other-side-of-deception-victor-ostrovsky

etween my parents finally led them to separate. I was five at the time.My mother took me back to Israel, where her parents, Hayyimand Esther Margolin, took on the job of looking after me. 1 rememberfondly the small house on Ha-yod-daleth Street as a warm, lovinghome, full of books and long talks about the fulfillment of the Zionistdream and how it could be translated into everyday life.Since I'd shown an inclination for the arts, my grandparents introducedme to a painter hy the name of Gilady, who was living in ourneighborhood. He gave me a box of oil paints and some of his time,instructing me in the basics of perspective and the use of color.Gilady's Lessons were ones I'd apply ever after-even as my childhoodhobby ripened into a midlife passion.My early years were quiet. My mother would reappear from timeto time like a swirling tornado, disappearing back into the blue skyjust as fast. On one of her touchdowns, she decided that I would bebetter off in boarding school. All my grandmother's pleading was tono avail, and I wound up spending a year in a dreadful place calledHadasim, a boarding school in the center of Israel funded and supervisedby Hadassah Wizo, a Jewish women's organization in Canada. Iliked to think that, had the organization been fully aware of theschool's strict, spartan quality and its penchant for putting the kids towork, they would have closed it.They weren't aware, though-as far as I knew-and by year's end,I'd taken the initiative and returned to my grandparents' home.Shortly after, my self-confidence was lifted when I joined the Gadnayouth brigades and attained second place in a countrywide shootingcompetition as a member of the Ahu Kabir target shooting clubheaded by an old army major named Dan David.During my high school years, I met Bella, and it was love at firstsight. We spent every moment we could together; we enjoyed readingthe same books, hiking, and talking about politics, and especiallybeing with each other. At about the age of eighteen, we were recruitedto the Israeli military Bella was assigned to the ministry of defense,and 1 was sent to the military police.After basic training, I completed a noncommissioned officers'course, and then went on to an officers' course, graduating as theyoungest officer at the time in the Israeli Defense Force. I then graduatedfrom the military police officers' course and the special militarylaw course, and followed that up with demolition and sniper training.Once I'd completed my military education, Bella and 1 got married.We were not yet twenty. We were told we were too young, but 1never regarded our union as burdensome; it was something we werebuilding together. A year later, Sharon was horn, and things werelooking up.After I completed my three-year term, 1 left the military, havingattained the rank of lieutenant. We went to visit my family in Edmontonand \\round up staying there for five years. Our second daughter,Leeorah, was born in Edmonton when Sharon was tour.We returned to Israel in 1977. The day after our arrival, I erllistedin the navy and was given the rank of captain. I served fur the nexttive years, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander. For most ofthat period, I was in command of the department coordillating andtesting new weapons systems before they were incorporated into thenavy's arsenal. During that time, I was also sent to and graduatedfrom staff and command college, where I was a guest lecturer for theduration of my service.Bella and I had a great time in those days. We had a wide circle offriends with whom we enjoyed weekend trips, family outings, and parties.Then I got my first call from the guys in the security services. Iguessed it was ,Mossad or something similar, and I went through along and strenuous series of tests before more information about thejob was forthcoming. Ultimately, I learned that I was being consideredfor a "combatant" position, which would mean that I'd be separatedfrom Bella and the kids for long periods of time. I declined, and afternumerous attempts to persuade me, some of which bordered onharassment, they finally accepted my refusal.In 1982, I left the navy and started a video magazine that was thefirst of its kind in Israel. Like many firsts, it was a flop (the country'sbeing embroiled right then in what was later known as the Lebanesequagmire didn't help). After that, I started a small stained-glass business(it also folded fairly quickly, owing to a lack of demand). I wasalso taking classes in computer programming, since I believed that wasthe wave of the future.At that point, the Mossad came calling again. This time they madeit clear that long separations from my family were not what they hadin mind. I entered a second round of testing that was to last nearly ayear.While 1 was still working in my stained-glass shop in Herzelia, Iwas approached by two men I'd gotten to know in my dealings withthe video magazine. They were the manufacturers of the plastic casingsin which videocassettes were sold, and I'd done some graphicwork for them. As it turned out, one of them, Itsik Zarug, was wellconnected in the Israeli underworld. He approached me on behalf ofsome of his friends, asking me to take part in a scam to forge large