יומנים > יומן - מלא 30/08/1948
[Monday,] August 30, 1948
In the morning a meeting in the office of [the Mapai] evening paper [HaDor].
At 11 a meeting with Solel Boneh personnel.
- At 11:30 - [Yosef] Karkovy - [head of the] Cultural Division [of the General Staff].
They're publishing [a weekly] BaMahane ["In the Base Camp"], 15,000 exemplars. Distributed free to units. The editor is Moshe Shamir, assistant Yitzhak Avrahami (from Bet HaShita), a directionless magazine, poor journalism; they're also producing HaHoma ["The Wall"] - an illustrated wall poster, for camps and display windows in the city, once a month; they're also producing a series of pamphlets about battles: about Mishmar HaEmek, Yad Mordechai, the Nachshon operation, the Yiftah operation (Yosef Ulitzky). Why not about Gush Etsiyyon? They approached [Zvi] Bernstein [sp.] (not from HaTzofeh though a Po'el Mizrachi man), he didn't write and time passed, they approached Daniel [Shabtai, Don-Yihye] from HaTzofeh, who promised and still hasn't delivered. And the Jordan Valley? Levi Ben-Amitai [a poet, from Degania] took it upon himself to write [something], and [then] informed [us] that he wouldn't. Now [Yosef] Baratz is taking care of this. They're currently handling the three cities: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa. In Jerusalem Haim Toren (a literary critic?) is taking care of this, in Tel Aviv - Yosef Ulitzky, military correspondent for Kiriati Brigade; in Haifa - they're looking for someone. And the Burma Road?
The Hasbara Department (headed by Dov Berger [Harari] of Bet Oren) also publishes intellectual-journalistic material (Kaf Tammuz, about the ETZEL ship [Altalena], fear in battle, Abdallah). All material is distributed for free. It also produces placards for the streets. The GAHAL [overseas recruitment] Department produces a biweekly, BaMahane La'Oleh ["In the Base Camp for the Immigrant"], in easy Hebrew. The units also produce [pamphlets] for themselves - in print and in stencil.
The Kiriati Brigade produces a daily newspaper (in stencil), Turim ["Columns"], which is sent to all the strongholds - primarily news items, also hasbara. The editor is [Isaiah] Avrech, cultural officer; The 6th Brigade (Jerusalem) also produces a daily bulletin.
During the fighting, the Givati Brigade (5th Brigade) issued a daily bulletin [Daf Kravi - "Battle Sheet"] by Abba Kovner.
Golani (Spiegel [Nahum Golan]) also produces a bulletin - the editor is Shmuel Saburai [sp.] [from ''Ein Harod], focuses a lot on geography and the Tanakh [Hebrew Scriptures].
In Jerusalem a weekly newspaper is produced, HaMagen [HaIvri] ["The Hebrew Protector"] in print. The editor is [Shlomo] Even-Shoshan (brother of [Zvi] Rosenstein [of the General Council]).
A pamphlet, Palmach, is edited by Zrubavel [Gilad, from ''Ein Harod]. It is of the highest military and literary caliber.
Oral work is carried out by the Hasbara Department: headed by Dov Berger [Harari], was an artillery man, a paratrooper, in Romania he united the youth movement, despite [the position of] the kibbutz secretariat, not a Mapam member and not in the party. He has an enlisted unit of public relations speakers, 4-5 of them for now, including Tishbi. On Wednesday all the cultural officers are convening - about 120. Dolik [Horowitz] will speak about the currency, they want me [to lecture on] "the chances of a truce"; Moshe Carmel on the northern front, Moshe Zadok on manpower problems; at the last gathering there was a lecture by Yigal Allon on Operation Danny, a discussion on soldiers' future, Ya'akov Shimoni on Arabs, Moshe Shertok [Sharett] answered questions.
In most battalions a lecture (by a cultural officer or someone from outside) is mandatory, by order. Some dispute this, claiming it violates a soldier's freedom. There's a proposal that it be included within training hours.
250 teachers were enlisted by the Ministry of Labor to teach soldiers Hebrew. With [the inclusion of] vacation months this would require establishing a conscripted unit for this purpose. There are about 10,000 soldiers who need Hebrew classes.
There's a "weekly combing" for cultural officers and lecturers.
The cultural service (Cultural Division) employees: [Yosef] Karkovy, [Moshe] Shamir (press), Dov Berger [Harari] (hasbara), Ahuvia Malkin (oversight) (about to be sent to the southern front), Asael Ben-David (a teacher at Givat Brenner), Katzin Sardi, [Yosef] Burstein (radio).
- A delegation of the chief rabbis at 4 o'clock: breaches at the [army] bases. Men are guards at women's bases, and married women are being drafted - could lead to women being prohibited to their husbands. They demand women inspectors, and married women only on a voluntary basis [rather than conscription].
- Staff meeting. Zadok [head of Personnel Department]: The youth groups [Aliyat HaNo'air, immigrant youth programs] can be assigned to Artillery Corps, Air Force, garrison - after they've been trained at the camp with the girls. The services can also absorb youth groups. Ya'akov opposes their joining the services, instead [they should join] garrison. Yigael supports using them in services and not in garrison, because in the Air Force, in guard duty at airfields, and in services, the question of whether they're being sent into combat or not will not arise.
A problem with paratroopers: [Yoel] Palgi was appointed as commander, his deputy is Haim Gurfinkel [Gouri]. The question is what kind of paratroopers. A parachutist infantry battalion - or commando. We're all of the opinion that this should be a commando of 250 or 350 men. The Personnel Department was tasked with taking about 5 men (volunteers) and vehicles and instructors from each battalion [for the paratroopers.
I instructed the Staff to provide 3-4 experts who will conduct a strict assessment of manpower in order to make brutal cuts in the services, without diminishing our combat strength. We need to increase our firepower and mobility - we won't be able to do this if we don't cut our other expenses.