Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Section One: IRAQ

Part II: My Life in Iraq, 1938-1948 (pg 19)
Chapter # Title Page #
1. My father and mother meet and marry 23
2. Farhood: Krystallnacht in Baghdad, June 1, 1941 26
View from the roof 28
Aftermath 29
3. My Life on the other side of the river 30
Summer nights 31
Seeing the sights 32
Servants 32
Nightlife 33
Neighbors 35
4. Uncle Khadoory and his son 36
5. Growing up in Baghdad 38
Buying “on account” 38
Horse-drawn carriages 39
Mother sews dresses for us 39
Mother and the shoemaker 40
Public urinaries in Baghdad: boys only 40
The Turkish Bath 41
Summer wonder: The miracle island 42
Summer vacation in Mosul 42
6. Brushes with danger 44
My bout with the bees 44
Drowning in Baghdad 45
Electrocuted! 46
7. Flying kites and pigeons 48
Flying kites on the roof 48
Flying pigeons from our friend’s roof 48
8. Shifting sands: Changes in the Arab treatment of Jews 50
Cinema Balash 50
Arab failure in the Israeli War for Independence 50
The hanging of our friend Yehuda Saddik 51
Father Is blacklisted 51
9. Listening to the radio in the closet 53
Preparations for escape 53
10. Escape from Baghdad!!! 55

Section Two: ISRAEL

My life in Israel: 1949-1958 (pg 68)
11. Aunt Ruthi, the fortuneteller 70
Settling In 70
Aunt Ruthi’s profession 70
Dissatisfied customer demands refund 70
The mysterious case of the disappearing cat 72
Aunt Ruthi moves to the US 74
Aunt Ruthi takes up painting 74
12. Stealing oranges with Yeftah 75
13. Little runaways 80
Life at Tiv-On 80
Life in Kibbutz Ma’anit 82
My horse Malchik 83
Letters from the heart to my parents 83
Concentration camp survivor 84
Friends at Ma’anit 84
Aliza the saf-tah 85
Drowning in Caesarea 86
14. Reunion with my parents 88
Tent camp in At-Leet 90
The blue marble 90
15. Life in Ramah 91
The bugs are biting 91
On top of Love Hill 92
The shameful plight of Daliah and Raffi 93
The baths and the movies 93
16 My brother Yeftah 96
Yeftah tells mother, “I want a pet.” 96
The dog must have wandered away 97
I wish I could fly away like these birds 98
17. My beloved librarian, Mrs. Newtoff 99
Madame Butterfly 99
18. Working to support the family 102
Hatzor: Israel Air Force Academy of Aeronautics 102
Sukrer Power Station 102
Where is Mr. Almuzninoo? 103
Weitzman Institute: Robert Oppenheimer and Ben-Gurion 104
The Israeli Navy needs me 104
Tel Aviv at the waterfronts: What’s out there? 106
19. First loves & lovemaking 119
Introduction to love: Was this sex? 119
Lilly in Bilu Square: A sexy beauty 121
With Carmella in Tel Aviv: At the daytime movie 122
Nogah, the good-hearted beauty 123
20. Nagako Obata, my Japanese pen-pal 126
The letters 127
Family reactions and plans 129
Nagako and I finally meet 130
Writing Nagako notes 131
21. Hiking with Menasheh 132
Hatzor 132
Menasheh’s new travel scheme 132
Mount Carmel 133
Galilee 134
Keneret 135
Acco 136
The trip’s conclusion 137
Rishon Le-Tzion 137
Rehoboth 137
22. Leaving Israel 144
My cousin Sabah (Yeg-Al) surprises me 144
Going to see the world, back in few months 145
Leaving Israel aboard Artsa 146
Fortuneteller in Genoa: You’re going far away 147
Marseilles, France 148
Barcelona, Spain 150
Straits of Gibraltar 150
Dakar, Senegal 151
Open ocean 151
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil 152

