77 – Portland, Maine
After Sarah Goldberg traveled to Washington on a bus chartered by the Jewish Federation of Southern Maine, one of six buses in a caravan, Debra Reuben and Abram Goldhersh remained at the house in Portland. Reluctantly, Reuben had accepted Levi’s warning that she was too well known to appear in public. It would have been disloyal to Levi’s memory to ignore his warning, she felt. Goldhersh wanted nothing to do with the March, but he did want to monitor television coverage of what he expected the three young men were about to do.
Abram also wanted to remain close to the object lying at the bottom of his swimming pool. He was not one hundred percent sure he believed that a working atomic bomb was hidden at his own house, on the other hand, the evidence of what happened in Damascus was difficult to dispute and he could not imagine why Reuben would lie about something so deadly serious.
Levi’s death had shocked both of them. Debra found herself crying uncontrollably. Other times she was lost in memories of the brief time the two had shared, meeting him in Spain and then the seemingly endless days on the sailboat. She smiled as she recalled sitting at the beach bar in Jost van Dyke and what they viewed as their narrow escape from that island. It all seemed so innocent in retrospect.
Levi’s death hardened her. It seemed so wrong, so unfair, yet so emblematic of how the present government of the United States decided to react to the devastation of Israel. All the years of U.S. support for what Reuben thought was America’s only true ally in the Middle East seemed to have evaporated. It was madness, in her mind at least, a madness that had to be cured somehow.
Reuben had little expectation that any massive demonstration, with songs and signs and speeches, was going to change the minds of anybody in any position of power, least of all President Quaid. The President seemed to be personally spearheading the anti-Israel drive. Reuben expected that she was far from the only Jew to view President Quaid as the one individual most responsible for abandoning Israel in its moment of greatest need.
Being alone with Abram Goldhersh did little to quell Reuben’s animosity toward the President. Goldhersh had long viewed the American President as prodding the Israeli government to abandon its Biblical claim to the West Bank and Gaza. In Abram’s mind, the President’s present actions were only a continuation of his previous narrow-minded animosity. In fact, Goldhersh believed that President Quaid was firmly in the pockets of Arab oil sheiks and was most likely an anti-Semite.
President Quaid’s nationwide address that evening cemented their growing hatred for the man. They watched in silent shock on the television in the living room of the Portland house.
The President sat at his desk in the Oval Office, a U.S. flag behind him. The camera opened with a tight shot on his face, then zoomed back to show his desk, a pen and two sheets of paper on it. The President gestured and people walked in from off-camera to stand behind him. Like an announcer at a televised golf match, the CBS White House correspondent’s voice could be heard whispering, identifying each person behind the President.
“The Senate majority and minority leaders, standing shoulder to shoulder with one another,” he whispered, “and the House leaders from both parties standing with them. Homeland Security Director Paterson, the new acting Attorney General, Gen. Cruz, chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
“I’m surprised the FBI director is not here, no explanation for his absence from the press office. Wait, the President is about to speak.”
President Quaid stared directly into the camera, a look of steely determination on his face, or at least he hoped it was interpreted that way.
“My fellow Americans,” he said. “This nation is at war. Even worse, this nation has already been invaded. I appreciate how shocking that news is.
“Here are the facts. What happened earlier this year to the State of Israel was a tragedy and a lesson to every nation in the world about the threat of terrorism. I have vowed never to let such a horrendous terrorist action take place in this great nation. To the millions of Israeli citizens who lost their lives or their families or their homes, I can only say that I have remembered you in my prayers.
“But as wrong as what was done to Israel was, we have to keep in mind that it was the act of terrorists, for all we know the act of a single madman. What followed was conduct of a far different character. Israel’s retaliation against the nation of Syria, against Damascus, Syria’s most populous and capital city, was not mindless violence of the kind inflicted on Tel Aviv. No, that nuclear attack on Damascus was the premeditated conduct of a national government.
“Israel’s planned, brutal assault on an innocent city ended any claim the Jewish state had to moral superiority over its Muslim enemies. I can tell you this, the attack on Damascus ended the great sympathy I had held for the destruction that took place in Israel. I can only conclude that what followed the terrorist bombing in Israel was a condition of madness that consumed the government of Israel.
“Madness is not a word to apply lightly to a national government, but madness is the only explanation for what has happened since that bombing.”
The President paused and sipped from a glass of water.
“After much careful consideration I decided that this country would not intervene in the turmoil in the Middle East that followed the bombings of Tel Aviv and Damascus. Tragic as those situations were, they appeared likely to resolve themselves without any need for American lives to be placed in harm’s way.
“Most observers agree that the difficult decision I made not to send young American men and women to stand between warring armies in that volatile part of the world was the right decision. Violence there has nearly entirely subsided. Innocent people are no longer dying there. Hungry people are being fed. Homeless people are being housed. Any future aid will be channeled through the United Nations and I pledge that this nation will be generous in supporting those relief efforts by the United Nations.
