יומנים > יומן - מלא 28/03/1948

March 28, 1948 First meeting of the Committee of Five: Kaplan proposes establishing a five-member finance committee: himself, Bernstein, Barth, Granovski, Horowitz. Remez also wanted to bring in a representative of the National Committee (specifically [D.Z.] Pinkas). We didn't agree. We're thinking about a loan of five million, for five years, at 3%, with dollar guarantee, £ 1 = $ 3. Three [Abraham] Bergman (from the Palestine [Economic] Association), Eliezer Bavli [a CPA], and Schreiber [Zvi Shariv of Nir, Ltd.] were tasked with supervising the beginning of tax collection: excise, amusements, income tax, real estate (transferred to the municipalities). The [Palestine] Government budget was filled with customs, 45%, [and] income tax, 12%. The [Jewish] Agency will fund the civil-service mechanism for the time being. [Moshe] Shapira wanted to bring in an official from the Mizrachi [Movement], Hecht, whom no one knows, but we refused. As for supplies: the Government agreed to order [supplies] until July 15 provided the chambers of commerce give 20% now and undertake [to give] 80%. The merchants turned to the [Jewish] Agency, of course. A consortium is about to take shape: Stil [brothers] [?], importers, millers, the Mashbir. We'll use our money in Australia and South Africa for funding. Paltours [a longstanding travel company] is prepared to arrange imports by airline companies (we'll discuss this on Thursday together with Zabrasky). Tomorrow we'll discuss manpower and production. I have to produce a report about military production. [Arye] Ludwig Grünbaum will be instructed to prepare a scientific survey about manpower. We set up meetings [of the Committee of Five] every day at 5:00 p.m. at the "Red House." Horowitz is secretary. Bernstein was instructed to give a survey about raw material: chances of importing, stocks, production, needs. It was tasked to the engineer [Yitzhak] Bavli. Shapira was asked to inquire into the immigrants' age, sex, occupation, [and] marital status so that they can be assigned to the economy and weapons as soon as they arrive. - At one in the afternoon Michel [Shaham] [sp?] arrived from Kefar Etsiyyon. He left an hour ago. Yesterday he accompanied the convoy from Jerusalem to Kefar Etsiyyon. They set out late-[it took them until] 8:30 a.m. In Gush Etsiyyon [the Etsiyyon Bloc] they paused for about two hours, unloaded for an hour and a half. Then they waited another half an hour or so for an [escort] aircraft. On the way back they found obstacles on all sides. They managed to clear away a few of them. Finally their barrier-buster broke down and could not move. They tried to move it with a second vehicle. Gunfire from all sides. They took over a house to the left of the road [about 2 km. south of the center of Bethlehem, in the vicinity of the Deheishe refugee camp]. Food ran out. Six vehicles managed to return to Gush Etsiyyon (all of them wanted to return but could not). Three men reached Kefar Etsiyyon on foot. Our planes were sent-and dropped bombs. The Arabs moved away and returned. The whole area was swarming. Strong gunfire. The [British] forces are not advancing-they came today. Passed Bethlehem but did not reach our men. I proposed mobilizing a thousand men, 600 at the very least, from Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, Rishon [Lezion], and Rehovot, and sending then at once to Kiryat ''Anavim, Ma'ale Hahamisha, and Jerusalem in order to take up positions there, and the men there would head out-as soon as they'd come-toward the convoy on the Bethlehem road. Yigael [Yadin] considers this impossible because there's no assurance that they'll reach Jerusalem, Mishael believes it's impossible (without armed forces) to reach the convoy from Jerusalem because it's a hilly road, there are fenced-in fields, the surroundings swarm with invisible gunners, and without scouting and planning our men won't reach their goal. - At a quarter after three they brought me a letter from David [Shaltiel] that was written today (How did it reach me?), in which he complains that even though he demanded repeatedly and frequently that Hillel [Y. Galili] and other people from the [General] Staff Operations Department come-he received no response. He opposes the policy of defending every location and, in his opinion, [they] can hold on only if they concentrate on the Jewish part of Jerusalem. - Yehuda [Arazi] cables: procured in Switzerland 50 65 mm cannon ($ 8,300 each), 100,000 shells ($ 8 each), 15 13.2 mm hotchkiss (?), double-barrel[ed machine guns and] 225,000 [rounds] for them, and 2 million British [rounds]. Bought a 400-ton ship. They'll load [the materiel] on April 22.