יומנים > יומן - מלא 16/10/1948

[Saturday,] October 16, 1948

As of 10 a.m. there's no more news about the operation on the ground. The "Hammers" ["Flying Fortresses"] attacked again. They succeeded in Majdal and El-''Arish, not so sure about Gaza. [They] returned safely. It seems our men downed a "Spit." A UN observer from Gaza telegraphed the UN in Haifa [saying] that ten airplanes attacked Gaza and sparked three fires (not true - only nine! 4 Rapids, 2 Dakotas, 3 Knives or Spits). [They] also telegraphed Paris [the Security Council]. From Majdal, Beit Jubrin was informed that help would arrive in the morning and they must hold on.

       - Members' meeting regarding Hador [the Mapai evening newspaper], the editorial board committee: Eliezer Livneh, Ziama [Aran], Pinhas [Lavon], [Herzl] Berger, David Coronel [Coren] + Ben-Gurion or Moshe Sharett [details below].

       - Aharon Becker telegraphed on October 13, 1948:

       "[The following] were sent on a ship that departed from Antwerp on the seventh of this month[:] 15,000 blankets, gear (?), 10,000 coats, 5,700 uniforms, 3,600 wool underpants and undershirts, 1,000 pilot isolators [evidently - windbreakers], 4,000 women's uniforms, 3,500 women's coats, covers, and overalls; [the following] will be sent on a ship departing in [the coming] days: 3,000 coats, 6,300 uniforms, 3,000 skirts, overalls.

       "Due to arrive in the port here (?) on the 20th of this month: 9,000 coats, 9,000 uniforms; by the end of this month [the following] will arrive here: 30,000 coats and 30,000 uniforms. All of this - the merchandise ordered from Marcel, Mann, and Salamon [?]. In addition to this what we bought from Capel (Capella) [?] will arrive by the end of the month. In addition I bought 15,000 coats, 10,000 uniforms, 15,000 blankets from Sheridan, on the condition that it all reaches the ship by the end of the month. Negotiations are underway for additional quantities. Most of the merchandise purchased will be sent on a ship that departs at the end of the month. $ 200,000 is needed to complete the purchase of winter clothing."

       - At 12 a message was delivered that the plan in the south has been implemented, the Egyptian lines were drawn between Majdal and Gaza, between Majdal and Beit Jubrin, between Gaza and Rafah [Rafiah].

       - At the members' meeting regarding Hador Eliezer Livneh reports: news editors [-] Mandelbrot [sp.] and Gilai [sp.] (Haaretz employees), Ya'akov Orenstein (Hadashot Ha'erev), Shahaf (worked for Davar and Haaretz). Editorial board secretary [-] Yosef Shaked, cultural affairs officer in Haifa, EBM [editorial board member]. Reporters: Ya'akov [sp.] Gal (worked for Palestine Post), Garfinkel (PP, Foreign Ministry), Sa'aroni (worked for Al Hamishmar). In Jerusalem [reporters] - Ze'ev Haklai, David Rivlin (EBM), part-time. Akiva Distenfeld [sp.] - director of the Jerusalem office. In Haifa - Dr. Moshe Tauber, who used to be editor of Ba'ayot Hayom. In America - Shlomo Grodzensky (at the recommendation of S. Oxman [sp.]). London - [George] Lichtheim [sp.] (reporter for Davar and PP). Paris -?. Music - [Uri] Toeplitz and [Peter Emmanuel] Gradenwitz, painting and sculpture - Landau. Literature - [the writers Avraham] Kariv, [Eliezer] Steinman. Film - Abravaya [sp.], Mendovsky [sp.]. Main articles - Herzl Berger, Yosef Shaked. Economic column - Z. Friedman, Ya'akov Berger, Ben Natan. Military - [Chaim] Herzog, [Shlomo] Shamir, the editorial board will determine the editorial policy. The newspaper will cost [P£] 7,600 per month, its price will be 2 grush (net 13 mil), from ads P£ 1,200; if 10,000 versions [copies] are sold - it will bring in P£ 5,200.

       Ziama [Aran] objects to having new people determine the character of the newspaper. Pinhas [Lavon] objects to having a single editor - under the conditions of our generation one individual can't do this. Things are conflicted and complicated, everyone will fight us. An individual can't, but a group can, take a position. The editorial board won't meet every day, and a newspaper is produced every day. He suggests including Ziama, the party's secretary, and another member in the daily discussion.

       It seems to me that the composition of the editorial board provides the answer to Ziama and Pinhas's concerns - in addition to Libenstein [sp.] and [Herzl] Berger, Ziama will participate in daily consultations.

       Zalman [Shazar, editor of Davar] strongly objects to Hador having subscriptions. Newspaper with newspaper - yes. Newspaper against newspaper, no. A subscription - is newspaper against newspaper, and then he will certainly leave Davar.

