יומנים > יומן - מלא 27/02/1948

[Friday,] February 27, 1948

I prepared instructions for the Chief of National Headquarters at the General Staff to counter the acts of violence (by the secessionists?) that are increasing in Tel Aviv - which I referred in writing to the two executives [the Jewish Agency Executive and the General Council Executive] to have them address this immediately.

       - Golda cables that [Viktor] Avrunin assesses the cost of the naval order at $ 8 million [(] 2 PV; 24,000 - 3 ML; P£ 15,000 - 6 LCW, P£ 30,000 / 2 LCT [(] in total 150,000[,] 6 MOML, 360,000 - 9 MTB, P£ 50,000, P£ 629,000 or $ 2,516,000) one destroyer, Corvettes, tanker). She proposes authorizing 5,000,000 over the course of three months, and only for March 2 .5 million.

       - This morning Freddy [Fredkins] arrived from Paris. He left London three days ago. He didn't see Ehud [Avriel] this time because he's in Prague; seven airplanes have left England (6 twin-engine: 5 Anson[s], 1 Rapid - they're in Paris. 1 Proctor - in Marseilles). Still in London are 6 Tiger Moth[s] (single-engine for training) and 4 amphibians that [a man named] Rubin received as a gift. They require repairs and will leave in 4-6 weeks. There isn't an import permit for all of them.

       According to Eizik [Yehoshua Eshel] there are [import] permits for 4 Anson[s] 1 Rapid, 1 Proctor. An embargo has now been imposed in England on planes to the Middle East. [Freddy] also bought many parts and motors for stock.

       In France D'Larminier [sp.] (was aide to de Gaulle) promised that they would help us acquire weapons. They're prepared to give us a base in Ajaccio (Corsica). [The procurement personnel] arranged for a base in Italy, in Pescara, north of Bari.

       Two airplanes can carry 6½ tons of merchandise each (a ton - 170 rifles. 1,000 bullets - 44 kilos). An American company, Atlantic Northern Airlines, is prepared to fly merchandise for $730 per hour in the air (round trip requires 18 hours, that's $ 13,140) (the weight of a 75 cannon - 1,800 kilos[,] shells 12 tons).

       Freddy wants to go home ([his family is in the] Congo, Africa) for two weeks. Before flying out, he'll give me a report on the state of the air fleet, its needs, and its shortcomings.

       - Dolik came [David Horowitz returned from New York]. According to him, Moshe [Sharett] is very pessimistic following the announcement by [Senator] Austin. Everyone else is very optimistic. Dolik himself believes that the announcement contains two possibilities, good and bad, and the Americans haven't yet decided.

       There's an internal dispute - [Abba Hillel] Silver wants to appear [before the UN] and all our friends at the UN say that this will cause damage, and that only an Eretz-Israeli should appear, and Moshe wants me to come.

       Dolik doubts that Yehuda [Arazi]'s plans [regarding procurement] will be realized.

       [Members of] the Palestine Commission want to send three people to the State Department in Washington, to request that the American government provide weapons to the Commission, and these weapons would be placed in sealed arsenals in the country under the supervision of the Commission, which would use them after May 15. It's not clear whether the US government will regard this as a request by the UN.

       - Munya [Mardor] gave me a report [on procurement] from February 27, 1947 through today. He received Fr. 500,000, $ 320,000 + $ 75,000 from Pozner. Transferred 6 shipments to the country from the time of the [Jewish] Brigade and new purchases: 106,000 bullets, 195,000 569 bullets, 150,000 - 365, 51,000 kilometers fuse, 5,000 45 bullets, 3½ tons Ballistite, 20 tons TNT, 4 Brens, 35 German rifles, 3 English [rifles].

       The shipment that's about to arrive: 4-41 tons TNT, 22,000 762 bullets, 100,000 9 bullets, 40,000 detonating cord[s], 10 kilometers regular fuse, 77 kilom. [?] fuse (?), $20,000 9mm caps, 5 English rifles, 47 German [rifles], 1 MG machine [gun]. Still to be sent: 25 tons TNT, 6½ tons primary, some bullets, caps, and deto. - All these have been paid for.

       [He's] about to buy: another 100 tons TNT (each ton [costs] around P£ 300), electric and regular deto, 9 millimeter bullets. Bullets for Schwarz. Need another $ 300,000. In Italy he pays with lirtos [liras?] (191 lirto = 1 Sw. Fr., 600 lirto = $1), in Belgium a German rifle can be bought for P£ 12.

       - Rabbi [Kelman] Kahana told me: Last Tuesday he returned to his kibbutz, Hafetz Haim. He pounced on [joined] the Negev convoy. Encountered the three [who were] killed on the streets. In the meantime an Arab taxi passed by - they wanted to take revenge, but an army ambulance came by and delayed [them]. Then a pickup truck came by, the Arabs raised their hands - but the crowd shouted, "Strike! Strike!" - and they shot them….