Chapter 3.
Eyal entered the office of the Prime Minister at exactly nine o’clock in the morning. He had just succeeded Tamir Pardo at the helm of the Mossad, and although it was not the first time he took part to the weekly briefing, it was the first time he was leading it.
The Prime Minister was aware of this, and as he liked Eyal, he tried to put him at ease before the briefing began.
“So, Eyal, how was the bar mitzvah of your first son? His name is Rami, correct?”
“Correct, we had a nice ceremony and a good time at the reception, thanks. We eventually set for a Reform Jewish ritual. We felt uneasy with Orthodox, and Ruth and I thought Humanist was a bit too secular and not Jewish enough..”
“I understand. I do not want to say that I approve, as it would get me into trouble with my ultra-orthodox government allies if they knew….anyway, what do you have for me today?”
Social time was over. Eyal connected his smartwatch to the slide projector and started his one-hour presentation.
“We have three main topics this week, where we need your government’s guidance. Let’s start from the general political situation. As you know, the decision made by the newly elected President six months ago to ban Telomerax in the US has increased social tensions in the country. Mass demonstrations are taking place regularly in each major city. Illegal traffic of the drug is exploding, in a way that reminds very much of the Prohibition of the Twenties of the last century except that..”
The Prime Minister jumped in to complete the sentence.
“…except that Telomerax is being smuggled mainly from India, where one of its versions is legal, and not from Canada like it was for whisky one-hundred years ago. What’s in it for us?”
Eyal paused. The Prime Minister had reminded him that the Mossad was there to give the unknown bits, not to repeat what people could read on the Internet.
“There is more to that. As per the analysis that our experts are carrying out of the social media data, there is an increasing amount of rumors that claim that American Jews are actually controlling the drug cartels and reaping in huge profits. This is all the more appalling, since the drug smuggling trade is run mostly by African-Americans and Hispanic gangs, but somehow it went along with the flow of Zionist conspiracy theories. This did not happen in the times of Al Capone, and is starting to ignite attacks on the Jewish community.”
Eyal swiped his watch, and the holographic projector showed a map of the United States that was tracking anti-Jewish posts on main social media and the frequency of attacks on American Jews. The correlation was evident.
The Prime Minister looked at the graphics for several seconds, then he asked, “Ok, what do you want me to make a decision about?”
“We have two options on how to react,” Eyal said, “the first one, is to alert American Jews in the most dangerous areas and help them relocate to safer places within the US. In the long term, if the situation does not improve, the number of American Jews deciding to go aliyah, that is, to come back to Israel, might grow exponentially. Israel cannot accommodate them all, so we have found a second scenario that includes selective eliminations of the most dangerous anti-Jew activists. These eliminations will be carried out only in retaliation of attacks, to deter an escalation.”
“Let me get this straight. You are asking me for a green light to export to the US the same techniques we have been using against Hamas for the past decades?” the Prime Minister snapped.
“In short, yes. If authorized, we would do that in the least invasive way possible, that is by using our bio-drones, which are the second point in the agenda, by the way.”
“Go on, I will answer at the end,” the Prime Minister assured.
“As far as the bio-drone program is concerned, we have a mixed bag. After many years, the Iranians have figured out exactly the kind of weapon we are using. We know this from the defense tactics they are using, that is, they consistently spray insecticide around potential targets, and are asking the secret services of their allies for help to investigate our drone. We believe they have some samples, fortunately we have also found a way to influence their investigations. The question here is, do we want to suspend the program, given that it has somehow been discovered, or do we want to double down, improve the weapon and try to lead the Iranians on a false track?”
This was a much easier answer for the Prime Minister. “Eyal, we double down, no question. The drones proved essential in blocking or at least slowing down our enemies’ plans. So we have to improve them, and put as many obstacles as possible in the way of the Iranian investigation.”
“Alright, I anticipated the answer, but I needed to ask to get the budget approved. We already have plans in place to make the flies easier to breed, and with a much longer lifespan autonomy, so that we do not have to use classic drones to get them close to the target. The version due next year will also be able to operate coordinated swarm attacks in different locations and..”
The Prime Minister suddenly cut in,
“Eyal, sorry for interrupting your marketing pitch of the new versions, but we still need to cover the last point and have only ten minutes left.”
“My apologies, I could not control my enthusiasm for the work of our scientists. Actually, the third item is linked to the first one, with the possibility of a massive increase in the aliyah. Since the Telomerax story broke out, we have been accelerating the activities around ‘Plan Lot’. Your predecessor authorized us to quietly start massive land and property purchases under the cover of overseas financial institutions in order to have a base for legal and political matters should the occasion arise. Shall we continue? The next step involves the Foreign Ministry, as there are a number of important topics to be discussed very discreetly with some of our key neighbors in the East Mediterranean…and this will increase the risk of leaks.”
“I think this is also a go,” the Prime Minister replied, “although for the time being the Foreign Ministry does not have to involve any of our neighbors, and instead just do some scenario planning until the next Cabinet decision. Where are the overseas institutions located, that are being used to acquire property?”
“They are mostly in Russia and Europe. There is still question number one to answer, Sir…” Eyal’s tone lowered as he recalled the Prime Minister to his duty.
“I have not forgotten. Look, Eyal, as much as I must do everything that I can to protect Jewish lives in Israel and in the Diaspora, I think the risks of a campaign of targeted killings in the US far outweigh the rewards. Imagine the crisis if the US government found out that we are treating Americans like Hezbollah militants. The US are still our best friends, and are going through a very difficult moment. We cannot fail them. Not now.”
“Alright, Sir. That’s all I needed to know. As far as selective killings are concerned, Mossad will continue to play the good guy in the United States as we have done so far.”