       In my opinion the question isn't [whether to have] a subscription or not. If the newspaper wants to reach not only "the people on the street" in Tel Aviv - but also the settlements and people who do not buy a newspaper "on the street" - this is impossible without a subscription. The question relates to an important newspaper with a frivolous [?] newspaper, like the evening newspapers, or an important newspaper and an important newspaper. Therefore there's only a need for an important newspaper, not a frivolous [?] one. A veto can only be imposed on the party newspaper - Zalman's position is in effect a veto on the party newspaper - but it's not possible to prohibit a group of other people from producing an important and educational and subscription-based evening newspaper. And if this endangers Davar - it's a sign that Davar is an artificial product, and then we need to address not the prohibition of a new newspaper but the rectification of Davar.

       - At 4 Baruch Komarov [Baruch Baruch, liaison officer to the UN] came to see me. The Egyptians have pulled out of Faluja (indeed?) and a demand was received from [General] Riley [head of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization] for the Egyptians and for us to suspend fighting at 14 GMT [Greenwich Mean Time, i.e., 6 p.m. Israel time], and to return to the previous positions of yesterday. I advised him to delay a response as long as possible, and if they come to him, to say that our settlements were under aerial bombardment for a week, a convoy of ours went down to the Negev yesterday per a UN ruling - was attacked and burned, and we cannot relinquish our right to self-defense, and before we do something we must know if [they] can guarantee that attacks and the violation of UN resolutions will be prevented.

       - Dr. Sheeber [Chaim Sheba] reports that Sasha Goldberg arrived in the country. The British expert [on prosthetics] will arrive in a few days and immediately they'll "take" measurements of legs and order the [artificial] limbs by telegraph from England.

       - Ya'akov [Dori] disputes the report on the Egyptians having pulled out of Faluja.

       - 62 military policemen, including 2 officers, were fired from the military police, because of their actions at the prison in Jaffa [during the LEHI breakout] - and were sent to the training camp in order to be sent to the army.

       - At ten (2200) Yigael [Yadin] came. In general our attack went according to plan. The Egyptian lines are severed. Only in Iraq-Manshiyya did we fail somewhat. In the morning we attacked Iraq-Manshiyya, entered the village. Yitzhak [Sadeh]'s tank battalion was operating; there was massive shelling on our part; an infantry battalion of ours, new to the war but with a month's training, was also operating there. However, the Egyptian cannons started operating, especially from Faluja. 8 cannons shelled our men - and fled. We have 100 wounded, mostly lightly, 30-40 killed and missing. 3 of our tanks - Hotchkiss - were damaged. A cannon of ours on a Cromwell [tank] exploded. We have only 5 Hotchkisses left, but they require repair. Two companies from the infantry battalion weren't hurt. The tank battalion still has 14 half-tracks and tracked vehicles.

       The 3 "Fortresses" bombed Faluja at 4 p.m. and wreaked havoc. Beaufighters [twin-engine fighter-bombers] also bombed Faluja. We lost two Messerschmitts - both are on the way home: one was forced to land in Petah Tikva (the pilot wasn't hurt), the second one in Herzliya. The pilot - Modi [Alon] [sp.] - was killed. It's still unclear how and why.

       Apparently there's no Egyptian air force - in any case their airplanes didn't operate today. The Majdal commander asked for help from Gaza - two companies. From Gaza they replied: the road is cut off, and the companies are needed for the defense of Gaza. Majdal was compelled to bring forces down from Ashdod. The Egyptian routes are blocked, the route from Beit Jubrin to Iraq-Manshiyya; we can move freely. We destroyed bridges in the South - between Gaza and Rafah [Rafiah]. El-''Arish was bombed three times. We hit airplanes, hangars; we heard an order that [Egyptian] airplanes not land in El-''Arish.

       I advised bringing another brigade to the south - to deliver a winning blow. We could miss the opportunity. We have maybe just two more days. If we crush the Egyptian force - all the other forces are helpless and the outcomes [will be] decisive. Yigael replied that he'd already thought about this, and if [we] send [a brigade] down - then perhaps it should be the Oded [Brigade] (the commander is Yitzhak Pundak). I spoke by telephone with Moshe Carmel [Northern Front commander]. He wants to start in the Galilee. We warned him not to do this. He was shocked to hear that we're plotting to take a brigade from him.

       In Jerusalem the Arabs (apparently the Mufti's force) attacked our positions from Mount Zion. Levitze [Yitzhak Levi, district commander] was wounded. They captured two of our positions.

       We summoned Ya'akov [Dori] and Yosef Avidar to consult on [sending] additional force to the south. Ya'akov agrees, but doesn't think they'll be able to mobilize before Monday [October 18]. They'll come tomorrow - they need to learn the lay of the land. After Yigael's hesitations we decided - at 11 (2300) to issue an order to Moshe [Carmel] to send the Oded Brigade down.

       - Because of Egyptian pressure, the Czechs stopped selling us airplanes and other weapons; Alon [Yehuda Arazi] started negotiations in Italy and completed the purchase of 8 "Spits," $ 50,000 each, not new instruments, but good in his opinion. The first 3 will be sent two weeks from the day of payment, and the rest within the next two weeks, in two shipments.