A Woman in Jerusalem (30 page)

“But what is it you want from me now?”

“I want your agreement to our bringing the cleaning
woman back to Jerusalem.”

“Back to Jerusalem! How can we?”

“We can and we will. There’s no choice.”

“Excuse me. We have no jurisdiction. It’s up to the government and National Insurance.”

“The government has washed its hands of the matter. Even if we could pressure it, there is no way they can now make arrangements for the return of a dead temporary resident who believed in Jerusalem more than Jerusalem believes in itself. The two of us – you, the owner of a large company, and I, your loyal employee – may be private individuals, but with our vision and initiative …”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“No, sir. Not at all. It takes more than that to drive an old hand like me out of his mind. My mind couldn’t be clearer. It’s as clear as blue skies and a wall of ice.”

“I don’t understand a word you’re saying. Maybe this noise is affecting my hearing after all. Please stick to the point. Are you proposing to return to Jerusalem with the coffin? How can you?”

“Why not? We have to bring the car and trailer back anyway. The aeroplane that flew us here also flies the other way. And if you’re concerned about time running out – for the woman, that is – you needn’t be. Time isn’t running in the coffin at all. We’ve been assured it’s been brought to a stop.”

“But suppose I say no. What will you do then?”

“I’ll bring her back at my own expense. I’m not a wealthy man, but I’ll manage. As your human resources manager, I’m authorized to grant myself a small company loan. The question, sir, is rather: what will happen to your precious humanity? Who will restore it? Do you want the weasel to write that you backed out at the last minute?”

“Now you’re threatening me.”

“Threatening? Oh, no, sir. I’m your loyal employee. I’m just surprised that a man of your wisdom and experience didn’t realize that a journey like this could benefit a city we’ve
despaired of.”

“Benefit how, you absurd man? With another grave?”

“Another grave and two new residents, an old woman and a handsome young man.”

“You’re proposing to bring them too?”

“Why not? Isn’t it their right?”

“Right? Right?” The old owner’s shouts drowned out the sound of the ovens. “What right are you talking about?”

“That, sir, is something we’ll figure out. As always, I am at your service.”

Haifa, 2002–3

Now an award-winning feature film
The
Human
Resources
Manager

A suicide bomb
explodes in a Jerusalem market. One of the victims is a migrant worker without any papers, only a salary slip from the bakery where she worked as a night cleaner. As her body lies unclaimed in the morgue, her employers are labelled unfeeling and inhuman by a local journalist. The manager of human resources is given the task of discovering who she was and why she had come to Jerusalem.

As the image of this once-beautiful dead woman begins to obsess him, the manager turns this duty into a personal mission – he is no longer just saving his company’s reputation by trying to discover her identity and assure her of a dignified funeral. He is now restoring her not only to her family and country but also to common humanity – whilst at the same time conquering the hardness of his own heart.

Born in Jerusalem
in 1936, A.B. Yehoshua is the author of nine novels and a collection of short stories. One of Israel’s top novelists, he has won prizes worldwide for all his novels and was shortlisted in 2005 for the first Man Booker International Prize. He lives in Haifa where he taught comparative literature for many years and continues to be an outspoken peace activist. “As a writer, my ethical duty is to use my pen to pierce the black plastic shroud, to open the heart towards death, with love and pity.”

The Continuing Silence of a Poet:
The Collected Stories of A.B. Yehoshua

The Lover

A Late Divorce

Five Seasons

Mr Mani

Open Heart

A Journey to the End of the Millennium

The Liberated Bride

Friendly Fire