The Taba Convention
Two deadly adversaries, one horrific conspiracy against peace.
A deadly conspiracy to blow up The Taba Convention, a peace signing ceremony to be held at the Taba Hilton complex in Egypt.
Disillusioned with the continued killing in the Mossad agency, Jordan Kline resigns to take up hotel management studies. Now the General Manager of the Sands Eilat hotel, Jordan enjoys life with his girlfriend Irit in the Red Sea resort town.
However, there are multiple assassinations, one of which Jordan witnesses. An ex colleague is taken out in the Arava, the long desert road leading from the Dead Sea to Eilat. On his way back from a business trip to Tel Aviv, Jordan witnesses the dying man’s last words. They are words that will push Jordan reluctantly back into the violent world he turned his back on.
Jordan unravels a deadly conspiracy that threatens to once again engulf the Middle East in war. He becomes the most hunted man in Israel. Forced to use all his cunning, Jordan must stay one step ahead of men that kill to fulfill their deadly ambitions. The only problem is that Jordan does not know who they are, and time is running out as the historic date of The Taba Convention approaches.
The Taba Convention is filled with surprising twists and turns, and interesting insights into the world of hotels interspersed in the suspenseful action. The future of the Middle East is in doubt right up until the climax at the Taba Hilton Hotel in Taba Egypt.
The Story Behind This Book
Behind The Taba Convention The Jordan Kline Series. Book 1. Between hotel assignments in Eilat on the Red Sea, I came up with the idea to write a novel. As a hotel General Manager I was always thinking “outside” myself, taking care of staff, guests, vendors, travel agents and all the people that work in the industry on a daily basis. I decided that it was time to “self explore”, and that the best way was to write a novel. I suggested this to my wife Mali who encouraged me to start writing. Middle East peace negotiations have been the focus of many US Presidents, and I thought it would be fun to write a thriller based on an upcoming peace convention in Taba Egypt. It was only natural that I would create a character loosely based on my experiences as an hotelier and General Manager. The difference being that Jordan Kline is an ex Mossad operative, a legend in the Israeli intelligence agency. Turning his back on the agency after becoming disillusioned with the continued violence, Jordan now manages a hotel and lives in the Red Sea resort town of Eilat at the southernmost tip of Israel. Prior to the small sliver of land called Taba being returned to Egypt by Israel following international arbitration, we used to visit what was then the Sonesta Taba Hotel almost every weekend with the kids. Many a lazy, sun drenched Saturday was spent soaking up the sun on the sands of the beautiful small bay in Taba. There have been numerous summits held at the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El Sheik, perhaps the most famous one being co-sponsored by President Bill Clinton and President Hosni Mubarak in March 1996, called “The Summit of Peacemakers”. The Taba Convention is a book about such an upcoming summit, convened by the President of the United States to sign a peace treaty between the Palestinians and Israelis in Taba. About Jordan Kline Jordan Kline was born and raised in the predominantly Jewish Willowdale suburb of Toronto Canada. Over the years growing up, Jordan became increasingly aware of his Jewish roots, and heard stories of the holocaust from his grandparents and parents. He decided to immigrate to Israel and joined the famed Golani Brigade where he fulfilled his army service. His parents had soon followed him to Israel, not wanting to leave Jordan alone with no warm home to come to on his leaves from the army. His father opened a real estate office in Ramat Hasharon, a town near Tel Aviv, and had prospered, although life had been hard in the years following immigration. Jordan’s bravery in the field was followed by recruitment into the Mossad. Over the years he gained a reputation based on the successes of his combat missions for the secret service agency. However, over time Jordan became disillusioned with all the killings, and began to question his future in the agency. The final straw came in Beirut on a mission to assassinate terrorist leaders. The team burst into the apartment and found the terrorists in the company of prostitutes. They killed both the terrorists and the women in order to get out cleanly. The next day Jordan had resigned and turned his back on the agency. I wanted a symbolic name for the hero, and Jordan seemed a perfect fit, named after the famous River. The Jordan River brings life giving water into the Sea of Galilee before meandering southwards and ending in the Dead Sea. The river is a source of conflict between the Syrians, the Lebanese, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians to this day. I saw this as a reflection of Jordan’s inner conflict; the hardened combat operative versus the man of peace, weary of war and killing. The Background I thought about what could be the most horrific conspiracy that could engulf the Middle East once more in flames, and created the conspiracy plot behind The Taba Convention. During the period that we lived in Eilat and Tel Aviv, we experienced the return of Taba to the Egyptians, the Palestinian Intifadas, the deadly and horrifying suicide bombings, but also all the praiseworthy efforts to find peace. I was also fortunate enough to manage the David Citadel Hotel Jerusalem, and honored to personally meet and host Presidents, Prime Ministers and many high level diplomatic missions. These experiences afforded me invaluable insights into the workings of security and diplomatic channels. Along with my experiences as an hotelier, these have allowed for a lot of the background and colorful scenes in The Taba Convention.