The Masada Faktor (12 page)

I arrived back to the horrific news that the three kidnapped boys had been found dead. It was June 30 and it was all over the news. The entire country was in mourning and people everywhere were talking about the possibility of a major conflict.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

T
here had been two Palestinian teenagers killed outside the Ofer Prison a few weeks earlier at a riot during
Nakba Day,
the anniversary of
Israel’s independence, from the Arab point of view
.
They were calling it the Beitunia killings and it was fueling unrest and fear of more violence.

Israeli forces were arresting hundreds of Palestinians and conducting searches in the West Bank for the boys’ murderers. Massive rocket attacks from Gaza began in southern Israel. Not that it was anything new; since I had arrived the rocket launchings and terrorist attacks had been continuous: 136 in March, 112 in April, 116 in May, and 136 in June.

During the first eight days of July, 250 missiles were fired. An IDF airstrike killed seven Hamas militants in Khan Yunis. Hamas claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks coming from Gaza. There was talk of Hamas having new types of weapons that could reach Tel Aviv.

Everyone was talking about a war starting. The people on the street agreed that we had to strike back. There were just too many rocket launchings. The people in the south were scrambling for shelter many times a day already.

During the first week of July I was getting very worried about staying in Tel Aviv. Not only was the fear palpable but I didn’t know about Millie and what she had planned. She had been away on an extended assignment and I didn’t know when she was returning.

I had to accept that my life might be in danger when Millie returned. And if she didn’t get me then I thought the rockets from Gaza might.

You could have cut the tension in the air with a knife. It just so happened that I had a friend named Lior, who had rented a large house in the town of Hadera and needed a roommate. I simply had a gut feeling to get out of Tel Aviv as soon as possible. As much as I loved Tel Aviv, I felt like my life depended on getting out of there. The thought of leaving Tel Aviv was breaking my heart.

I planned to leave without telling Millie. I was now sure that she was part of the plan to get rid of me before I had more information to go to the authorities. I would make sure to leave while she was out of town. I hired the movers and was all packed. They would arrive at 8:00 the next morning.

I was about to go to the bar downstairs and have a cold beer but when I tried to leave the flat the lock on the door jammed and I could not make it work. After running around the entire building looking for someone to help me fix the broken lock, one of the neighbors gave me the phone number of the building owner.

I didn’t want to sleep with the door unlocked and also, though I felt like Millie was a murderer, wanted to lock the door on the way out so she couldn’t accuse me of a burglary.

I phoned the owner of the building and he told me he was sick and would send his son over to fix the lock. His son’s name was Jami and he would be there soon. I answered the knocking on the door to see Jami, the sexiest man I had seen yet. We looked at each other without saying a word, then I let him in.

It took Jami over two hours to get the locking mechanism fixed. He had to call a professional locksmith as it appeared that the lock had been tampered with. Jami was puzzled about the thought of someone purposely sabotaging the door lock and asked me if I had any idea why it could have been done.

Jami also wanted to know who I was, as he said that Millie Stone had specifically been told that if she took a roommate it must be disclosed and the roommate would have to fill out an application. I wanted to confide in Jami, not about The Masada Faktor, but about not trusting Millie. Since I would be leaving in the morning anyway and would probably never see Jami again, I made the decision to get some things off my chest. But then I started to cry, and lost control of my emotions.

He was concerned and put his arms around me. He started to rub my back and then my neck and then his hands were on my face. We kissed briefly and then went into my room.

I closed the door and told him about Tajir, the German Arab. And I told him of Millie’s German roots without mentioning exactly what it might be about, just that my fear was connected to Millie and that Tajir had been arrested for attacking me.

Jami thought I was exaggerating but still, he was sweet. I wanted to forget everything for a few minutes and laid down on my bed. I asked Jami to go to the kitchen for a bottle of sparkling cider that was in the fridge. While he went, I became lightheaded and felt the spinning vertigo coming, so I closed my eyes.

Jami came back with the cold cider and put it between my legs, which woke me up and made me laugh. We started playfully wrestling in the bed, and I looked at what was a hard on in his pants. I felt it.

“Is that for me?” I certainly hoped it was.

“Yes, it is. Are you sure you want it?” Now he was teasing me.

I wanted it. That was for sure. “Yes, please.”

I removed my tank top and shorts, bra and panties. “Your turn to strip,” I instructed him firmly, and while he did I started putting lavender oil between my legs.

