It had been a couple of years since Eitan had been in America’s capital. All of the Israeli lobbying events he traditionally attended in DC had reverted to virtual events during the pandemic. He arrived alone on a flight from Miami and went immediately to his hotel. He had friends he would have liked to visit, but he’d been instructed to keep to himself until it was time to escort Vera to the Holocaust Museum. The flags of Israel, UAE, and Bahrain along the DC streets near his hotel added to the excitement of the mission.
It was just after 5 p.m. when Eitan checked into the Intercontinental Hotel, just a half-mile away from the museum. When he entered his room, an envelope with his name on it was waiting for him on the desk. It was from Yehoshua, and it contained very simple instructions. Don’t leave the hotel. We will pick you up tomorrow at 9 a.m. You may walk around the hotel, but keep to yourself.
Eitan decided to remain in his room, order room service, and watch basketball until he fell asleep. The next morning he walked out of the hotel at 8:55 a.m. and found Yehoshua waiting for him in front of a large black SUV. The two men hopped in, and Eitan noticed two other security men in dark suits sitting in the back seat. He sat in the middle row with Yehoshua.
“The leaders will arrive at the museum in about two hours,” Yehoshua said. His tone was serious, and it was clear that this was not a time for pleasantries.
“We will wait with Vera until the leaders finish their guided tour of the museum. The museum director has been told that you are serving as her escort because you have been caring for her in Odessa, and she feels comfortable around you. The director is a good man and we have worked with him before,” Yehoshua continued.
“When the leaders are done in the exhibit, we will meet them in a conference room. There they will have a chance to meet the survivors. We have arranged for Vera to tell the president her story. The other survivor will share his story with the Arab and Israeli leaders. You will stand by Vera and make sure she is clear and that the president understands the danger Lany Kovalenko presents for Ukraine’s Jewish community.”
“Do I need to say or do anything else?” Eitan asked.
“You shouldn’t have to. The most important thing is Vera’s last line. If for whatever reason she forgets, you must remind her to say it,” Yehoshua said, looking straight into Eitan’s eyes.
“What is it?” Eitan asked curiously.
“She must say, ‘Mr. President, don’t let Ukraine do today what they did to the Jews of my generation.’”
“Okay, I will make sure she says it. But I still don’t really understand why I need to be there. It seems anyone could accompany her and make sure she says the right thing,” Eitan responded.
“That’s not true, Eitan. Vera said she would only do this if you were with her,” Yehoshua added.
“Really, why me?”
“I’m not sure. Something about your kind eyes. I don’t know. I guess she just trusts you,” Yehoshua said.
“Oh, and one more thing. Just between you and me.”
“What, Yehoshua?”
“I don’t think there is anything so special about your eyes,” Yehoshua said with a mischievous grin.
“Well, I trust Vera more than you.”
“You should. But remember, she must say that last line- ‘Mr. President, don’t let Ukraine do today what they did to the Jews of my generation.’ Don’t let her forget.”
Eitan nodded. It was only a few more moments before they arrived at the museum. When they arrived, they were each questioned and screened by the Secret Service. Once cleared, they were given badges to wear around their necks and were escorted by a museum official to the conference room. Vera was already there. She was conversing at a table with the other survivor, who happened to be from France. He was a short man with kind eyes who appeared to Eitan as affable and friendly. Clearly, Vera appreciated his company. They were speaking in French, and Eitan could understand about fifty percent of what they were saying. For a moment Eitan thought about how much his native French wife would have appreciated this moment. Someday he would tell her about it, and she would say that she knew he would regret not bringing her along. From what Eitan could understand, they were discussing the irony of two people practically left for dead by their countries of birth waiting to meet the most powerful man in the free world. If only Hitler could see them now, the man said to Vera in French. Eitan was pleased that she was comfortable and in the company of such a gracious man.
