Но там мир был для них сущим адом – адом и ничем больше. Его молодая жена писала из Палестины одному своему приятелю:

 Tonight I write to you with a fresh feeling of resistance, with a stronger will to struggle and with a clear knowledge of our difficult task here! You know that Palestine today is a hell. With all its smallness it contains all the ingredients necessary to make it a great camp of suffering. This is what the English wanted and this is how they succeeded in their aims. There is no use to write more about the present situation, what you know, with some exaggeration, from other papers is enough. You have only to interpret it, to read in between the lines. So we live here and sometimes a flash of thought demands from us to run away from here. It is easy to hide in a mountaineous village, where no paper ever reach, or to go to Ethiopia and work there in a small village. It is all too easy. But we must face it. Without facing it we shall agree to the foreign rule, to the ruthless crazy imperialism. And you know: we don’t want to run away, because it is against our class-consciousness. Not because it is easier to fight but because we want to live with a clear conscience.

I am sorry for the long sentences, but you understand me, dear friend. I work in the hospital for a long day… It is so far from the town. But it is good, I have work and earn my living. My husband studies, but unfortunately much of his time is exhausted in other things than chemistry… You know the constant need for people… and it is too sad that it is not realized that he must finish his studies well. Science is not a joke! It cannot be done superficially[46].

Странные мысли, скажут многие. Но именно так они чувствовали, эти два молодых коммуниста, забившие свои непокорные головы какими-то идеалами, – так, и никак иначе. Брурия была хорошая девушка с сильными убеждениями: через неделю после свадьбы, в письме от 26 декабря 1946 года, она предлагает свой политический анализ «жгучих проблем Палестины», сильно напоминающий донесения, которые г-жа ПАПАИ писала тридцать лет спустя для отдела III/1[47]:

Now I am in Jerusalem, living in a curious suspension. I can start to work next week in a job that will give me many opportunities to develop and teach. It is in a Child-Welfare-Centre, in the old city of Jerusalem. It is the poorest and dirtiest section of Jerusalem and may be of Palestine. The only objection to start the work is the extremely low salary. It is 9 pounds monthly, with the additional pay for high cost of living it will be about 17–19 Palestinian pounds. It is less than minimum for us. My husband is a student of chemistry and he does not earn except occasionally by working after his studies. It is truly a problem. It seems that I’ll have to continue a hospital job, where I’ll earn more, but where I shall not get any satisfaction. Anyhow all is quite pale in comparison with the burning problems of Palestine. The X. congress of the P. C. P. has formulated its decisions in a small pamphlet. I’ll send it to my sister. Please ask her to translate especially those parts which concern the Jewish and Arab relationship. I hope that soon the Party will send an English translation. It will be good to translate it to French. You will notice that the question of Immigration is formulated in a very tactical manner. The party under the present circumstance cannot find a way to bring the question in a more direct and open manner. I cannot agree, but at the same time my only place is with the C. P. I’ll work in the Y. C. L.

As you know probably from the newspapers, the Zionist congress in Basel completed its session without reaching any final decisions. The main discussions were around the question: «What imperialism should the Zionist movement choose for its protector? The British or American?» The American sector in the congress is the most reactionary section of this jingoistic movement, and they had a majority. Now the Zionist activity will be operated on «American Orientation». The «progressive» parties, those who call themselves Marxists-Zionists, decided to move for Weizmann, who is for «British Orientation». The end results are: Weizmann’s proposals to go to London’s sponsored «round-table» for Palestine was defeated. The new «higher Zionist committee» prepares new proposals for Zionist activities in the future. Most of the delegates in the congress are for continuation of the «illegal» immigration into Palestine, and for new «settlement-movement» which actually means new Zionist strongholds in different places in Palestine.

In all this political games the C. P. stands as the only anti-imperialistic factor, and is confronted by very difficult tasks. We are very weak in Jerusalem. We have not entered at all into the working-class circle. Our comrades have not developed yet the spirit of public, social worker. I think that Jerusalem is particularly difficult for our party work. It is a town with «comportments», with a strange individualistic stamp on its people. Nevertheless I’ll work hard and do my best[48].