He was quick about getting undressed and we got right to the sexual act which was like the Sea crashing in waves. I came very fast and Jami acted surprised and said that it turned him on even more. He was much more excited and then he climaxed. We continued kissing deeply for a long time, then fell asleep entwined in each other’s arms. I woke a few hours later to find that he was gone.

It was July 6. The Israeli Air Force had struck in Gaza and killed seven Hamas militants. Gaza responded by sending many rockets. On July 7, the IDF called up 1,500 reservists to be positioned around southern Israel in case of rapidly increasing hostilities. I felt like I was in a daze.

I was leaving Tel Aviv but the good news was that the house I was moving to in Hadera was only three blocks from the Hadera Central Bus Station so I could continue coming into Tel Aviv for
Ulpan
.
It was a pleasant forty minutes by bus and I thought I could do my Hebrew homework during that time. It wouldn’t be so bad.

Hadera was an out of the way spot and from now on, I would be careful about posting my location and movements online. I thought I’d be safer in Hadera, in case a war broke out, and I liked my new roommate.

It would be more affordable and Hadera had a small town feel that I thought I could adapt to. Besides, I had to get away from Millie Stone. This was only temporary. I would never give up on living in Tel Aviv.

PART THREE
HADERA

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

A
lso on July 7 the Security Cabinet of Israel decided to start a counter-terrorist operation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “The gloves are off.” The action was named Operation Protective Edge. The IDF attacked Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza in great numbers from the start. Hamas was using the homes of their operatives and putting their families in harm’s way as human shields.

I was now living in Hadera and I was not shocked about the announcement of war with Gaza. I, along with all the people of Israel, were applauding our government for moving forward to stop the rockets. I was putting my things in order and talking with my new housemate that first evening.

On July 8 we saw on TV that five Hamas naval commando frogmen had infiltrated the northern beaches of Gaza. They swam from Gaza to Zikim Beach where they planted explosives on a bulldozer and threw a grenade at a tank.

They proceeded to attack a small
kibbutz
, population 385, in the Negev desert in southern Israel. They were pulverized by the IDF before they could kill anyone, much to the delight of all of us watching TV. The IDF continued to call up more reservists, and announced that 40,000 more would be summoned.

Targeted strikes into Gaza by the IDF hit fifty sites and people were beginning to get injured there. The strikes included northern and central Gaza, Gaza City, agricultural areas, homes, businesses, and militant training sites. Then Hamas declared that all Israelis were legitimate targets, and the Iron Dome defense system shot down two rockets over Tel Aviv.

Sirens were heard in Binyamina and then a rocket was fired at Haifa. Jerusalem was next with several missiles but luckily they landed outside the city. A rocket hit in Hadera. We were twenty-eight miles from Tel Aviv and this was the longest range rocket that had ever been launched into Israel by Hamas. The M302 rocket had been made in Syria. At Lior’s house we didn’t hear any sirens go off. We only heard many Israeli jets flying back and forth.

Before the end of the day on July 8 the Israeli Air Force and Navy had hit 435 targets in Gaza and killed twenty-three Palestinians and injured many more. Hamas had fired 225 rockets into Israel and forty were intercepted by Iron Dome. There was property damage totaling ten million
shekel
in Gaza.

The following few days had Hamas demanding insane things. They were also getting nervous and contacted Egypt’s President El-Sissi to broker a ceasefire. It was July 9 and it was already getting difficult to keep up with the news. The IDF was doing a great job hitting their targets, but the rockets were not stopping.

Hamas’ training sites were targeted and also the places where the rocket launchers were. But Hamas had imbedded them in the dense cities and civilians were getting hurt. Hamas tried to hit the nuclear reactors in Dimona but was unsuccessful.

Hamas immediately started telling the world that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. But they were the ones that wouldn’t stop launching missiles at Israel.

Nearby in Zichron Yaakov a rocket had been shot down by Iron Dome. This was seventy-five miles from Gaza and a mere twelve and a half miles from us in Hadera. Immediately after that, two rockets landed in the Mount Carmel area of Haifa.

I called everyone that I knew in Haifa to see how they were doing. Around the same time, Caesarea was hit in an open field by two more rockets that were aimed at Haifa.

On July 10 Gaza fired rockets at Tel Aviv, Dimona, Mirtzpe Ramon, Eshkol, Ashkelon, Netivot, Yeruham, among others including Jerusalem.

