יומנים > יומן - מלא 20/03/1948

March 20, 1948 I heard on the radio America's statement about reversing its position on resolving the Eretz-Israel question. Plainly they've accepted Bevin's assumption about the need to leave British forces in this country and to work out an agreed-upon settlement with the Arabs, and the Jews will be forced to accept it or face annihilation. I prepared a brief press release. - Afternoon: a meeting of the [Mapai] secretariat, meant for discussion of the "arrangement" [the composition of the government] but, of course, they discussed the new situation. - After our three "grandees" met in Rome, we decided that Shaul [Avigur] would join them and coordinate their actions. In the evening, I met with the newspaper editors and demanded a fierce response against the trusteeship proposal. The Revisionists proposed that the Executive resign, of course. - I visited Rahel and [Izhak] Ben-Zvi, who lost Eli at Bet Keshet. Ben-Zvi didn't shed a tear and discussed [current] matters-but his pain was no weaker than Rahel's. Amram [their first-born] was there, too. They had come back from the funeral of Eli and his comrades. They think he put [his] last bullet into his head-in order not to fall into the Arabs' hands. He was going to marry a girl from Nahalal a few days later.