with his heart. His wife Tzila was just happy to have someone in this incomprehensible new land whether they were family or not. Their son Wolf, eighteen years old and proudly independent, didn’t worry about new relatives. He was interested in learning more about the amazing gadgets they’d seen. All three were relieved to hear that the seventeen year old girl connecting them to these new relations was safe.
Esther, the missing link, had been on a field trip with friends when the Germans attacked their small town near Vilnius. Their guide, a Communist friend of Wolf’s, took the girls in his charge east, out of danger. In the history Ze’ev knew, Esther spent the war in Uzbekistan, returning to Vilna to meet and marry Jacob in 1947.
Still unsure of the relationship, the family settled in for the drive to Ze’ev’s house in Hertzlia. Nachman, a grain merchant and generous supporter of the Labor Zionist movement back in Belarus, was amazed that the state had actually come to be. Wolf had lots of questions about local politics. Tzila just seemed to enjoy the drive.
They communicated mostly in Yiddish, with a smattering of Russian. A road sign for Jerusalem excited them, it was in Hebrew and English, but apparently they could read both languages – knowing Polish meant that the Latin alphabet was familiar to them. Even Wolf, the self-proclaimed communist and atheist, wanted to see Jerusalem immediately. Ze’ev had to disappoint them but promised a trip to the holy city later in the week.
The dinner at Ze’ev’s house was a crowded affair. Both Sheina and her mother attended. Jacob couldn’t come and promised to join the next clan gathering.
After dinner at his house Ze’ev got to the business of explaining their family tree to his new relatives. It helped that one of Tzila’s cousins used to own a photography shop and a number of pictures survived the war. It took several hours to convince the newcomers that Ze’ev was indeed their grandson. Wolf was slightly taken aback that Ze’ev was named after him – East European Jewish tradition prohibits naming a child after a living relative. He may have proclaimed himself a Communist, but this didn’t make him any less Jewish. Having someone named after him meant that he was dead. It bothered Wolf.
Ze’ev tried to explain to the F
rumins their daughter’s fate. All they knew was that she had left on a trip to a town east of Druya in Belarus, where they lived, on Friday. The war started on Sunday morning. They hadn’t seen her since. Several other girls from her class that had gone on the trip were also missing.
Ze’ev explained that Wolf’s friend, the teacher on the trip, was an agent of the NKVD – the Soviet secret police. He knew more about the Germans than he let on while teaching history at their school in Druya. When they heard the first announcement of the German attack, he told the girls that by the time they get back home, the town will likely be occupied by the Nazis. He also explained that judging by how they behaved in Poland the Jew’s chances of survival were bleak. He offered them a choice: those who still wanted to go back could take the horse and cart and go. He promised to take the rest into deep Russia, far away from the fighting and the Germans. The girls, who were all Jewish, debated their options for almost an hour – that was how long it took their teacher to make the necessary arrangements. When he came back most decided to go.
The teacher kept his word. In the general disorder of the Soviet withdrawal under German pressure he used his NKVD credentials to get the girls on one of the last trains evacuating the families of Soviet military personnel to the east. He went on the train with them as far as Moscow. There he had the local office of the Ministry of the Interior provide the girls with valid Soviet documents and recommended that they keep going. They joined masses of refugees trekking east. The only advantage they had were the documents. Issued in Moscow they gave the girls a better chance of obtaining food on the way.
Esther Frumin, with a friend, kept going until they got to Samarkand, the capital of Uzbekistan. She went to a nursing school there. The school offered some food to students, which was a major factor in her decision.
In the history Ze’ev knew, his mother only returned to her home town in 1944. There she found her aunt and cousin, who had been in Russia when the war began. Everybody else was dead. She met Jacob in Vilnius in 1947, marrying him several weeks later. They left the Soviet Union in 1956 and went to Israel. Ze’ev was their only child.
The Shield: a novel Page 33