On July 11 we were woken up at 3:30 AM by my first personal code red siren and we also realized that there was no safe room in the house. The nearest bomb shelter was at least a block away at the orthodox synagogue. You can run but you can’t hide. It was really getting ugly and I was getting scared. We couldn’t get there in fifteen seconds before a rocket landed.

We didn’t know what to do but the sirens stopped after a few moments. We turned the news on and luckily Lior was fluent in Hebrew and translated what was happening. The Hamas rockets were non-stop at that point. This one had landed on Hadera’s beach, which was a few miles west of the house and was the second missile to hit Hadera. We were pretty freaked out. But then it was quiet for the rest of the night.

We learned that Tel Aviv was getting tons of code red sirens and thousands of people were running for shelter. Hamas had announced their intention of bombing Tel Aviv and were following through on the threat. I was feeling good about one thing, which was my decision to leave Tel Aviv when I did.

Be’er Sheva took a direct hit on a building. Iron Dome was quite busy. We learned that the IDF soldiers that were in charge of Iron Dome on a minute to minute basis were quite young men and women. They were doing a wonderful job. Some rockets even came in from Lebanon and Israeli troops had to fire back. By this time the war was into its third day and Israel had struck 1,090 sites in Gaza. Hamas has sent 525 missiles toward us.

For the next week I did not go to Tel Aviv or travel anywhere but inside the town of Hadera. One day I was walking downtown eating an ice cream cone when the sirens started blaring. It’s an awkward feeling when that happens. People look at each other and for a few seconds as time slows, we seem to ask each other with our eyes, What should we do?

I was passing a small falafel restaurant and I ran in and the Arab cook motioned me to come back into the kitchen. There were about four of us standing by the grill and fryer just waiting for the sirens to stop. I finished my ice cream and we made some small talk. We all agreed that Hamas was crazy. For those few minutes I thought, These strangers are my family. If we die together at least we won’t die alone.

When the sirens ended, I continued on to the post office where I took a number for service and sat down in a chair. Everyone was chattering in Hebrew. I knew what they were saying even though I didn’t understand. After I did my business I hurried back home.

Lior had a job and wasn’t home. I turned the TV on. She sometimes didn’t get home until late and I told her to call me when she got to the bus stop and I would walk and meet her half way. It’s peculiar to go through a war with someone. It bonds you. Lior loved to cook and bake, especially when she was nervous. So we talked and we ate.

On the sixth day of the war it was obvious that the airstrikes were not enough to stop the rockets. More IDF strikes were needed, but without hurting many more innocents. The IDF were dropping leaflets in Gaza telling the people to evacuate.

Gazans with dual citizenship were offered a chance to get out and go to other countries, but many didn’t make it out. With all of this going on, I had to admit The Masada Faktor was on the back burner for me.

I had spoken with Dalia and she was angry that Arthur had refused to take shelter during the code red sirens. They didn’t have a safe room either, but in their building the inside stairwells were designated as the safe areas. Arthur had insisted on staying by the TV.

I suppose after Vietnam and twenty years of service in the IDF Arthur knew what he was doing. Still, Dalia was upset. It was possible that Arthur suffered from post-traumatic stress from all the wars. They had a son in the IDF and two daughters living near dangerous East Jerusalem areas.

Hamas was telling their people not to listen to Israel’s warnings and a lot of deaths in Gaza were on their hands. They kept firing into Israel, sending large amounts of Fajr-5, M-75, and M-160 to all areas of Israel. They even accidentally hit their own power plant, knocking out electricity to 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza. They were doing some incredibly stupid things. It was like they wanted the IDF to punish them.

And Gaza was being punished for what they were doing, but still they would not stop. They seemed to be sacrificing their own men, women, and children civilians and we could not understand it.

In Israel we had shelters and safe rooms and the Iron Dome to protect us. Psychological damage yes, but mostly physically we were okay, so far. Hamas spent all of their money building weapons and hiding them within homes, schools, and hospitals. Their people were expendable, and each death was blamed on us.

A drone was taken down by the IDF near Ashdod by a Patriot missile. Hamas claimed they had more. They had to be coming from Iran. It was July 14 and it had been a week of war. It was announced that a ceasefire was being negotiated by Egypt and would go into effect at 9:00 the next morning on July 15.