Section Three: BRAZIL

My life in Brazil: 1958-1960 (pg 153)
23. Discovering Brazil 154
Making the Journey 154
Arriving in Rio De Janeiro 155
24. Sojourn in Santos 157
Arrival in Santos, Brazil 157
Sleeping on park benches 157
The homeless and prostitutes 158
25. Hunger and the church 160
Evangelism of Brazil and Dr. Billy Graham 160
Jews and Christianity 161
My Epiphany 132
Hungry, will I die? 163
Falling off the electric pole 163
Going to sleep: Will I wake up? 164
26. Working at Nilotex 168
Finding work 168
My first day 169
The night shift 169
“Is It cut off?” 170
27. My adopted family, The Molnars 172
Fish, Fish, and more fish…Thank you, Jesus! 173
28. Seventh-Day Adventist church 176
I am in love: But my honor is on the line 176
29. Leaving my beloved Brazil 181
Yearning to be with my family 181
I’m denied the Promised Land 181
Finding a way 182

Section Four: USA/Korea/USA

My life in the USA: 1960-2005 (present) (pg 184)
30. Arriving in the USA 185
Student at the Brooklyn Museum Of Art 188
Money collection at the movie house 189
Picnic on Riverside Drive 190
31. Initial Immigration troubles 191
The Military option 191
32. You’re in the Army now 194
Reporting to Whitehall office 194
Basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia 195
They named me “Philosopher” 198
“Shooting the shit” 199
Segregation at the movies 200
“In twenty words or less, who the hell are you?” 202
33. Choosing Korea 205
“Soldier, You have a choice: Germany or Korea” 205
Jay-walking Yankee from New York 206
Aboard ship to Honolulu 207
Arrival in the Islands 208
Virgin farm boys 208
Ocean swim drill 209
Free time on board 211
34. Arriving in Pusan, South Korea 212
The Commanding Officer’s welcome 212
Strategic Air Command (SAC) 213
35. Life in Korea 222
Kimchee on the public bus 222
Communal baths 222
36. The night girls and Mamma-Sans 224
37. Serving at the war orphanages 227
38. Crying on guard duty 229
What am I doing here? 231
39. Bigotry and betrayal 232
“If the US declares war on Israel, will you shoot a Jew?” 232
“Did you ever meet an honest, hard-working Jew?” 232
40. Local Korean relations 236
UN Security Forces and the Korean economy 236
Revenge of the Turks 237
41. R & R with Nagako in Japan 240
Nagako’s correspondence 240
Whirlwind sightseeing tour 242
Mt. Aso 245
Parting from Nagako 246
42. Honorable discharge 247

Section Five: Back To The U.S.A. (II)

