Adonis Diaries

“It is not a pleasure being around you” (A short story, December 30, 2008)

Note: This is a fictitious very short story. Probably a version occurred. If it didn’t happen yet, it might after Gaza genocide

Harun (Aaron) was an Egyptian Jew who was whisked out from Alexandria to the State of Israel in 1955.by a clandestine Zionist group. Three months ago, Ben Gurion, Israel PM, had ordered the Mossad to wage a campaign of assassination of a few Jews residing in Egypt, to blow a couple of Synagogues in Alexandria, and blast a couple of British and USA institutions in Egypt.  This campaign was meant to frighten the Jews into leaving Egypt and to pressure the USA from extending financial aids to Gamal Abdel Nasser for building the Asswan dam..

Sara was a Polish Jew who immigrated in 1947 to Palestine to flee poverty and deprivation.  She was indoctrinated into the Zionist movement and participated in active duty. Sara was a member of Zionist terror groups that massacred civilian Palestinians in towns close to Haifa and forced the Palestinians to vacate their villages after Israel was voted in a State in the UN in 1948 by a single vote majority.

Aaron met Sara who was pregnant after an affair with a Zionist officer who died during a battle in 1948.  They got married.  When the pregnancy of Sara was in her eight month, Aaron was ordered for duty.  Aaron was reluctant of leaving Sara at this stage, but Sara reprimanded him and urged him never again to fail Eretz Israel purposes. 

It was a crucial period; one Zionist political group wanted to resolve the problem with the Palestinians according to the UN resolution #194 of returning the conquered land during the independence days of 1948 and accepting a Palestinian State.  The other “hawkish” zealot Zionists of Ben Gurion, Moshe Dayan, and Sharon wanted to expand even further.

In order to corner and placate the moderate Zionists into a “fait accompli” the Zionist zealots invaded the town of Qibiya in October 1953 and massacred 42 Palestinian civilians and blew 41 houses.  The village of Qibiya was in Jordan but Israel wanted revenge because, 4 years earlie,r Qibiya had resisted Israel terrorists’ infiltration during the “independence period”. 

Aaron was within a support group but he witnessed the massacre and participated in dumping the bodies in a common grave hole.

            Aaron begged Sara to leave Israel and start an honest life; Sara had but contempt and demanded that Aaron leave since she is staying for the duration.  Aaron had to remain with Sara.  Seventeen years later, two Palestinian feddayins infiltrated a colony outpost and kidnapped a Jewish family in their home.

Kassem nodded and looked at the cadet redheaded kid.  Youssef gently pushed the girl in front of her parents and slid her throat in a quick talented motion.  Sara opened her mouth for her first uncontrollable surprise; her rigid eyes wavered in disbelief.  Aaron fainted.

An entire minuteof the loudest of silence floated in the room.  In the meantime, Youssef carted the body to the basement where a burner was just starting to roar. Sara tried hard not to stutter but failed miserably and babbled: “Where are you taking my baby?” The silence resumed after the echo reverberated a few times around the room. “Why? …A kid…  Slaughtered!” Kassem replied in boredom: “What is confusing you?  Is it the killing of a kid or the method?” 

Aaron was recovering and his eyelids were fluttering as if coming out from a nightmarish dream and then abruptly straightened up as reality set in. “How could you slaughter a kid?” roared Aaron.  Kassem answered in a less cool tone: “This is a sacrificial ceremony; only halal ways is valid in cold-blooded murder”

Sara was recovering some of her wits and her argumentative style came forward: “How halal is murder?” Kassem was nonplussed: “At least we are no cowards using jet fighters and heavy guns to turn into mash flesh and bones children and civilians in their homes”  Aaron shouted “But we never slaughtered but sacrificial animals”

  Everybody understood that Aaron has lost it and that he was turning on automatic his academic behavior.  Aaron was not worth listening to at this phase.  Kassem continued to the intention of Sara: “Have you kept tab on the thousand of terrorist acts that you masterminded since before the recognition of the State of Israel by the so-called United Nations?  Have you ever heard that the UN condemned once the large-scale massacres of your Zionist State?”

Sara was totally indignant: “What we did was State orders; we never committed such monstrosity on an individual basis.  What you did is crime against humanity!”  It was obvious that Sara also lost it and was feverish and slathering.  Kassem decided to cool it down for another two minutes: just on instinct, since this was his first cold revenge.  This silence was very needed for the nerves to explode on both sides.

“Do you know the original name of this village, Saraaa?  I don’t think you ever cared.  Aaron did a small inquiry several years ago; he must have told you, didn’t he?”  Subconsciously, Aaron nodded his head and then recovered, but refused to look at his wife.  Sara said: “What do I care what this village was called? We bought this house with our hard-earned savings.”   Kassem continued as if he was not listening to Sara’s lucubration: “This was the village I was born in.  I lived the best five years of my life here.  My whole family was massacred by the terrorist Irgun of Menahim Begin. A surviving elder told me that my village had a non-aggression pact with the neighboring Jewish colonies. We even stupidly denied passage to the Arab contingent defending this sector.  Aaron must have related the story to you Saraaa?” 

Another minute sank in.  Sara shook her shoulders several times and shouted “But I had not immigrated to Israel when all that took place.”  Kassem said: “Nevertheless, the majority of Jewish mothers raised their children to become zealot Zionists.”  Aaron flicked his head toward Sara; that was a statement he fully comprehended and dreaded.  Kassem noticed Aaron’s reflex and resumed “All the facts and atrocities were never ground for reflection and atonement.  Did the massacre in this village kept you waking a single night, Saraaaaa?”

Youssef had returned.  Kassem motioned with his head toward the second girl.  Youssef walked softly toward the chair of the girl.  Aaron screeched “NO, please, let us talk”.  Kassem said: “You have a choice. Your girl or your wife?” 

Aaron instinctively nodded toward his wife but could not utter a word.  Hatefully, Kassem rub it in: “When you asked Sara for her hand you talked.  If the life of your second girl is as important, I need to hear a full sentence” Aaron failed to say a sentence and hoped that his silence might talk louder. 

Sara stabbed her husband with burning eyes; she just realized that Aaron had no affection for her.  She had no affection for Aaron for years now, but this does not count.  Aaron was supposed to love her till death did them apart; that was the deal.

Youssef then walked behind the girl, grabbed her chin and performed his expert motion.  The elder son and his folks were numb; this ordeal of cool deja-vu was totally out-of-place and comprehension.  Youssef carried the body to the basement.  The house smelled the steaks.

Aaron fainted again.  Kassem deigned to douse Aaron with a bucket of water. Kassem looked at Aaron and said: “You have a choice.  Either your son or your wife”  This time Aaron did not waver; he looked straight in the eyes of his wife and he saw unlimited contempt in her facial expression, as if she made the mistake of the century by marrying this weak, spineless man.  Aaron said firmly: “Spare my son.  I have been weak and failed the wisdom that blood draw blood.  My son will never return to this forsaken land of Israel”. 

Sara was furious and regaining her previous heinous aggressiveness and hysterically kept shouting: “Kill us all. Shoot us as we killed you, you bastards.  Shoot us as war criminals.  We deserve to be treated according to the human rights conventions”

Kassem was contemplating sparing Sara’s life to give hell to the rest of the family.  Since Youssef and he will not survive this kidnapping, he might as well take revenge on the apartheid woman: Aaron deserved a reprieve.  Kassem said with a broad smile: “Woman, it was not a pleasure meeting you“. Kassem and Youssef bolted out the door peppering their sub-machine guns.