meet Yussuf who is a young Palestinian. We watch through the eyes of a critically wounded bodyguard as Yussuf cuts off a finger from one of the dead so as to obtain a gold ring. Meanwhile the leader of the Palestinian squad, all disguised as Israelis, makes a signature move we saw a bit earlier in the book when an Israeli leader was assassinated in return for the death of a Palestinian. He reaches behind the ear of a wounded man, feels for a bone there, depending on touch rather than his failing eyesight. He finds the knob of bone and with a low-cali
ber pistol fires into the skull at that range which causes instantaneous death.
ber pistol fires into the skull at that range which causes instantaneous death. A little later we meet Maali who is Yussuf’s young wife of only a few weeks. At first the meeting is of love and like a scene from Kahil Gibran as she welcomes him with, “My heart, my husband, welcome home to your bridal chamber, welcome to your marriage bed.” When he gives her the gift of the ring he has cut from the dead man’s hand she whispers, “You actually took it from a dead Jew?” Yussuf replies, “I hate them. Killing them is not enough after what they did to me, to my family, to my people, to my religion. I cut off the finger and threw it to a dog in Abu Tor.” Then they break the marriage fast and make love.
The Rabbi and his secretary are now hooded and in the hands of the Doctor. Soon they begin to talk and the Doctor plans to break his captive by pretending to be friendly. Yet the pretense is moved to a different level as the two men talk and exchange views. Each has a purple bruise, almost identical on their foreheads although neither takes note of it. The Doctor’s is from the way he touches his head to the floor over and over when praying toward Mecca and to Allah. The Rabbi’s is from his own prayers as he sways back and forth (davens as it is called) at the Wailing Wall and strikes his head repetitively there. So already we see these are two of a kind, although wildly at odds. Soon, they will see it too. For they have one huge thing in common.
The Doctor begins this by saying, “The name of my beloved is Jerusalem. You must understand the difference between the secular Muslims who direct the Palestinian Authority and Islamists like me. The secular Muslims are only interested in a nation-state; the Authority’s functionaries, little men from refugee camps in Tunis, sit behind large desks and drink Turkish coffee and accept envelopes stuffed with cash in return for favors. Me, I am crazy about the land. I tell you frankly, ya’ani, when I walk in the hills above Jerusalem, I wear sandals and never wash the dust off my feet until I go to the mosque to pray.”
The Rabbi lowered his eyes, acknowledging that he was in the presence of a pious man. “I know. I know. With me it’
s exactly the same.” He buffed his lips with his knuckles as he recited words he had memorized as a young man and never forgotten. “When a man plasters his house, let him leave a small area unplastered to remind him of Jerusalem. Let a man prepare everything for a meal; then let him leave a small thing undone to remind him of Jerusalem. For it is said: ‘If I forget thee O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning.’
s exactly the same.” He buffed his lips with his knuckles as he recited words he had memorized as a young man and never forgotten. “When a man plasters his house, let him leave a small area unplastered to remind him of Jerusalem. Let a man prepare everything for a meal; then let him leave a small thing undone to remind him of Jerusalem. For it is said: ‘If I forget thee O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning.’The Doctor said emotionally, “I never dreamed I would come across another human being, let alone a Jew, who loved this city as I do.”’
As the Israeli’s close in on the Doctor they accept such things as the necessity to remand Maali over to be questioned about Yussuf’s whereabouts by an old enemy of theirs in Hamas now working with them to try to save the American-brokered treaty. The various scenes of torture and of pain are not for the faint of heart. Yet, in days when our own government deals with torturing devils who they claim to be on our side, this may be some of the most powerful material Littell has ever written.
Then, in the penultimate scenes of the novel the two radicals -- the Jewish Fundamentalist and the Muslim Fundamentalist -- reach a deal together that is certain to bring a chill to any reader’s heart. If you are looking for an optimistic book, this is not for you. If you are looking for a book that will restore your faith in the ideal of all religions and politics and men being ready to meet on level ground, this is not the book for you. If you search for a book that delivers thrills without the need to think about today and the History we are making now, this is not for you. If, however, you wish to read a book that places both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in fair and accurate portrayal then you should read this novel. But do not expect that, with understanding, the path to solutions will become any clearer.
VICIOUS CIRCLE by Robert Littell is published by Overlook Press. $24.95 Hardcover.
Palestine. This kidnapping puts both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government into untenable positions with their own more radical elements should they give in to various pressures. So the Israeli Intelligence organization moves in under the direction of an ex-Mossad officer named Elihu.
If, like me, you have wondered why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can seemingly never end this book will both enlighten and chill you. Never has a book been better titled!
The main story begins as the Rabbi’s motorcade is stopped and his kidnapping takes place. In the carnage and death we
