יומנים > יומן - מלא 21/06/1948
[Monday,] June 21, 1948
[I met with] Yosef R. [Avidar], Asher [Asher'ke Peled], Yohanan [Ratner] on the arming of settlements. Until [Operation] Nahshon the brigades had about 1,000 (!) rifles. Since then we've received 19,500 rifles, which were distributed to the brigades. The brigades now have (as far as we know) 16,499 rifles (of these, 11,985 are German, 3,823 English, 243 Italian, 233 Canadian, 146 French, 69 miscellaneous). There are 2,900 (German) rifles in the warehouse. Aside from rifles the brigades have: 40 David [Davidka mortars], 137 PIATs, 15 anti-tank [gun]s, 92 3" mortars, 317 2" mortars, 89 machine [guns] of 37 [mm], 33 machine [guns] of 303 [mm], 3 Vickers [machine guns], 14 in total, 300-25, 32 Schwarzlose [machine guns], 12 French, 2 60 mm mortars, 691 MG-34, 24 [LG?] machine guns, 275 Brens, 5 RKM (Polish [Browning machine guns]), 212 Chauchat [machine guns], 3 [?], 1,219 handguns, 79 rocket launchers, 233 45[-caliber] submachine guns, 6,483 TSG [Ta'as (home-manufactured) submachine gun, 1 [? submachine gun], 65 [mini-submachine guns?], 19 paratroopers, 3 snipers, 45 miscellaneous (all this [as of] June 15, 1948).
[We] agreed on the immediate transfer to the settlements of 2,000 rifles, 150 [light] machine guns (currently there are 2,900 rifles, 45 BZ [medium machine guns], 350 MG machine guns in the warehouse), 20 3" mortars, 50 PIATs.
- The ships organized by [Viktor] Avrunin brought 113 jeeps, 4 tanks [container trucks] of 4,000 gallons each.
Yosef [Avidar] questions the old supply system, [saying that] it's not suited to conditions of statehood: Shvilim [the army's procurement agency], purchasing committee. Need to set up a division for provisions.
- [Viktor] Avrunin arrived yesterday. Two ships at a volume of 15,000 (7,000 tons in weight) have arrived. 300 large vehicles (three or more tons). 120 jeeps. There are 15 half-tracks in Naples. 40,000 outfits (in addition manufacturers have promised to give us 40,000 uniforms, according to our specifications, as a gift). He spent $ 1,300,000, another 1,200,000 remain and were transferred to Shaul. 3 Flying Fortresses left Mexico for Yugoslavia. Another 20 [planes] will set out: Flying Fortresses and Mitchells [light bombers], with Jewish workers. The captain is a Gentile. Each Fortress has a full crew. A ship by the name of Kefalos (Panamanian flag) was bought in Canada and sent to Mexico, and from there it will bring 38 M-5 tanks (of 16 tons, with a 37 mm cannon), 32 75 mm cannons (a thousand shells for each cannon), an additional quantity of [heavy] machine guns, bombs for airplanes, will arrive around the end of the truce. It is also carrying 200 tons of TNT and black powder [gunpowder], 18,000 bazooka shells and other various items.
[We] can buy 600 heavy trucks in Panama. Will cost about $ 800,000. The Zionists in Canada have a surplus of dollars that they cannot transfer to the [Jewish] Agency. The owner of the vehicles in Panama agrees to receive the dollars in Canada - even a year from now. Sam Zacks [prominent Canadian Zionist] reached an agreement with the owner of the vehicles to pay after the vehicles arrive in the country. 287 of this type of vehicle have already arrived in the country, and [we] need to get an expert opinion on this issue from Boganov [Israel Barnea, of the transport service].
Avrunin poses the question of his employment. In the [British] army he served as a major in the REME [Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers]. He's a transportation and industrial engineer. Was a technical advisor for Koor [Industries].
- I consulted with Eliezer [Kaplan] and Rochel [Avidar] on the reorganization of purchases and supplies. Shkolnik [Eshkol] [will be] manager of the supplies division, Yosef [Yaakovson] deputy, [Aharon] Becker manager of purchases.
Eliezer [Kaplan] proposes that a joint committee of the Treasury and Ministry of Defense focus on: 1) examination of the defense budget, 2) fundraising for the defense budget, 3) deciding on additional allocations, 4) receiving a report on implementation.
On the committee: Kaplan, Dolik [David Horowitz], Shkolnik [Levi Eshkol], [Abraham] Zabrasky.
The defense [establishment] services requested [P£] 4 million in June. The committee approved 3½. The committee wants to formulate a plan for three additional months - until the end of September, within a framework of about 12 million pounds [P£].
In June the government received taxes worth about P£ 1 million (about 55% from customs), of which 450,000 was turned over for defense. The loan brought in 3½ million rather than 5. KKL is demanding 20% from the loans, otherwise they won't sign the guarantee for a loan. This guarantee was promised to the lenders.
The spoils of war [from captured cities] will bring in 1.8 million. Kofer ha-Yishuv [the Yishuv's defense fund] will bring in P£ 75,000 per month. The United Jewish Appeal [UJA] in America received a loan of $ 6 million, half for the [Jewish] Agency. Against these dollars Kaplan received P£ 750,000 from the Anglo-Palestine Bank, and will receive another quarter million. On Friday (4 days ago), Hammer [of the UJA] telegraphed [to say] that he sent $ 2 million from the loan to Switzerland, as Golda requested.
For the sake of an orderly budget, Kaplan is demanding that the agreement with the KKL be brought to an end, that the American funds be sorted out, that a sum of money be transferred from America.
As to Kaplan's final demand - dollars from America - I stated that only if I can guarantee enough dollars for cannons and combat planes - and there are leftover dollars - will it be possible to expend them in the country.