I planned a book about my stay in Israel already there, in Tel Aviv. The working title was “In the Nest of Zionism” (a joke) or “Five Years Among Jews” (the locals’ witticisms added: “and I survived”). This book is not entertainment reading. There are hardly any risqué stories that so often adorn memoir literature.
So what is in it?
It is contemporary Israel, as I saw it and understood it.
It touches on the history and specifics of the Jewish state, tells about Zionism and antisemitism.
It shows the life of an ordinary Russian embassy in a rather unusual country.
And, finally, it includes its author.