“Here.” He handed the note and documents.
Rabin read through quickly and removed his glasses. “Interesting, but misguided. I was briefed by Shin Bet last night. Freckles and his right-wing rabblerousing was never authorized by Shin Bet. It was all part of the scheme Weiss cooked up to taint the Likud, culminating in the staged assassination attempt to boost my popularity. Shin Bet confronted Freckles last week and scared him enough to switch his loyalty. They shut down this SOD operation, locked up Elie Weiss, and broke up the ILOT group-I’m told they’re a bunch of kids, boy scouts.”
“ Boy scouts,” Itah asked, “with guns?”
“ With blanks,” Rabin said. “Shin Bet confirmed there were no live bullets. It was all a game to make noise in the media, to prime it for the final act of trying to shoot me, also with blanks. But it’s all over now. Finished.”
Lemmy was taken by his gruff charisma, which radiated the confidence of a man certain of his goals. “Knowing Elie Weiss, I suggest you still wear a Kevlar vest to the peace rally.”
Rabin chuckled. “What can he do from a hospital bed?”
“ If anything was supposed to happen on Saturday, he must have set the wheels in motion long ago. That’s how he operates.”
“ Listen, Weiss is a hero of Zionism, a defender of the Jewish people. I respect his achievements. But his time has passed. I can’t indulge his grandiose ideas, especially not in today’s world. We’re making peace, but he acts as if we’re still in the middle of the Holocaust.”
“ He’s a very capable man,” Lemmy insisted, “despite his age and emphysema.”
“ Unfortunately,” the prime minister said. “I’m told he’s dying.”
“ Even if that’s true, what about Tanya? I saw Shin Bet agents try to kill her.”
“ How do you know they were Shin Bet?” Rabin lit a cigarette. “The report I received states that, as part of the VIP Protection Unit’s investigation of Weiss’s fake assassination plot, they followed Tanya to Zurich, but lost her there. She apparently travelled to Amsterdam, where she was hit by a tram.”
“ I was there,” Lemmy said, “and I didn’t push her.”
“ Perhaps Weiss had other agents in Amsterdam? Some kind of a redundancy?”
Lemmy had no answer to that.
“And since you mentioned Tanya, would you know by any chance where she is?”
“No, but I know she’s in good hands. Someone I trust.”
“I’m pleased to hear that.” The prime minister smiled. “She’s the most senior woman we have.”
“In Mossad?”
“ Probably in the whole Israeli government service.”
“ Then why were your agents following her?”
Rabin stood up. “Listen, those Shin Bet boys are entrusted with my personal safety. They do their best to keep me alive. How can I question their loyalty?”
“ Maybe they’re acting out of misguided loyalty. As the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
“ Touche.” He got up and went to a large board pinned to the wall. “Come, look at this. Maybe it’ll help you understand what I’m dealing with here.”
The color-coded graph showed the political spectrum. In the center, the tallest bars stood for Labor and Likud. The other parties were listed on the left or the right according to their affiliation.
On the left were: Meretz, Hadash, Democratic Front for Peace-Communists, Arab Democratic Party, Progressive List for Peace, Hatikva, Movement for Democracy and Aliyah, New Liberal Idea.
On the right, following Likud, were: Advancement of the Zionist Idea, Tzomet A, Tzomet B, Moledet, Golan Loyalists.
Below the graph was a list of the religious parties: United Torah Judaism, Sephardic Religious Party/Shas, National Religious Party, Meimad, Geulat Israel, Torah and Land.
Next was a list of non-partisan groups: Gush Emunim, YESHA (Settlements of Judea and Samaria), Kach/Kahana Khai, Neturay Karta. The third list was of the parties-in-formation for the next elections: Russians’ Party, Pensioners’ Party, Tali, Women’s Party, On Wheels, Mortgage Victims, Natural Law Party, Tzipor, Mothers in Black, Parents Against Silence, Officers Against Occupation, Citizens for the Golan Heights, Pikanti.
Lemmy asked, “What’s Pikanti?
Itah answered. “Salad dressing factory’s workers believe they have a good shot at a seat in the Knesset to fight against income tax.”
“I see.”
Fourth was a list of Arab groups: PLO, PLO Hawks, PFLP, Al Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah.
“Do you realize why I don’t have time to worry about Weiss or micromanage my own protection unit?” Prime Minister Rabin pointed to the board. “Israel is boiling, and I have to sit on the lid. And every group of radicals spawns another one, even more idealistic, more pious, more righteous, more extreme. So we have to use administrative detentions and other methods to stay the course.”
“ Stay in power, you mean,” Itah said.
“ I didn’t come here to sit in the prime minister’s chair,” Rabin said sharply. “Or to win favor with X, Y, or Z. I see this as the crowning achievement of my life. I started in the Jewish underground, fighting the British. I commanded the army in battles and served as ambassador in Washington. I was prime minister once before, but was too inexperienced in politics. And I’ve served for over five years as defense minister. Now I’m here again at a unique point in time. I feel there’s a real chance to fundamentally change the relationship between Israel and the Arab world, our neighbors, and the Palestinians.”
“ A noble cause doesn’t sanctify all means.” Lemmy waved at the board with all the parties’ names. “Does it mean nothing that leaders who represent half the population oppose your Oslo Accords?”
“ I despise them! Who are they? Did they fight like me? Are they responsible for our defense achievements, like me?”
“ Aren’t they?”
“The positive elements in the nation stand with me. Come to the peace rally on Saturday night. You’ll see the huge support for peace!”
“We’d love to attend,” Itah said. “But the goons from the Shin Bet are after us. And they got the police after me on fictional charges.”
The prime minister waved dismissively. “By the time you reach the Knesset exit, I will have ordered them not to bother you again.” He accompanied them to the door and shook Lemmy’s hand. “You should visit the new promenade at the Government House area. You won’t recognize the place.”
“Great idea,” Itah said. “Let’s go there right now.”
*
The phone rang, and Agent Cohen picked it up. “Yes?” He listened. “With Itah Orr? Are you sure? Then get a team over there!” He slammed the phone and ran to the door.
“What’s happening? hat’s tl Gideon followed him.
“Spinoza met Rabin at the Knesset.”
“ You’re kidding!”
“ What chutzpah this guy has!” Agent Cohen hit the elevator button repeatedly. “ Shit! Shit! Shit! ”
The door of the next apartment opened, and the nurse peeked out.
“We’re done here,” Agent Cohen said. “Pack up.”
“ But I don’t understand,” Gideon said. “Did Spinoza try to-”
“No. Visitors are searched at the entrance to the Knesset. No weapons allowed.”
“ If Elie trained him, Spinoza doesn’t need a weapon.”
“ Rabin is watched constantly.” The elevator arrived, they rushed in, and Agent Cohen hit the lobby button. “We’re not dealing with someone suicidal. Spinoza is a professional killer who wants to get out safely.”
“Then why would he risk going into the Knesset to meet Rabin?”
“Scout the target? Establish rapport? Who the hell knows?”
“What did they discuss?”
“I don’t know yet. Itah Orr was with him.”
“Why is she helping Spinoza?”
Agent Cohen shrugged. “She probably doesn’t realize what she’s dealing with. For all we know, Spinoza might