“That is the good news. But I am not addressing you tonight to deliver good news. I am about to deliver bad news, horrible news.
“As I said when I first addressed you tonight, this nation is at war. Our enemies are both external to this national and, sadly, internal as well.
“Support for my Middle East policy has been almost universal from the American people, without regard to political party,” he turned to smile at the men behind him. “However, there has been fierce and even violent opposition from a small minority, a minority that apparently has sworn to force me to change my mind on this issue.
“As was tragically demonstrated by the mindless, heartless murders of hundreds of innocent Americans in the two shopping mall bombings in Massachusetts so recently, this minority holds the mistaken belief that I can be bullied into doing what we believe is not in the national interest, but rather is in the interest only of that minority itself.
“My fellow Americans, I vow to you now, this conduct will not stand. I will not yield to threats. I will not yield to violence. I will not yield to terror. No, I will not yield, I will strike back. I will hunt down the terrorists who threaten this nation. I will catch them. I will lock them away.”
President Quaid balled his right hand into a fist and brought it down on the desk in front of him with a bang.
“If necessary, I will kill them.”
He reached down to the desk and picked up the pen. He pointed at the first sheet of paper.
“This document is a resolution passed this afternoon by both houses of Congress. The resolution is virtually identical to that passed by an earlier Congress following a previous heinous attack on this nation, an attack that took place on September 11, 2001. Today’s resolution gives me the power to protect America from today’s enemies. I sign this resolution with pride.”
The President signed his name to the bottom of the sheet of paper. The people standing behind him broke into applause. He continued speaking.
“For the past week, I have been receiving information, which has recently been verified, that military forces of the State of Israel have infiltrated into this country. Some of those forces were responsible for the murder of ten Coast Guard men and women in Boston, as you all know.
“We believe we hold most of that commando unit in custody. We are not certain we have captured all of them but interrogations are continuing. We will learn the truth from these people.
“Another member of the Israeli military, a man who we have identified as a Lt. Chaim Levi, was shot and killed yesterday as he attempted to flee from FBI agents who captured him.”
The President paused and looked directly into the camera as it zoomed to a close shot on his face.
“Our killing of this highly trained special forces operative should be a lesson to others who remain at large. This is a merciful nation, but mercy must be earned. To those of you who threaten America, to those of you who believe that threats and acts of violence will force me to take actions in international affairs that I believe are not in the best interests of the majority, I repeat, the majority of American people, I give you this warning.
“Threaten us and we will kill you, as we killed your Lt. Levi.”
President Quaid appeared surprised at the applause from the people standing behind him. He nodded his appreciation, then raised his hand to quiet them.
“Now for the most difficult information I must give to you today. As justified as killing this special forces infiltrator was, it was also unfortunate. I have received reliable information that this man did not act alone, but, rather that he acted with unknown others, unknown others who may also be Israeli military personnel and, sadly, unknown others who may be American citizens, we just don’t know.
“I have reliable, confirmed intelligence information that this terror cell managed to smuggle into this nation a quantity of Uranium-235. Uranium-235 is a man-made, extremely radioactive substance. It has only one use. The construction of nuclear weapons. At this time, we do not know how much U-235 was smuggled into this country or whether that material is contained in a functioning explosive device. What we do know, however, is that this Lt. Levi was involved in the smuggling, that he was a member of the Israel Defense Forces and that the Israel Defense Forces had hundreds of nuclear weapons. And nobody knows where a single one of those bombs is.
“My fellow Americans, we also know, quite obviously, that the Israel Defense Forces did not hesitate to use its nuclear weapons, as was demonstrated so tragically in Damascus. We are sparing no effort to locate this device. I can assure you that we have scientific means of detecting such material and those means have been fully deployed. It is only a matter of time, time and patience before this threat is removed.”
Again, the President paused to sip at the water glass. He turned his head left and right to look at the people behind him. They gave him positive nods and a few thumbs up signals. He turned back to the camera.
“I view this conduct as acts of war against the United States. I am appalled, and saddened, that some Americans, some very few Americans, appear to be supporting this nation’s enemies. I am sure that most Americans were as shocked as I was when a band of Jewish citizens attacked our Coast Guard and attempted to hide their fellow Jews, to liberate the commando teams on those two ships.
“As you know, the FBI rounded up thousands of those people, the people from the ships and the others, others who I sadly label with the only word that appropriately describes them. That word is traitor. The FBI arrested hundreds of those traitors and they will be dealt with.
“Nonetheless, I have concluded that we would be foolish not to learn a serious lesson from the conduct of those traitors, a lesson that teaches that for one minority among all Americans, their primary loyalty is not to our nation, but is to their co-religionists and to a foreign nation.
