A clear sky spread over Jerusalem. A gentle breeze stirred thousands of blue-and-white flags, which flew from every pole and balcony. The reunited city was celebrating its return to Jewish sovereignty.
Elie Weiss leaned against a pine tree on the hillside overlooking the military cemetery on Mount Herzl. He watched the army truck crawl up the path between the graves. A group of paratroopers marched behind it, olive- green uniforms clean and pressed, red berets tilted to the right. A military rabbi followed the group, reciting from Psalms in well-rehearsed mourning. Farther back, dozens of black hats clustered around Rabbi Abraham Gerster.
Operation Mokked had succeeded beyond expectations. Within two hours, the Egyptian air force had been decimated, hundreds of jets left smoldering on the runways. When the Jordanians joined the war with a murderous artillery barrage on West Jerusalem, Israeli jets attacked. During the fighting at Government House, which the UN had handed over to the Jordanians at the outset of hostilities, Israeli shells destroyed General Bull’s Jeep Wagoneer. And while strafing a Jordanian airstrip in Amman, an IDF bomber hit the UN general’s private plane, which burnt down to its steel frame. A formal apology was issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, but it did little to calm Bull’s ire. It took four more days to push the Jordanians back from East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Fooled by President Nasser’s false claims of advancing on Tel Aviv, the Syrians also joined the war, forcing Israel to fight on a third front. The IDF reservists-farmers, teachers, laborers, lawyers, and shopkeepers-took the battle to the enemy’s territory, away from their families and homes. They suffered heavy casualties, but managed to drive the Syrian army to the gates of Damascus, the Jordanian Legion over to the east bank of the Jordan River, and the Egyptian army across the Suez Canal. Egyptian soldiers, most of them poor farmers pressed into service, took flight with bare feet, leaving the Sinai Desert dotted with Soviet-made boots. Many died of thirst, and hundreds drowned trying to swim across the Suez Canal.
After six days of battle, when the guns finally quieted down, Israel had tripled its size. The stunning victory over those who had sought the Jews’ total annihilation was mixed with grief for the many civilian and military casualties. Funeral processions followed each other from sunrise to midnight in every cemetery in Israel, and the hospitals were filled with the wounded and their tearful families. But the short war had changed the Middle East forever, and Elie was eager for the future.
Only a few powerful men knew how Elie’s UN radar operation had saved the day. The risk to Israel’s position at the UN General Assembly in New York required that the operation would forever remain secret. No record was made of the bodies recovered from a ground-floor office at Government House. Instead, two paratroopers’ names were added to those who fought courageously on the northern front. Sanani’s large family had attended his military burial in the morning, and now it was Lemmy’s turn.
Elie lit a cigarette and gazed through his binoculars.
The bearded black hats followed the military procession slowly, heads bowed, cylindrical payos swaying back and forth by their faces.
The truck stopped by an open grave. Six paratroopers carried the coffin out of the truck. It was a wooden coffin, draped in a blue-and-white flag, the Star of David on top. They lowered it into the grave while the military rabbi chanted a prayer. The paratroopers lined up, cocked their rifles, and aimed at the blue sky. The captain, stout and muscular, stepped to the head of the grave. Elie remembered him from the tent in the desert.
Rifle shots cut through the air. Frightened birds flocked from a nearby tree. At the sound of a second salvo, Elie stirred and moved his hand over his bald head. Another round, and they lowered their Uzis and stood in attention while the military rabbi recited a final prayer.
A shovel rested by the grave. The paratroopers took turns to cover the coffin with soil. The captain was last. When the grave was filled, he saluted and marched off, followed by the others.
Only then did the bearded men approach the grave. Their black coats fluttered with the wind. Benjamin Mashash helped Rabbi Abraham Gerster kneel down by the fresh mound of soil.
A small cardboard sign on a wooden stick had been placed at the head of the grave. Through his binoculars, Elie could read it:
Private Jerusalem (“Lemmy”) Gerster
Killed in Battle, June 7, 1967
In the Defense of Israel
God Will Avenge His Blood
A taxicab appeared on the gravel path leading to the site. It stopped, and two women came out of the backseat. Elie watched Tanya and her daughter hurry toward the grave. A few black hats turned to face them, forming a human barrier. Tanya stumbled, and Bira supported her.
At the foot of the grave, Rabbi Abraham Gerster suddenly fell forward. The palms of his hands sank into the fresh soil. A terrible cry tore through the air: “ Jerusalem! ”
Among the pine trees, Elie’s gaunt face twitched. He dropped the burning cigarette and pressed it into the earth with the sole of his shoe. From his pocket he drew a telegram, which had arrived from his agent in Munich that morning, and read it again:
Wilhelm arrived on flight as scheduled. He’s recovering well. The burns will leave only minor scars on his back. He’s already making excellent progress with German pronunciation and grammar, but less so with French. Mood is dark at times, but he enjoys the driving lessons, albeit with youthful recklessness. Admission to Lyceum Alpin St. Nicholas confirmed for coming school year.
Elie put the telegram back in his pocket, satisfied. Soon Lemmy would grasp the importance of his mission and embrace his new life as a secret agent in the service of Israel. It was the life he had been destined for since birth. He was his father’s son. A natural.
Turning to leave, Elie paused at the sound of Tanya’s sobbing. He returned the binoculars to his eyes and watched her push through the black hats and drop to her knees next to Abraham, where they cried together by the heap of fresh soil.
