A TOURIST FROM PETACH TIKVA

Kagan recalls her upbringing in the nascent State of Israel in this memoir.

The author explains in his introduction that this book consists of the stories his mother, Shulamit, remembered from growing up in Palestine under British Mandate—which is today the country of Israel. Shulamit Kagan, nee Frankel, was born in Jerusalem in 1927. Her father was a teacher. Her mother took care of the household, performing tasks like cooking on an old-fashioned Primus stove and, for a period in the late 1930s, minding refugees who sheltered in the family’s apartment. Shulamit’s coming-of-age coincided with a tumultuous time for the country that did not become recognized as the State of Israel until 1948. Her memoir recounts bombings, the threat of a German invasion, and her time as a young trainee officer preparing for service in the Haganah defense organization (the text includes notes on historical context). But not all is war and conflict; the stories convey great affection for family members and friends. One particularly funny passage recalls a refugee from Germany who stayed with the Frankel family. This woman, in an attempt to help out, would dress Shulamit like a “like a proper German girl,” prompting her school friends to shout, “Here comes Gretchen.” Her perspective on recalled historical events can be disarming: On May 8, 1945, the people of Tel Aviv were ecstatic over the news that Germany had surrendered. Shulamit, though, was badly in need of a bathroom and was locked out of the house where she was babysitting. She confesses that others had “feelings of joy at the end of the six years of World War II. I am simply embarrassed by my memory.” Such honesty characterizes the book.

An enjoyable, touchingly personal account of a turbulent time in the Middle East.