יומנים > יומן - מלא 30/01/1948

Friday, 30 January 1948

Yitzhak S. [Sadeh] returned from the Negev and Sdom. In his view there's no need to add forces to Sdom to protect the place. The topographical situation and the weapons on site are definitely enough. The place is good as a base. The airfield needs to be expanded - right now only a single-engine [plane] can land. The boats [at the Dead Sea] are being fitted to carry heavier loads. The place depends on fresh water from ''Ein Safia [sp.], but the water in our territory is brackish and needs to be chemically desalinated. The company prepared a plan for a road from Sdom to Ras Zuweira [Rosh Zohar, near Arad] (along the Dead Sea coastline and westward, on a hill). From there it's possible to make a road to Bet Eshel and Nevatim near the [UN-proposed] border. There's no site [police building] in Ras Zuweira. The police was destroyed during the riots before the war and hasn't been [re-]built. Palmach men visited the site and didn't find anything there. In ''Ein Husub there are still Arab policemen. Incidentally, Yitzhak reports that the news from the Palmach yesterday evening - about an armored vehicle with a squad of 10 men that wandered off course and, instead of going to Nir-Am, reached Gaza and was disarmed - is not true. He was in Nir-Am the evening before last. The men who were driving know the way well, and [it was the British] army that forced them to drive to Gaza.

       - Agronsky [Gershon Agron] came - Among England's Jews there's a sense of political and financial insecurity. They're afraid of property tax, afraid of anti-Semitism. Many want to come. [Sigmund] Gestetner spoke with Zafarullah Khan [of Pakistan]. Khan described his conversation with the League in Damascus. He said that they must accept the verdict, [because] they themselves brought about the failure through their extremism, and now nothing can be done, otherwise they'll be excluded from the UN, and then Russia will be able to do as it wants with them. For us he recommends federalism in the territory granted to us by UNSCOP [United Nations Special Committee on Palestine], instead of the Economic Union [proposed by the UN Partition Plan].

       In London Gershon saw Bührle, A German naturalized in Switzerland and manufacturer of the Oerlikon cannon [20 mm anti-aircraft cannon]. He's prepared to provide us with cannons (price?). He's the consul to Abyssinia and can send merchandise [supposedly] to Abyssinia.

       Freddy [Fredkins] managed to transfer the airplanes [that he bought] to another company. Sigmund [Gestetner] thinks he'll be able to get the tools [weapons] out. [Shmuel] Tolkowsky's son is a pilot; [Dan] is helping Freddy. He found a wealthy Jew, [Bernard] van Leer (received £ 10,000 [from him] and is about to receive another 15,000).

       Before Gershon [Agron] left, the income from fundraising (including a seven-year "commitment" [endowment] for 45% of the donation[s] [to go to Eretz Israel]) was close to P£ 800,000. Guaranteed immediate income - close to 600,000. Cash - about 300,000. [Lord] Sieff hopes that by the end of the month - [there will be] half a million in cash. The Jews have a lot of money. The agreement is for 20% of all the funds raised [to go] to security, and all initial income, up to half a million - to security.

       [Chaim] Weizmann will travel to America as suggested by [our] people in America, and [Nahum] Goldmann suggested that the Executive in America invite him. [Dr. Ernst] Bergmann will also travel with him. He'll stay about a month in America.

       - Yosef Y. [Yizraeli] and Levi [Eshkol]: Recruitment has 2 centers: the recruitment center, [which] assesses the [candidate], and when he's accepted he goes back home. Afterwards a representative of the "Organization" summons the young man to a meeting, [they] explain [to him] that he's a soldier; he's sent to one of the five demanders [places that need soldiers]: M. Montag [Mann] - reinforcement for the settlements, subject to General Staff approval; Palmach (as above); Hayish; People's Guard; state services - Grabovsky [Argov]. The first four determine their own required number of recruits - with the Chief of Staff's approval. Grabovsky - with the Personnel Department's consent.

       When the man is informed that he's being conscripted, he's given a note with a list of things he needs to bring from home and he's told an address [at which to report] at 6 a.m. by Histadrut activists, and from there a bus takes him. Anyone sent by Montag - is taken to the S.D. [subdistrict commander]. He has a 5-day course for initial training, and then he is sent to the site where he works and trains.

       The confusion begins when the recruits are sent to units. The distribution of clothes is handled by Rochel [Avidar], and no one from the Palmach or Hayish coordinates with him before he receives the men; training is handled by Eliahu [Ben-Hur], and again there's no coordination; in Yosef Yizraeli's view all the men should be sent to a central depot [intake base], where they'll be dressed [and] receive shots, [and] from there they'll be taken to units - once commanders are ready. He suggests three such centers: Tel Aviv, Netanya, Nahalal.

       We need a committee to handle the recruit and his family: to ensure payment to the soldier's dependents (wife, parents), compensation to the family of the deceased, care for the disabled, arrangements for those released from service, general welfare, [to handle] newspapers, concerts, etc. for the soldier. He suggests [Bebe] Idelson, Hadassah [Samuel], [Nahum] Het, [Issachar] Sitkov, Yitzhak Finkelstein [Eilam], [Yosef] Baratz.

       This committee, in my opinion, should be established alongside the security committee.

       Coordination of recruits - I'll consult first with Fritz and Ben-Artzi, and then Ya'akov [Dori] will issue instructions.

       - Shlomo Gur: The "doctor's" [Shamgar's] institute began conducting electrolytic processes on January 5. Two tons are already ready. At one location chlorate is being produced (G.H. [Giv'at Haim]), and at a second [in Ramat Gan] Cheddite. The raw material is brought from the Dead Sea. According to Shlomo G., Fortuna will only produce chlorate - it cannot make Cheddite. They'll need his factory afterwards to make Cheddite.

       The flamethrowers reached up to 35 m. In the meantime [Prof. Sasha] Goldberg, an English Jew with expertise in this field, has arrived from London, and he's building two models of 40-m flamethrowers and one model of 160 m (!). This will be prepared today or tomorrow. The Izhar [oil] factory is preparing a ton of the material necessary for the [flame] thrower. Next week they'll carry out the tests.

       - Hai [Yissacharov] suggests on behalf of Avraham R. [Rutenberg, director of the electric company] that if we have problems with the UN committee - [we should] request that they send two commanders - an American and Russian - to assess the security situation and requirements and to submit a report to the Security Council. He also suggests globally publicizing the existence of an English-Arab [League] agreement to thwart the UN resolution.