I ran into some real antisemitism one time. I was with an interpreter, and we’re walking through the city, and all of a sudden, this sxteen‐year‐old girl comes running up to me and is hitting me. I’m carrying a rifle. I’m fully armed. “Juden! Juden! Juden!” Which means, “Jew[s]! Jew[s]! Jew[s]!” I said to myself, “What do I do with a kid — especially a woman?” I shoved her away and walked on.

[…]

There was a small town [that] we had to take. Sergeant Reams and me were behind this one house that overlooked all the critical streets in the city. He said, “Sabetay, throw a grenade in that basement window.” It’s an incendiary grenade — it’s a horrible thing. I tried to pull the pin. I’m pulling on the pin, I’m [still] pulling on the pin, I pulled with all my might — I can’t pull the pin out. So I can’t throw it through the basement window. And he says, “Ah, hell! Let’s get out of here.” So we went on.

And now I’m operating a radio in another house, and Reams comes in. He says, “Sabetay, remember when I told you to throw that grenade in the basement?” And I said, “Yes.” He says, “I just found out, all the women and children in the whole city were in that basement.” God, I didn’t have that on my conscience.

On an unrelated note, this week is when Judaists hold the Festival of Sukkot. I should have mentioned it when it started two days ago, but I was feeling so unwell that day that I forgot about it.