My life in the USA: 1960 to (present) (pg 250)
43. McDougal Street, Greenwich Village 250
Song-writing experiment 252
Poetry is the shorthand of wisdom 253
The miracle of America 253
Hot soup and chili at Horn & Hardart 255
Living in the Bronx 256
Nagging thoughts of suicide 257
44. Upon returning from duty in Korea 260
If you are so smart, how come you’re not rich? 260
45. Sex before marriage 262
Five couples rent a lodge 262
Sexual escapades with marsha 262
The most expensive sex I’ve ever had 263
Tammy and I under the George Washington Bridge 265
Rachelle and I near the Bronx Botanical Garden 267
46. Marriage and children 273
Manuel First introduces us 273
Meeting my future wife Rachelle 275
Engagement and marriage 278
Our wedding day November 6, 1965 279
Manny First dies of lung cancer 279
47. The easy life: A boat in the marina 282
At Gutzik’s: Port Jefferson 282
Watch out for the rocks 283
I need two lifejackets 285
Mayday, Mayday, this is an emergency 286
My camera at the bottom of the harbor 288
Identifying with Hemingway 289
Vacation in Acapulco, Mexico 290
Vacation lifestyle 291
48. Our adorable dog: Taffy 294
49. My dear In-laws: The Gertels 297
Mr. Gertel’s life and death 297
Sam, Rachelle’s half-brother 297
Life after the Great War 298
Renewed Anti-Semitism 299
Yearning to unite with his son Sam 299
Mr. Gertel falls Ill 300
Suzanne interviews Grandma Hannah 301
50. Aunt Khatoon: Her life and tragic death 306
They removed one breast already 306
It’s a waste of food 307
Crying on the boardwalk 308
My sad prophecy comes true 308
51. A nostalgic visit to the old neighborhood 310
Uncle Yehuda: The heart-breaking hermit 311
Do you know how big your father was in Baghdad 313
52. Return to Kibbutz Ma’anit after 40 years 314
The search for Murdi and Malchik 314
Malchik: Did you know him? 315
Malchik: A Good Horse 316
The Kibbutz food tastes good now 316
The Iraqi Army shelled the water tower 317
53. My father Silas: His life and death 318
My father: The great admirer of America 318
Father’s life and unexpected death 318
54. My wonderful three daughters 322
My daughter Suzanne 322
My daughter Sandra 324
Sandra’s engagement party in Huntington, NY 327
Going to Sandra’s wedding 327
Sandra and Ronen visit us as husband and wife 328
Granddaughter Danielle: Born September 7, 2000 328
My daughter Sharon 331
55. Sandra weds Ronen in Israel: January 9, 1997 338
Saba Naji in the Turkish Army (Ottoman) 340
Saba Naji is mugged 341
56. My brothers and I at Kibbutz Yo-Av 342
Yeftah’s famous joke: The Samurai 342
Night visit to the cemetery 343
Yeftah’s teary reconciliation with father 344
Who visits at this crazy hour? 345
57. Memories of my brother: Yeftah 347
Night-fishing with Yeftah 347
Are we fishing or playing Poker? 347
The boat explodes, we are in the water 348
Rescued by other boats 349
Was it Diabetes or suicide? 349
No-Am makes peace with his father 349
Yeftah is back in the hospital 350
Yeftah attempts a suicide 350
58. Yeftah dies in the hospital: November 21, 2002 352
Return to Israel: My brother’s funeral 353
I failed to protect my little brother 355
Yeftah’s sense of humor: Till the very end 356
Sweet memories of other times 356
Sitting Shiv-Ah for Yeftah 357
After the funeral: I am a tourist 357
Mother: What is Man? No better than a dog 358
The magnificent Baha’ I shrine 358
After the touring, the walking 359
Yeftah: Our own Zorba The Greek 360
59. With mother at Entebbe Night Club 362
A taste for Iraq 362
Mother: “There’s no happiness without tears” 363
60. My daughters interview mother 364
61. You will find your mother sitting on the bench 366
Mother watches silent TV 368
62. Memories of my mother 370
Mother is mugged by a teenager 370
Mother: “Saying Good-Bye is the Way of the World” 370
On the plane with a heavy heart 371
A visit to ancient Caesarea 372
Nostalgia for Chalghi Baghdad 372
Mother’s prayers were answered 373
Time to say our good-byes 374
63. Mother in old-age home: A Gilded Cage 376
The one-way ambulance ride 377
64. Mother: Will she survive this ordeal? 385
I landed in Israel 385
Mother at Asaf Ha-Rofeh Hospital 385
Mother’s funeral arrangements 388
At the cemetery: November 9, 2003 389
Reading the Kaddish for mother 390
Now we’re truly orphans 391
Paying respect to other graves 392
Sitting Shiv-Ah for mother 392
Taking a break from misery and mourning 397
Suzanne: “Tell us everything Dad, everything” 400
Index 401

“History of the Jews and Israel”
Iraq: The History of the Jews in ancient Mesopotamia
Iraq: Who are the Sephardim
Iraq: The political history of Iraq
Iraq: Timeline
Israel: The history of the Jews and Israel
Israel: Timeline