Nearly two hours after piling into Yehoshua’s sedan, Emma, Eitan, and Yehoshua entered the city of Jerusalem. Eitan could barely contain his excitement, wondering what it would be like to meet the prime minister. While he had heard him speak many times, he’d never had the chance to meet him personally. Even at the Holocaust Museum, he did not get the opportunity to meet him. He certainly never had a chance to have a private meeting with him in his office.
It did not take long once they reached Jerusalem to make their way towards the government buildings complex. As they got closer, Eitan felt a knot in his stomach. He was nervous, but excited. This was likely to be an experience he would never forget. That was his last thought as Yehoshua was waved through security and found a parking spot in the staff lot.
The Israeli prime minister’s office sits in a tall, non-descript white building located not far from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walking towards the entrance, Eitan tried to imagine what his grandfather would think about what was happening. As he walked through security and into the building, he thought to himself, “This is my Maharhash moment.”
A security official was posted at the front entrance prepared to welcome Yehoshua and the Grohs. He greeted them warmly, and then asked them to follow him up two flights of stairs and towards a conference room adjacent to the prime minister’s office. Eitan recognized the room. He had seen it many times on television. He scanned the walls and for a moment fixated on the imposing portrait of Theodore Herzl that dominated the room. A few moments later, the prime minister walked in flanked by two aides in military dress. He extended his hand first to Eitan and then Emma, saying “shalom” to each. Then he patted Yehoshua on the back and asked everyone to have a seat at the long rectangular conference table. Speaking in his eloquent, non-accented English, the prime minister opened the conversation.
“Sorry I am late,” he began. “I was just updating the British prime minister. That guy can really talk.”
“Thank you for taking some time to speak with us, Mr. Prime Minister. We know how busy you are,” Eitan said.
The prime minister smiled and said, “The pleasure is mine. Rabbi, you have played a key role in an incredible chain of events. The US president has all of a sudden taken quite an interest in the plight of our people in Ukraine. It’s always amazing to me when a country decides to exercise its conscience,” the prime minister added with a hint of sarcasm. “Not long after your meeting with the president of the United States, he called to inform me that Ukraine would never enter NATO so long as one Jew remained in his country against their will. Nor would they receive any more military or financial aid until airlifts bringing Jews to Israel were authorized. As we speak now, every El Al plane we have is on the way to Ukraine to gather the country’s Jews and bring them home to Israel. France too sent some of their planes, and the British prime minister just offered to send some planes from London. By the end of the week, I think we can say that a new wave of aliyah will be completed. Your friend Vera was quite the compelling storyteller!”
“Thank God. Mr. Prime Minister, she is our hero. And I was so honored to have played a small role in this mission. Thank you very much for trusting me to be part of it,”
“Well, I promise, if we can ever exploit you again, the State of Israel will not hesitate to do so,” the prime minister said with a smile.
The Grohs chuckled for a moment. Israel’s leader took a drink of water before turning to Eitan. “Now,” he said, “Yehoshua tells me you are not the first Rabbi Groh to help bring Jews from Europe to Israel. Tell me the story of your grandfather.”