יומנים > יומן - מלא 24/01/1948

Saturday, 24 January 1948

This morning Namir relayed a phone conversation from Krelenboim [Yosef Almogi, Haifa]: The Jewish workers at the refineries are threatening not to go to work tomorrow, because the promise that 40 Jewish guards (unarmed - in the face of 50 Arab guards, also unarmed) has not been fulfilled. Yesterday 11 guards showed up, [and] today (as of 8:30 a.m.) two guards. I cabled the commander [to ask] that he explain this. As of 7 p.m. there's been no answer.

       Bar-Kochba [Meirovitz]. Reports that about a week ago he told Reuven [Shiloah] that Storer [sp.] [civilian air transit commissioner] had received instructions to stay, without taking into account the withdrawal and partition. The works at the airfield [in Lod] are continuing - as if there's no withdrawal.

       No news from Freddy [Fredkins]. According to Eizik [Yehoshua Eshel] it's been 10 days since he was supposed to set out to Bari [Italy]. To date Storer has not provided any license for the import of airplanes from London, although he promised to allow 6 Tiger Moth, 4 Anson, 1 Protector, 1 Dragon [all light aircraft].

       From America we received a catalog of warships of all types that need to be bought. A Jewish fishing boat, of South African Zionists, is docked in the country. 250 tons. The captain and most of the workers are gentiles (5 Jews, 10 gentiles). Atid [an Eretz-Israeli shipping company] has two cargo ships - one of 1,000 tons and one 500 tons. Zalman Cohen has a 500-ton ship. Withdrawal will raise the question of the flag [official ownership of the vessel].