“I have learned that lesson. I will act on that lesson. The first action is to identify those people who are most likely to be traitors, those people we must all watch diligently, knowing they have declared war on America and, sadly, knowing they have a weapon in their hands of dreadful power. I learned this lesson. Today, Congress gave me absolute power as commander in chief to protect this nation. I intend to exercise that power.”
The President picked up the second document from his desk.
“This document is a Presidential Finding and Declaration. I will read it to you and then I will sign it before the entire nation. It will go into effect immediately.”
He picked up the document and began reading from it.
“The President of the United States finds as follows:
“1. Military forces of the State of Israel have entered the United States illegally and without right.
“2. These forces have taken illegal and violent actions against the United States, including but not limited to killing American military personnel without cause or provocation.
“3. These forces have smuggled into the United States weapons of mass destruction, with the intention of utilizing those weapons against American citizens on American soil.
“4. An unknown but sizable number of American citizens of the Jewish faith have taken violent and illegal actions in support of these foreign military forces. Such violent actions caused the death of American military personnel.
“5. Further sympathizers of the State of Israel, also believed to be American citizens of the Jewish faith, have engaged in violent terrorist actions against innocent American citizens that led to the death of hundreds of such innocent citizens.
“6. Thousands, and as many as one million similar sympathizers, all American citizens of the Jewish faith, intend to descend on the nation’s capital for the avowed purpose of compelling the United States government and its President to take actions in support of the State of Israel that the President has already determined are not in the best interests of the United States.
“Wherefore, the President of the United States hereby declares, pursuant to the powers invested in him by Article Two of the United States Constitution and by the Authorization for the Use of Military and Other Force enacted by Congress on this date, as follows:
“First, all citizens of the United States of Jewish faith shall report to offices of the Department of Homeland Security, when and where such offices shall be established on an emergency basis, within a period of two weeks from the date of this Declaration.
“Second, at such time as these citizens of the Jewish faith so report, they shall each surrender their duly issued United States Citizenship Identification Card, otherwise known as the Americard.
“Third, each such citizen of the Jewish faith shall be issued by the Department of Homeland Security a replacement United States Citizenship Identification Card. Such replacement cards shall be colored blue and shall prominently mark the Jewish identity of the bearer.
“Fourth, all United States citizens, including those of the Jewish faith and those not of the Jewish faith, shall henceforth carry and visibly display their United States Citizenship Identification Card. Failure to carry and display such card by a citizen bearing a card other than a blue card shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $250. Failure to carry and display such a card by a citizen who has been issued a blue card shall be punishable by immediate detention for an indeterminate period of time in facilities to be established by the Department of Homeland Security.”
The President placed the document on his desk, picked up his pen and signed it, with a flourish. The applause this time was louder and longer. President Quaid did nothing to stop it. When the applause subsided he looked once again at the camera.
“One final word. This is a free country. We celebrate our fundamental right to freedom of speech, which, of course, includes the right to peacefully express our views on important matters to our government.
“It has been suggested to me that I take steps to prevent the gathering of Jewish citizens who at this very moment are descending on Washington. I will not do that. These citizens retain their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and the right to petition their government, even in the midst of a national crisis. This is not a dictatorship and I will not prevent citizens from saying things with which I disagree. The march may proceed.
“But a word of warning. I would be foolish to turn a blind eye to our current state of affairs. I have requested the assistance of Virginia Governor Jim Wheeler, which he graciously consented to. I have activated the 129th Light Infantry Regiment of the Virginia National Guard for deployment outside the metropolitan Washington area this weekend. I will not hesitate to order these soldiers to take whatever actions are necessary to restore public peace and order should this so-called March on Washington take a threatening or violent turn.
“In closing, my fellow Americans, I ask you to join me in praying to the God who has protected this great nation from its inception that He protect us through this hour of danger from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. I am confident that with our faith in our God and the skill and bravery of our citizens, we will once again prevail.
“Good night and God bless the United States of America and all of its loyal citizens.”
Abram Goldhersh picked up the bottle of Anchor Steam ale he’d just finished drinking and threw it against the television screen, which shattered in shards on the floor.
“Nazis,” he screamed. “They’re Nazis. We won’t be intimidated by them.”
He looked at Reuben, who remained in her chair, speechless, stunned. He was pleased not to see the tears he expected. Her lover’s death had hardened her. She wiped her eyes, expecting tears herself, then she sat up straight. Abram stared at her,
“Debbie,” he said angrily, “don’t you have anything to say to that?”
Reuben looked at Goldhersh as if she had forgotten he was in the room. Her eyes locked on his. She spoke quietly, more to herself than to the huge man staring at her.
“Never again,” she said. “Never again, never again. They can’t do it again. We can’t let it happen again.”