Milwaukee doesn’t just have a place in Israel’s political history because of the background of Prime Minister Golda Meir. It now has a small place in Israel’s literature, thanks to a former Israel emissary (shaliach in Hebrew).
Moshe (Mishka) Ben-David, 59, served in that position in Milwaukee from 1977-80. He has held a variety of military, teaching, and community relations positions in his career; but he thinks of himself, and is best known in Israel, primarily as a novelist and short story writer. (He won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award in 2003.)
And as he explained in a telephone interview on March 23, one of his novels (not translated into English) is about Israel-Diaspora relations — and the U.S. Diaspora community portrayed in it is based primarily on Milwaukee.
He has fond memories of his time here, he wrote in an email. “For me, it was my first encounter with a strong and warm Jewish community, and it made me understand what Jewish life outside Israel might be like,” he wrote. He and his wife Shoshana “are still in good contact with the very good friends we made there.”
The novel’s subject, however, is grim. It portrays Israel-Diaspora relations at a time when Israel loses a war against the Arabs, he said.
“It describes what happens within a Jewish community similar to Milwaukee during the 30 days of such a war,” Ben-David said. “The descriptions of the community and what happens I took from what I saw in the Jewish community of Milwaukee. I could imagine what could happen.”
It is a similarly somber prospect that will bring Ben-David back to Milwaukee. He will be the featured speaker at Milwaukee’s commemoration of Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day for those killed in its defense and in terrorist attacks) on Sunday, May 8, 3 p.m., at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center.
This Yom HaZikaron event is particularly dedicated to “Honoring Those Who Serve Behind the Scenes” — that is, to those who served in the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence gathering and special operations organization.
Ben-David served as a senior officer in that organization from 1987-1999. He wrote that at Milwaukee’s Yom HaZikaron event, he will speak about “the unique kind of bravery needed for covert operation behind enemy lines, the personal sacrifices the operative himself and his family suffer, as well as the life — and sometimes death — without glory and without public acknowledgement that this kind of work entails.”
Ben-David entered the Mossad by happenstance. Writing was his passion since childhood. “I wrote since I learned how to read and write. I still have notebooks from first grade,” he said.
He continued literary work, study, and teaching throughout his life. While serving as shaliach in Milwaukee, he earned a master’s degree in comparative literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Back in Israel, he earned a doctorate in literature at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
When the first Intifada (Arab uprising in the territories Israel captured in the 1967 war) broke out, however, “I felt I could not continue with an academic career while everything here seemed to get into turmoil,” he said.
He considered reentering the army, where he had served in military intelligence and risen to the rank of captain. Then he saw a newspaper ad from the Mossad, applied, and was accepted. “It was a fantastic experience,” he said. He left the organization with “a rank parallel to brigadier general.”
He is now a full-time writer. In the past 12 years, he has published six novels, four of them based on his Mossad experiences.
His wife Shoshana is a specialist in Chinese medicine. His oldest child, daughter Shiri, was born in Milwaukee, and is now a psychologist and mother of two. He and Shoshana also have two younger sons, both students.
Admission to Yom HaZikaron, the first of two “Milwaukee Stands with Israel” events, is free. Chairs of the event are Razia Azen and Suzanne Weinstein.
This and the celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day) on Sunday, May 15, are hosted by the Israel Center of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and the JCC. Yonatan Zvi chairs the yamim events; co-chair is Joe Devorkin; honorary chair is Adina Altshul.
For more information, contact Paz Goldschmidt, Israel emissary and director of the Israel Center, 414-967-8217 or pazg@milwaukeejewish.org; or Dorene Paley, JCC Community Services Director, 414-967-8217 or dpaley@jccmilwaukee.org.
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