Arguments

An excerpt ot the novel SUMMER TEMPEST.

Arguments

Summer Tempest

An excerpt

'What are they interviewing those propagandists for? Isn't clear to them that they try to brainwash us with their brazen lies?' Erella turned angrily to her hosts, her young sister and her brother in law, while watching channel one newscast.

'But Erella what you define as lies is their truth, and in order to negotiate we must understand the other side thinking.'

'That's right,' Erella's brother in law supported his wife. 'We've to provide them the possibility to use this stage, we've to understand them, after all we've conquered them; and we're responsible for their fate; and the reporters that are interviewing them are doing their duty, which means letting the public hear the claims of both sides, and that's how we expect them to act.' Itsik Erella's brother in law explained the true situation to his ignorant relative.

'Are you serious?!? We haven't conquered a sovereign state! The west bank was under the kingdom of Jordan rule up to 67, and the Gaza strip was under the rule of Egypt, so on what conquest are you talking about? Even I and I'm not involved as you're in what is happening here, even I know these elementary facts. Who're the idiots that let them claim that they're a nation? How can two states exist with such enmity that separates them, and in such a small area?' Erella wondered watching the agitated faces of her young sister and her husband.

'That's in fact our statesmen dilemma how to bridge the differences, how to reach coexistence in peace. That's the aim of the Oslo Agreement, and we've passed successfully a long way since then, to reach coexistence in peace. What's left to do is to subdue the extremists of both sides.' Vivi joined in the discussion to support her husband's argument.

'What incredible illusions, Vivi you're disappointing me up to the verge of desperation, and you Itsik you speak like an echo after her, don't you have your own point of view, or are you afraid of disrupting the family idealistic relationship?'

'Nothing of the kind Erealla, Itsik is the one that convinced me, and made me understand…'

'He made you understand what?' Erella cut her short immediately. 'That this agreement is one big hoax! They left open all the unsolvable problems, and rushed to the White House lawn to celebrate; and now seven years later it seems that there's no way to satisfy them, and you aren't aware to that problem? Don't you realize that after every concession we make they come forward with new demands?'

'You're wrong Erella!' Itsik replied her decisively, 'the problem is the settlements and there's a way to satisfy them; if they'll receive the entire West Bank and the Gaza Strip without delay, we would be able to live with them in peace, as a sovereign state beside a sovereign state.'

'Okay I won't argue with you there's no point in it.' Erella summed up this short chapter of the family confrontation. The channel's financial reporter image appeared on the TV screen, and the discussion in the TV studio was about the gap that was growing gradually between the upper class and the rest of the population. A silence ensued in the lighted living room. Vivi and her husband paid again their attention to the TV screen, while Eerella watched their faces with disappointment.

How they jumped on the opportunity to put an end to the unpleasant discussion… In a matter of fact I've provided them that opportunity. They refer to my words as to a threat, which may topple their wrong conception. It's simply incredible! How do I open the eyes to those two blind relatives of mine?

'Vivi and Itsik listen to me; I like to add a few things.' 'As someone that doesn't live here and sees things from another angle, Erella opened up as soon as the financial reporter ended what he had to say.

'I refer to that peace agreement from a completely different view compared to the way you see it, I don't pretend to be an expert in politics but there are things that are quite clear to me too, and I don't feel the need to repress things as you do…'

'Who is repressing things? Why do you think that we can't see the facts as you do?' Vivi objected vehemently.

'Let's not start arguing again, allow me just to note a few things that would serve you as food for thought.'

Itsik almost retorted ready to support his wife, but he changed his mind in time, and put his hand on his wife's thigh beneath the table, calming her down and insinuating to her to listen to her older sister with patience.

'First of all with whom do we conduct the peace negotiations? With a bunch of parasites that lived in Europe on the Saudis account several years, on a budget of fifty million dollars a year. What have they done abroad except a few terror attacks? Now then and how the negotiation with them is conducted? It's being carried out like with a mob band, a band of kidnapers and extortionists; and their chairman this ugly and ridiculous retarded type, has turned into an international figure, the irony of fate! Do you believe that this band is able to establish a normal state? This band interests are ceaseless confrontations, to be in the lime lights and the papers headlines all the time… Would this band reach a peaceful agreement with us? No don't try to answer me, try first of all to understand with whom the negotiations are taking place!'

Vivi kept her mouth shut with much efforts; Itsik hand kept gripping her thigh with force, while he himself needed to regain his self control with no less efforts than his wife had. Erella's last sentences and her contemptuous attitude towards the Palestinian Authority representatives infuriated him and his wife, but they could not ignore the elated status of their relative, her richness and the benefits she endowed and would endow them in the future..

Out of sheer luck their kids appeared right on time; they were promised to see the movie with aunt Erella at the end of the newscast.

© Haim Kadman 2007 " all rights reserved.

This novel includes 206 pages and 124,212 words.

 

Summer Tempest " Synopsis

The plot of this novel relates the era of the late 90s up to the beginning of the current century. The two protagonists are Yoske (Joseph) Solan and Erella Zingman Abrahams, both of them and their relatives and friends represent the generation that was born at about the time of the State of Israel war of Independence, during the late 40s and up to the beginning of the 50s of the previous century. Here is a short excerpt of this novel:

'It happened as a matter of fact at the same evening that you dated Amnon, or more accurately it started at my Saturday furlough. I'd called you on Friday and you said that you're going with your parents to some family gathering, do you remember? A couple of weeks earlier we started to date, we spent a certain Saturday together on the beach, this very beach behind the hotel's walls…' 'Oh yes, you're right Yoske I do remember,' she admitted laughing. 'Come on Yoske it was ages ago. You didn't think that I would get hurt by reminding it to me, it was simply unpleasant to you to talk about your failure. It hurts you doesn't it?'  'Sure it hurts me,' Yoske admitted. It was a terrible humiliation to bear because I was looking for you and I passed near your parents' house on that evening; not because I didn't believe you, but because we'd a very rough period of training during those couple of weeks before that furlough, and I dreamed on the moment that I'll come and see you again. That's what kept me going during those couple of weeks. Well I passed near your house because I didn't have anything else to do, and I saw Amnon sitting in his father's Studebaker and blowing the horn. Hardly a moment passed and you came down dressed as if you were going to a party, you can imagine very well how I felt when I saw you…'

www.freado.com/book/16996/summer-tempest