VN September 2020

Vetnews | September 2020 39 Story As background, letme explain that early onour tour we had appointed Stuart to be our banker and we each gave him a sum of money which he pooled and used when we had any sort of group activity that cost us money. Stuart was an accountant with an international audit firm and worked all over the world, so had plenty of experience, but even that did not protect us from the events of that night. We attended the show, which was really entertaining, lasting about an hour. When we came out of the theatre there was a chap standing just outside the door who invited us to come and have a beer in the “Piano Club”, which was located a further floor underground. The room was packed, with a haze of smoke drifting in the air and loud honkey-tonk piano music, struggling to be heard above the loud buzz of conversation. We shifted tentatively into the room, standing room only, taking in the noise and smell, making room for ourselves with our elbows. A waiter, looking more like a student struggled past, holding a tray of beer in mugs high above her head and we each grabbed one and started sinking the delicious brown fizz down our parched throats, relaxing and starting to enjoy the vibe. Then came the shock. She returned with the bill for the beer. Each beer cost more than our tickets to the show, an equivalent of R48 in Israeli shekels. Remember that was 1972 and a beer in SA at that time probably cost R1.50 in a restaurant. Stuart pulled the cash he had out of his pocket and paid the bill, then ashen-faced turned to us with a “that’s all our cash gone”. We had planned to go home by taxi as some of us were staying a long way away, but there went our taxi fee. I do not knowwhich was worse. The sense of outrage and disappointment for being “taken for suckers” or the prospect of walking home in the cold windy night next-to the sea. I was the most unfortunate as I stayed the furthest away. We started off as a reasonably jolly group trying to buoy each other up and slowly the other chaps peeled off to go to the venues of their hosts. Eventually I was alone, clutching my thin jacket around me in an attempt to ward off the freezing wind. When I finally arrived at Miriam’s home shivering like a leaf, it was 3.30 am. I had walked for 3 and a half hours, a distance probably as far as from Deep River to the centre of Cape Town City. Our time was drawing to a close. Two months that would change me in many ways. I had been able to see another country and meet its people, broadeningmy simple rural understanding of life inestimably. It had been a huge privilege to be exposed to a country with such a rich diversity of people and such a long history. Remember in 1972 a large number of the citizens of Israel had immigrated from other countries, so although they all had a Zionist background, they brought with them the cultures of a huge selection of other peoples. At that time, they had a system called “Ulpans”. When you came as a new immigrant you would be housed in and Ulpan, which could be a flat for a family or just a room for singles. The usual stay in an Ulpan was three months, during which time you would be introduced to the basic culture of Israel, being placed between people from other cultures, as well as learning to speak Hebrew. One of the problems they were trying to avoid was that people from say Russia would seek out other Russians and try to form a small Russian “colony” when they went out. The Israeli government was trying hard to integrate all the people into one single-cultured state. I had been exposed to the enormous intellectual potential there. Where they had in 25 years for instance, transformed large parts of Israel from desert to lush farms by piping water from Lake Kinneret through the country. They estimated that at that time 47% of Israeli adults had a tertiary education. Compared to 3-5% of the population in SA, so therewas enormous innovation. In addition to that the Jewish people all over the world had suffered rejection in many countries and even persecution. This had taught them to stand together and support one another in a way which was quite unique and to become remarkably innovative and self-sufficient. Even as the state of Israel had been formed through the United Nations in 1948, the same UN turned its back on them as did other countries like Britain, so the first settlers had arrived straight at a war situation. They are still not recognised as a state by any of the Arab nations around them. Even as we were leaving, there was high drama, which, although we were almost part of it, we only discovered later. Three of us, George, Colin, and I were flying to Greece, leaving at 5 am from Lod airport, the main Israeli airport. What we did not know was that 7 hours earlier a group of Japanese had arrived on a flight. As they stood at the baggage carrousel, they picked up automatic weapons, which had been hidden in their baggage and turned round spraying the innocent bystanders with a hail of bullets. Twenty-six people were killed, and a large number injured. They were from a terrorist group called the “Japanese Liberation Army”. In an era where communication was not nearly what it is today, the attack was broadcast on SA radio (no TV yet in SA) and reported in the newspapers. We were blissfully unaware of all this till later, but poor Emily knew we were leaving from Lod around then and had no way of finding out whether I was OK. As I returned home later from Greece, I did not realise it then, but looking back now can clearly see how God was grooming me for another life that I was to discover and live in the future. v