HERZLIYA, ISRAEL
June 9, 1967
On the same day, at four twenty-five in the afternoon, Daniel answered a knock on the door. It was the wartime nightmare that united all Israelis: two strangers in uniform. Daniel took a step back. “Is your mother home?” the woman said.
Daniel couldn’t answer. He tried, his mouth opened, but no sound emerged. He opened the door wider and gestured for them to come in. The man, an officer, said, “Are you the son of Arie Nesher?”
Daniel nodded, tears sprung.
“Please get your mother, is she at home?”
Daniel called in a flat voice from the foot of the stairs, “Ima. Tamara. Someone here to see you.” Rachel came out of the next room, saw the officers, and tottered against the wall. She began to wail. The female officer took her arm and guided her to the sofa. “We don’t know anything for sure, we’re just here to keep you informed, maybe there is nothing wrong.”
“Then why are you here?” Rachel said, her body shuddering. “What has happened?”
From the landing Tamara called out, “Coming.” As she descended the stairs she noticed the uniformed officers and halted. Her hand flew to her mouth, with the other she grabbed the banister. Her legs buckled, but she held herself upright, as the officer looked up. “Mrs. Nesher, please do not be alarmed,” the man said in a soft but firm voice. “We do not have anything to report, but we do have to inform you that your husband is missing, the army is searching for him…”
“Missing? What do you mean, missing? Is he all right?”
“Please come and sit down. We don’t know yet. We are sorry to frighten you…”
Tamara interrupted. “How long has he been missing?”
“Four days.”
“Four days!”
“Yes, I’d like to tell you of the circumstances, and what we are doing. If you have any questions at all, of any kind, I’m at the end of the phone on this number, anytime, day and night. My name is Ariel, and this is Captain Shulamit. She is a psychologist and can stay here with you if you like. Everybody is looking for your husband, Mrs. Nesher, with God’s help we will find him.”
“But what do you mean missing? What happened?”
Captain Ariel of the K’tzin Ha’ir, the city’s military liaison office, told her what he knew, while Rachel quietly sobbed.
Daniel’s eyes were blank. He had gone back eleven years, to the little boy sleeping by the window, refusing to move until his father came home from the war. It had become a family joke and Daniel always retorted: “But it worked.” Now he moved behind Tamara and stroked her head. “Abba is all right, Mummy,” he said in a thin voice that betrayed him. “I know it. I just know it. He’s coming home. I promise. I’ll wait for him at the window.”
Tamara burst into tears.
As soon as the officers left, promising to phone with every bit of information, she phoned Peter, he would know what to do. He could find out more than what the army was telling her. She collected herself, she had to be calm. There was no answer on his direct line, so she called back and asked the desk if she could speak to him. Gingie took the call, sounding uncertain. Peter had told her not to say anything, he hoped they’d find Arie before Tamara needed to worry.
“Tamara, how are you?”
“I’m looking for Peter, is he there?”
“No, not right now, I think he’s out in the field.”
“I have to speak to him. It’s urgent. Oh Gingie, Arie is missing. Missing in action. What can I do?” She sobbed, collected herself. “I’m sorry. But I just heard. Maybe Peter knows something. Maybe he can do something. I must speak to him. Where is he, Gingie?”
“Peter is in Gaza, Tamara. He’s looking for Arie.”