East of Nakba (36)

 

(Japanese Version)

(Arabic Version)

September, 2022

 

Part II. Ethnic cleanser

 

Chapter 36 Retired General "Shy-Rock" (1)

 

He was called General “Shy-Rock”. Of course, his real name was different. But people called him Shy-Rock behind the scenes. He started his military career as a fighter pilot. He rose to the top of the Air Force during Middle East Wars and got the title of General. The name 'Shy-Rock' sounds like the name of a moneylender in a famous English play. He was never pleased to be called such name. That was why everyone called him only “General“ when they met him.

But he occasionally pretended to be a clown and introduce himself in such manners; "As I am Shy-Rock---------." It was the introduction of his speech when he was in a good mood, or when he debated with foreign VIPs about a complicated issue. It was one of his talents. He used the image of the word Shy-Rock as a tactician to give his opponent a sense of awe.

The life of Shy Rock has always been with wars. Although he was over 70 years old and has retired from the Air Force, he was still requested for advice. The shadow of war had to haunt him until he died.

 He was born in 1939, the year World War II began. His father was an ordinary citizen who ran a barbershop in a ghetto (Jewish residential area) of a small German city. German Jews were called Ashkenazim. They were socially scorned and had a difficult life, but they lived a peaceful life.

However, taking advantage of the turmoil after World War I, the Nazis rose to power, and in 1933 Hitler took power. The situation has completely changed. Concentration camps, originally intended to hold political prisoners, became tools for the eradication of the Jewish people. The Nazi party led by Hitler raised the banner of "ethnic cleansing". The Gestapo hunted Jews systematically.

Fearing for his life, the father of Shy-Rock threw himself into the Zionist movement and migrated to Jerusalem with newborn baby. If the immigration of Shy-Rock family had been delayed by a few months, they would have suffered the same fate as their remaining compatriots. His family would have been wiped out. It was a last chance of the escape from Germany.

 

They settled as the member of the Zionism to rebuild Jewish homeland in Jerusalem. A severe ethnic conflict awaited there. Jerusalem was then a British mandate. When U.K. fought the German and Ottoman Turks in World War I, U.K. asked Lord Rothschilds, who was a Jewish capitalist and controlled world's finances, to raise funds for the war. At the same time, U.K. incited the local Arabs to turn them into guerrilla forces against the Ottoman Turks.

 

In order to attract an ally, rewards for winning were inevitable. U.K. offered rewards to Jews and Arabs respectively, which were fully contradicted each other. Jews were offered to rebuild its own state. Jewish had been lost their homeland nearly 2,000 years ago. While, the Arabs were offered to regain the Arab lands occupied by the Ottoman Turks and establish an Arab nation state.

 

(cont’d)

 

 

Areha Kazuya

(From an ordinary citizen in the cloud)

 

To previous chapters: http://ocininitiative.maeda1.jp/OcinNovelEnglish.html