יומנים > יומן - מלא 07/09/1948
[Tuesday,] September 7, 1948
Ya'akov [Dori] met with Yigal Allon, U. Z. [Uri] Brener, and Eliezer Shoshani regarding the Palmach staff. [Moshe] Zadok [head of the Personnel Department] and Haim Laskov [head of the Training Department] were also present. Zadok claims that if it's also necessary to select the human material for the Palmach - then it should be done by the Personnel Department. Ya'akov doubts that the Personnel Department will take charge in this regard. But it's possible to appoint a specific person in the Personal Department for this. The Training Department also denies the need for a special staff.
Yigal and Brener's suggestion is - 180 personnel for the staff, to handle special intake for all the Palmach brigades, training for squad commanders, and a special cultural division.
Ya'akov asks whether there's a need for "loyal" brigades. He thinks it's necessary to distinguish between bedi'avad and lekhat'hila ["post factum" and "from the outset" - concepts from Jewish law referring to the approach that applies before or after a deed]. It's necessary to recognize the fact that the Palmach excels at a number of things - not in everything that it, itself, believes it excels in, but he's not convinced that one should lekhat'hila [from the outset] and as a matter of principle lay a foundation that entails [both] "loyal" forces [i.e., loyal to a particular political party] and plain forces [i.e., without political affiliation]. This undermines the foundations of the state and the army alike. The halutzi [Zionist-pioneering] values and loyalty need to be imbued - and this can be done, albeit without 100% success (even the Palmach does not have such success). The existing split threatens our future - it should not be compounded artificially and deliberately. I promised Ya'akov a decision next week.
Ya'akov raises the question of Yisrael Amir [former Air Force commander]. He doesn't want to accept the task of appointments [managing the personnel], [and] he also poses the rank of major-general as a condition. Ya'akov thinks that he should be assigned some of Shkolnik's [Levi Eshkol, in the Ministry of Defense] work.
- [Menahem] Gnessin [actor and co-founder of Habima Theater] came to see me. Habima is in bad shape. They were successful in America [in their performance tour] - but returned without financial profits. Isn't the state willing to help Habima? Its members are tired of bearing the burden by themselves.
I told him that at the moment there's still no ministry of education, but once a regular government is established I hope there will be a ministry for edification that will also assist the arts and the theater.
- I received a visit from a large delegation of the agricultural center that is opposed to the conscription of Aliyat HaNo'ar [members of immigrant youth programs]. They have nothing against the conscription of youth groups that have completed [their programs] - approximately 15 groups numbering 500-600 boys and girls - but conscripting everyone deals a severe blow to the settlements, and to the future of the settlement enterprise, because the "groups" will fall apart. They also object to the conscription of [settlement-training] core groups in the moshavot [rural communities of private farms] that are about to be settled [in kibbutzim]. Hanoch Reinhold [Rinot], director of the Youth Bureau, believes that conscription will destroy ''aliya. They're planning to bring orphan immigrants, but conscripting the [youth] groups will put an end to ''aliya.
I explained the increasingly severe situation on the military front to them, and the danger if we lose on this front, and therefore the need to be brutal. I proposed a parity-based committee that would, on a case-by-case basis, examine the situation in each settlement and each youth group. [Moshe] Zadok proposed taking only 1,000 of the 1,800 youths, and discussing the rest in another month. It was agreed that Zadok and one of them would submit a proposal on this matter to me.
- Rabbi Fishman [Maimon] came to voice a complaint about the court-martial of the two religious soldiers who broke discipline and didn't want to cook on Shabbat. Ya'akov [Dori] took on the responsibility of looking into the issue.
- [Yitzhak] Ben-Aharon came to see me. Yisrael Galili requested that his party release him from working in the Ministry of Defense; the party refused…. I told him that Yisrael wasn't working here as a representative of his party, and therefore I will discuss the matter with the party. Only once Yisrael approaches me, will I discuss the situation with him.
Ben-Aharon added that Ya'akov [Dori] wanted to arrange a meeting of the two parties [Mapai and Mapam] in order to put an end to partisan disagreement over military matters. I told him that I would accept an invitation to a discussion of this matter, but I would not be among the inviters, because I've lost all faith in their will (and perhaps their ability) to [engage in] friendly relations. But if I'm invited, I'll come.
Ben-Aharon claimed that they're discriminated against in the Staff. I asked him whether they're also discriminated against in the command - which is about 90% their members. He replied that the command is a purely military matter, where inclusion does not apply. Inclusion applies to the Staff….
- [Eliezer] Kaplan reports that [Henry] Montor telephoned him [and said] that the American press reported that within the Zionist General Council, the government of Israel completely capitulated to the Zionist leaders in America - and [Henry] Montor and others are discriminated against.