attend?'
'Sometimes I pray at the Kotel. Other times I go to a minyan in my building.'
'Your building-ah, yes, the toothpick in Talbieh. Don't look so surprised, Inspector. When you told Bob Arnon you were religious I had you checked out, wanted to make sure it wasn't just government subterfuge. As far as my contacts can tell, you are what you say you are-that kipah isn't for show.'
'Thank you your endorsement,' said Daniel.
'No need to get upset,' said Kagan genially. 'Blame the government. Four months ago they tried to slip an undercover agent-I don't suppose you'd know anything about that, would you? Yemenite fellow, as a matter of fact- isn't that a coincidence? He, too, wore a kipah, knew the right things to say, bless this, bless that-blessings with false intention, taking God's name in vain. That's a major transgression, not that the government cares about transgressions.'
Kagan took another apple out of the bowl, tossed it in the air and caught it. 'No matter. We found him out, sent him home to his masters a little the worse for wear.' He shook his head. 'Tsk, tsk. Jews spying on Jews-that's what thousands died for, eh? If the spineless old ladies of the ruling party spent as much time tracking down terrorists as they did harassing good Jews, we'd have an Eretz YLsrael as the Almighty planned it for us-the one place in the world where a Jew could walk down the street like a prince. Without fear of pogroms or being stabbed in the back.'
Kagan paused for breath. Daniel heard him wheezing- the man was an asthmatic of some kind. 'Anyway, Inspector Sharavi, the minyan in your building is Ashkenazi, not for you. You should be maintaining your noble Yemenite heritage, not trying to blend in with the Europeans.'
Daniel pulled out his note pad. 'I'll need a list of all your members-'
'I'm sure you've already got that. In quadruplicate, maybe more.'
'An updated list, along with each member's outside job and responsibilities here at the settlement. For the ones who travel, their travel logs.'
'Travel logs.' Kagan laughed. 'You can't be serious.'
'This is a very serious matter, Rabbi. I'll begin interviewing them today. Other officers will be arriving this afternoon. We'll stay until we've talked with everyone.'
'The children too?' said Kagan sarcastically.
'Adults.'
'Why exclude the little ones, Inspector? We train them.to butcher Arabs as soon as they're off the breast.' Kagan spread his arms, closed them, and touched a hand to each cheek. 'Wonderful. Secular Zionism at its moment of glory.' He put the apple down, stared into Daniel's eyes. 'What wars have you fought in? You look too young for '67. Was it Yom Kippur or Lebanon?'
'Your contacts didn't tell you that?'
'It wasn't relevant. It won't be hard to find out.'
'The '67 war. The Jerusalem theater.'
'You were one of the privileged ones.'
'Where were you in '67, Rabbi?'
'Patrolling the streets of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Taking on shvartzes in order to prevent them from mugging old Jewish ladies and stealing their social security checks. Not as glorious as liberating Jerusalem, but philosophically consistent with it. Or at least it was until the Jews of Israel got as soft and stupid as the Jews of America.'
Daniel shifted his gaze down to his note pad. 'Some of your members have police records. Have any new people with criminal backgrounds joined the settlement?'
Kagan smiled. 'I have a police record.'
'For disturbing the peace and illegal assembly. I'm more interested in those with a violent background.'
That seemed to insult Kagan. He frowned, retrieved the second apple, and bit into it hard, so that the juice trickled over his beard. Wiping himself with a paper napkin, he held out the bowl again.
'Sure you wouldn't like some fruit, Inspector?'
'No, thank you.'
'A polite Israeli? Now I'm really suspicious.'
'Please answer my question, Rabbi. Have any new people joined who have violent histories?'
'Tell me, Inspector, did you risk your life in '67 so that the few could reach a new level of self- denigration?'
'Rabbi,' said Daniel, 'the investigation is going to proceed one way or the other. If you cooperate, everything will go faster.'
'Cooperate,' enunciated Kagan, as if learning a new word.
'How long have you been involved in this investigation?'
'From the beginning.'
'From the beginning,' echoed Kagan. 'So, no doubt you've visited an Arab home or two in the course of your investigation. And no doubt you were offered food in those homes-the vaunted culture of Arab hospitality, correct?'
Rabbi Kagan-'