The next couple of hours passed quickly. Eitan was introduced to a couple of imams from the Gulf States by the museum’s deputy director. They spoke for a while about the significance of the Abraham Accords. The imams expressed a desire to someday visit Israel, and Eitan reciprocated by expressing his hope to one day visit their countries. They were quite gracious, and Eitan was hopeful that such relationships were leading to a newly envisioned Middle East.
Before the heads of state entered the conference room, an aide gave everyone gathered a twenty-minute warning. He came back ten minutes later with one final warning. Not long after that, the commotion in the hall notified everyone that the leaders were on their way.
Suddenly, various Secret Service agents and men in military dress entered the room. The president, the Israeli prime minister, and the Gulf leaders then entered. Behind them filed in other aides, including the president’s chief of staff, several princes from the Arab states, and the chief of the Mossad. Eitan tried hard to focus on his role and not allow the power of the moment to overwhelm him.
Once everyone was in the room, the museum director introduced the survivors. It was clear the museum tour had had a big impact on the Arab leaders. The Israeli prime minister and the US president had been through the museum on multiple occasions, but for the Arabs this was a first. Everyone was attuned to the words of the director when he motioned the Middle East leaders to a table where the survivor from France was seated. The US president then joined Vera at her table. Eitan sat closely at her side.
It took over twenty minutes for Vera to tell her story to the president. He interrupted her a couple of times. He wanted Vera to know how much he knew about the Holocaust, but for the most part he sat and listened attentively. It was not lost on him that this incredible woman was detailing the horrors of Ukraine, a place where the Jews were once again in great danger. He was very much entranced by Vera’s story. She did not leave out any details. Eitan could picture in his mind as she spoke the long lines of Jews along the ravines. The sound of gunfire. The Ukrainian soldiers joyously serving as Hitler’s executioners. The jackbooted Nazis marching back and forth with their attack dogs and their rifles. The fear and terror in the eyes of the Jews. The utter confusion of the youth. And ultimately the remarkable survival of one young girl who lived to tell her story to the president of the United States.
Eitan believed that the tears welling up in the president’s eyes were real. He was a man who had experienced loss and suffered a great deal personally. Sadly, he knew what it meant to lose a child. His oldest had died of cancer. But never could he have imagined the horrors that Vera experienced. He had met many survivors before. He expected to hear such a story. After all, that is why she and the French survivor were there. But what he didn’t expect was to hear Vera say, “That was part one of the story. Part two takes place in Paris,” she said with all the dramatic effect she could muster.
“Part two?” said the president. “What do you mean, Vera?”
While the Arab leaders had many questions for their survivor, no one minded that the leaders were going to be late for their next appearance. Vera took a sip from a water bottle that was provided at her table and then launched into the rest of her story. The president listened intently as Vera described how she got to Paris and ultimately the position she acquired with Vaux Securite. He said nothing as she described her job and how it ended. She talked about the heart attack, the daughter, and the funeral. But when she got to the end of the story, the president let out an audible gasp.
“The Baby Killer is the grandfather of Lany Kovalenko? You’ve got to be kidding me?” he said.
For the first time in several minutes, the president looked away from Vera and stared momentarily at Eitan. Eitan said nothing but simply nodded as if to say, “Yes, it is true.”
“This is incredible,” the president said. Immediately, he understood that somehow the Israelis had engineered this moment, and that they were sending him a message. If it were true, then it needed to be considered. Suddenly, the meteoric rise of anti-Semitism in the Ukrainian executive branch made a lot more sense. The president stood up, signaling that he had heard enough. But first he came closer to Vera, thanked her, and gave her a warm embrace. It was at that moment Eitan could hear Vera say something softly into his ear.
“Mr. President, don’t let Ukraine do today what they did to the Jews of my generation.”
Eitan smiled knowing that his mission with Vera had been accomplished. At the same time, Vera looked over at Eitan. The gleam in his eyes again struck a chord in her soul. She made eye contact with him and nodded, letting him know his presence gave her strength at the most important moment.