יומנים > יומן - מלא 05/07/1948

Monday, July 5, 1948

Avraham Gorali (Prosecutor General [from the Haganah days]): There's a discipline problem, criminal conduct (theft involving the bribery of checkpoint guards, incidents of rape - a case in Acre in which a group of soldiers wanted to rape a girl, killed the father and injured the mother, and the commanders covered up the incident; the girl was raped by at least one soldier).

         The organization of the [activities of the] Prosecutor General: A staff [office] of three: Gorali as Chief Prosecutor. Six assistants: Haim Wilkenfeld, Dr. Weins [sp.], Max Chernobilski [sp.], Mina Rabinowitz [sp.] [Shamir], Yitzhak Hacohen, Binyamin Cohen (son of Dr. [Moshe] Cohen from the municipality). Every brigade has a prosecutor (the Palmach doesn't yet). In Jerusalem Gideon Hausner. In Tel Aviv Ezra Reichert [Yaron] ([Adv. Ari] Ankorion's partner). In Netanya [the Alexandroni Brigade] Reindorf [Ya'akov Randor [sp.]], in Haifa [Moshe] Ben-Peretz (from the office of [Adv. Ya'akov] Salomon [sp.]), in the Galilee Rotenberg [Ya'akov Doron] (from the office of [Adv. Yosef] Keiserman [sp.]). In the 8th Brigade - Deputy Prosecutor Hazanovitz [sp.], 7th Brigade - Avshalom Levy, in the Air Force - [Aharon] Moyal.

         The current jurisdiction law is completely unsuitable. A new law should be drafted - Who can do this? (Major-General) [Monty] Green, Dr. [Natan] Feinberg [expert on the laws of war]; Shabtai Rowson [Rosenne]. Von Friedmann [Eitan Avishar] is also important in this regard. Gorali has taken it on himself to formulate a military law over the course of a week.

         - Yosef [Avidar]: The army needs to transport about 600 tons of food [to Jerusalem] and will want one day [of transport to Jerusalem] to be given to the army. There's a problem transferring flour to the army (150 tons). The task was given to Yosef and [Nahum] Warlinski.

         - I informed Yigael [Yadin] that the truce might be violated ahead of time, and we should speed up the orders [should be: preparations]. All the Harel forces (including the 6th Battalion) are being sent to the Beit Susin - Motza sector. A Hayish battalion is also stationed there. Yiftah will operate in the Lod and Ramle sector along with the 9th Brigade; Brigade Zayin will be transferred to the Upper [Western] Galilee as I proposed.

         - Yigael is requesting 17-year-old youths for the Artillery Corps.

         - A delegation from Tiberias is requesting: leave the [age] 36-40 recruits in Tiberias, provide more equipment, speed up fortifications.

         A delegation from Safed is requesting evacuation of the non-combatant population, assistance.

         - At a meeting of the [Committee of] Five [Yohanan] Ratner proposed that no radical changes be made in the top tier of the army, that an interim chief of staff be found. Yigael refrained from presenting proposals. Yisrael [Galili] proposes that all members of the Staff remain in their positions. Yesterday [July 4] he summoned Yohanan, Lehrer [Zadok], and others and demanded that they release themselves from their duty of solidarity, release themselves from their ties to him [Galili], even if they think that he suffered an injustice. Matters involving the management of the war cannot be decided by one [individual]. The Staff has to be respected as a team; consultations should be not only with the chief of staff or interim [chief of staff], but with everyone. Yisrael was not assigned any role. He was not given any authority. For the Staff personnel he is cement [a firm leader], an authority in commanders' eyes, and a link between them and the defense minister.

         - [David] Coronel [Coren] came from Sdom: There are 350 people there (including 40-50 women). The Bet Ha'Arava people [kibbutz members] number 90 (including 20 women). About 200 of the Sdom people are Dead Sea workers, about 150 or 100 from the north [from the Potash Company in Kalya]. Coronel is afraid that the people [membership] of [Kibbutz] Bet Ha'Arava will disintegrate - particularly given that weak and worn out people are being evacuated from time to time. Coronel proposes evacuating all the Bet Ha'Arava people, replacing them with soldiers. The objectors [argue that] a selective interest, of one of the local bodies, should not be considered. Either everyone should be replaced - if possible and advantageous - or everyone should remain, aside from a few individuals with a special reason to be evacuated.

         - Moshe Carmel, Yigael Yadin, and [Yisrael] Ber [assistant to the head of the Operations Department for the Central and Northern Fronts] came. The Oded Brigade (3 battalions) has only 700 fighters, and another 700 are in services and new recruits. They're short 700 trained fighters. Golani has 4 battalions, none of them complete. It has 1,400 fighters; it's short 600 fighters. Carmeli has 3 battalions. One of them, the battalion under Maxie [Cohen, 23rd Battalion], was transferred eastward [to the Ayelet HaShahar sector]. Moshe Carmel is not pleased with Uri Yafeh [Oded commander] or Mishal Shacham [Golani commander]. Nor with Nahum Spiegel [Golan, Mishal's deputy]. He approached the Personnel Department to request that they give him Meir'ke Davidzon or [Yitzhak] Pundak (with Givati) - still hasn't been granted.

         Yigael [Yadin] proposes mobilizing Brigade Zayin to the fighting in the Galilee and bringing [Haim] Laskov either to Haifa or to Mishmar HaYarden. But Moshe Carmel is insisting on [Mordechai] Makleff as operations officer [at the front], otherwise he doesn't see what there is for him to do. I told him to appoint a commander for Golani. Yigael remarks: he doesn't have the authority. I told him to propose a commander and I will give authorization. Yigael is insisting that it be [Nahum] Spiegel [Golan]. Regarding Makleff I suggested that he not consider him, nor is there much need [to do so] if Brigade Zayin (and [Haim] Laskov and Benny Dunkelman) come under his [Carmel's] authority. Yigael suggested that for now he use both Laskov and Makleff. I added the condition that this not interfere with the extraction [reassignment] of Makleff if that becomes necessary.

         I asked Moshe Carmel to give his attention to establishing additional frameworks [units] for Haifa - MLB and Hayish - that can be conscripted if needed, because from now on [following the British withdrawal] Haifa will be an important, if not the main, target for the Arabs and the English.

         The Syrians are preparing [fortifying] in Tel Khanzir (near Kefar Szold) and around Malkiyya.

         In Haifa there are 4 20 mm cannons, 5 Besa [machine guns], 3 Hotchkiss, 2 75 mm cannons (their shortcoming is that the shells are only anti-aircraft).

         Moshe Carmel is complaining that he doesn't have enough rifles for his battalions per the standard - 406 rifles per battalion.

         - At a meeting of the [Committee] of Five, Yohanan proposed: not to change the army's top tier, to appoint an interim chief of staff, not to introduce any radical changes in the Staff.

         - The settlements' demands: contact with the staff at the center and outposts (fronts, brigades, subdistricts), additional personnel, that commanders be prevented from randomly conscripting settlement residents, 4,000 rifles, 500 [light] machine guns, 100 PIATs, 100 3" mortars.

         - At seven Rabbi Fishman [Maimon] came to see me. He's prepared to return [to the government] if: 1) On matters of kashrut and Shabbat - the two of us sort out the matter. 2) The three of us (Rabbi Fishman, Rosenblüth [Pinchas Rosen, Minister of Justice], and I) reach an agreement on the issue of rabbinical courts. On transportation matters Rabbi Fishman has to reach an agreement with [David] Remez [Minister of Transportation].

         - In the evening State Council.