יומנים > יומן - מלא 26/08/1948

[Thursday,] August 26, 1948

[Elimelech] Avner: It's hard to recruit people [for the military government] and he's assembling the long-timers: Shmuel Barkai - as deputy, [Ziga] Yavetz as governor of Lod and Ramle, Mara Gordon to create the corps. Avner's appointment hasn't been announced yet. He doesn't have a vehicle - although he spoke with [Yosef] Avidar, the chief of staff, and Shlomo [Shamir]. Nor has an apartment [office] been arranged - he has 2 rooms at the Staff.

       He'll set up 6 districts: Jaffa, Lod, and Ramle - with all the surrounding villages, Haifa district, Western Galilee, Central Galilee (Nazareth), Eastern Galilee (around Tiberias). In Jaffa there's a governor. The governor of Lod and Ramle left, maybe Yavetz will take it up. For Acre there are 2 candidates (Krasniansky [sp.] [Yosef Karni of Haifa] or Itamar Ben-Barak, from Hanita), for Nazareth Zagursky [sp.] (from Kefar Rupin) is a candidate. For the Eastern Galilee there's no candidate. There are no soldiers, and the villages are abandoned. The Arabs are infiltrating and harvesting their fields (sorghum). The guidelines require 3,000 men. Right now 700 men are engaged. Avner proposes that he be given 1,000 men, youths, who won't be sent to battle, [the number of] those currently engaged would be frozen, the rest - older adults, those recuperating, men who lost their fitness for battle.

       He raises the question of settling immigrants in Ramle; according to him Moshe [Sharett] and [Eliezer] Kaplan oppose this - for international considerations.

       The question was raised as to whether [all] government ministries will have offices in the seized territory. In Jerusalem - it's as in the state. In Arab territories only the Ministry of Interior and the minister [Ministry] of Minorities, at least for now.

       He asks whether to establish an appointed Arab municipality in Jaffa. I asked him to consult with Rosenblüth [Pinchas Rosen], [Yitzhak] Gruenbaum, [Bechor] Sheetrit [ministers of justice, the interior, and minorities].

       A registration was conducted in Nazareth. It found that there are only 18,000 [residents], of whom 13,600 are Nazarenes [and] about 2,500 refugees.

       - [Mordechai] Bentov and [Menachem] Bader [minister of labor and director-general of the ministry]: I asked about lack of work. In the Sharon there is [work], and in the south there's a shortage of working hands. Bentov proposes transferring a training camp from the south to the Sharon, and transferring immigrants to the south. I'll have [Giora] Josephtal and [Yosef] Avidar meet [to determine] whether this is possible.

       Bentov proposes extending the authority of the "combing" committee also to those released for personal reasons (such as shopkeepers) who received a deferment, even though they were conscripted for full service. There are also 1,379 men who reported for duty and haven't been sorted out, [and] there are 3,717 who received deferment. He also proposes examining all the files at the recruitment center branch, at 5 Kalisher [in Tel Aviv]. I agreed to this.

       [Bader] proposes having civilian office personnel [instead of conscripts] for the Ministry of Defense. Look into this with Yosef Yizraeli.

       Bentov questions the recruitment center's decision that the chairman of the Committee of Six be a representative from the recruitment center. I'll ask about the reason for this decision and then I'll decide. Bentov proposes that each committee select its own chairman.

       The Ministry of Labor is preparing a questionnaire on soldiers' employment. He's asking to deliver this questionnaire. I told him that we're handling the matter ourselves. He'll provide me with the material, and we'll include it. He requests the findings of the questionnaire.

       He asks for a car for signal officer Aryeh Gelbert [sp.]. I refused to handle this. Bentov questions the Engineering Corps' decision to build the Burma Road by themselves, rather than via the Ministry of Labor. I'll look into the reason for this.

       Yigael [Yadin] and [Air Force Commander Aharon] Remez, and [Yehuda] Gil'adi [sp.] [head of the maintenance and equipment administration] demanded delay-action bombs, and that the production of these bombs be given top priority.

       What's our state of readiness? The Iraqis have 9 battalions (about 9,000 men). They apparently received equipment in England, at least ammunition. They've spread [southward in their sector] and reached as far as Ramallah. They took over from the Legion there. The Legion is apparently heading south. Earlier the Egyptians and the Mufti expelled Abdallah's governor from Hebron, now they've forcefully removed him [the Egyptian governor], and Abdallah's governor was reinstated. The Iraqis have a hold over the entire Triangle from Jenin to Ramallah. 3 battalions in the southwestern [sector] of the Triangle, 2 battalions in the north (around Tubas), 3 battalions in Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm.

       The Mufti is apparently counting on the 8,000 rifles in organizing his men. During the Zionist General Council [meeting] in Jerusalem they planned to attack Lod and Ramle.

       The Syrians aren't showing signs of activity, but instead are replacing their battalions and fortifying themselves. They brought a regular battalion to Rama, in place of Qawuqji.

       Yigael thinks we'll be ready on September 20, although Gideon Ruffer [Rafael], who returned from America, thinks it wouldn't be good to launch [the operation] before the end of September, because then there'll be an American president of the Security Council, and he can, if we want, postpone any action in the Council.

       - [Our representatives] cable that Alon [Arazi] has reached agreement on: 1) the purchase of the 20 20 mm C. with 150,000 shells. 2) the purchase of 6 76 mm dual-purpose naval [cannons] with 6,000 shells, and another 6 of 102 mm with 3,000 shells. 3) 30-40 Sherman [tanks] without equipment, $ 3,175 each.

       - The Committee of Seven [headed by Y. Gruenbaum, regarding ETZEL and LEHI].

       - In the evening the [global Zionist-socialist] Ihud party [within the Zionist General Council].

       - At night the political committee of the Zionist General Council. I spoke about the security situation.