יומנים > יומן - מלא 21/09/1948

[Tuesday,] September 21, 1948

Isser [Harel] requests authorization to continue the operation: capturing the top tier (Isser thinks that Yellin[-Mor] hasn't left the country), the clear-cut LEHI supporters, the institutions (Mivrak [editorial board], the clubs, the branches, presses, bases, youth clubs, and meetings). I wrote to [Police Commissioner] Yehezkel Sahar, to cooperate with Isser on this matter.

       - Tonight a ship delivered 27 20 mm cannons (Isotta Fraschini), 127,000 shells for them, 50 tons of TNT, and chemical materials - all this was already unloaded during the night. There are also signal devices [radio sets] on the ship that will be unloaded in due time.

       - Consultation with Ya'akov [Dori], Yigael [Yadin], [Moshe] Zadok, and [Haim] Laskov regarding the special Palmach staff (Yigal Allon, Uri Brener, and Eliezer [Shoshani]). A special record of the minutes was made.

       - Consultation with Yehezkel Sahar, Attorney [Ya'akov Shimshon] Shapira, [Moshe] Zadok, Isser [Harel] regarding custody of the [LEHI] detainees. We agreed that the MP [Military Police] would be responsible for custody of the detainees. Towards this end Zadok will provide the MP with additional men, and he must immediately deliver 100 loyal men for a special role to the regular police.

       - In the afternoon I drafted a press release on the dissolution of ETZEL [and LEHI] in Jerusalem.

       - Government meeting on the budget. [Bechor] Sheetrit is requesting a million for half a year for 2,500 policemen. Right now he has only 2,065 policemen, 380 of them in Jerusalem. [Mordechai] Bentov [labor minister] is calling for road repairs, and he sees the key to funding in the defense budget. Only 3% of this budget needs to be cut - and P£ 150,000 will be added to other budgets. He disputes my proposal for a working army [as practiced in the Palmach and now implemented in NAHAL], and proposes a combat[-ready] nation [a reserve militia-like army based on brief training of new recruits] as in Switzerland.

       The proposed budget for six months (July-December) for various ministries is: Finance Ministry 140,000; Health 360,000; Aliya 100,000; Police 560,000; Minorities 25,000; Religious Affairs 60,000; Foreign Affairs 400,000; Agriculture 250,000; Internal Affairs 120,000; Labor 483,000; Welfare 300,000; Justice 170,000; Industry and Trade 180,000; Prime Minister 72,000; War Casualties (for the duration of the war) 414,000; Transport 150,000 [total P£ 3,784,000; this does not include the Defense Ministry budget].

       Gruenbaum proposes that the defense budget be provided by the [entire Jewish] people [and] the state's taxes only go to state needs. The state would provide only 1.2 million for six months for defense.

       Bernstein proposes cutting 20% from the defense budget from the outset.

       - At 8 p.m. Braunschweig [sp.], an artillery officer [visiting] from Switzerland: - At the start of the war [World War II] (September 1, 1939) they called up the entire army of 800,000 men (1/5 of Switzerland's population). It [the Swiss army] is divided into: - A) Elite [field corps] ages 20-32, B) Landwehr [country defense], Class A ages 32-36, Class B - ages 36-40, C) Landsturm [garrison force] ages 40-48, D) auxiliary force, ages 48-60. Shortly thereafter they sent [groups] C-D home and maintained only Elite and Landwehr. Women only serve in the army voluntarily. There was also full conscription on May 10, 1940, after the [German] invasion of Belgium and Holland. The infantry force in Switzerland is organized on a territorial basis (by cantons) - the other forces on a federal basis. Every captain has a list of his company (250 men) and he conscripts them; they're from his local environment.

       I organized a tour of the artillery corps for Braunschweig.

       - At 10:30 p.m. a messenger came from the Foreign Ministry with important news (if it's right!): The French government sent a courier to [René] Neville, the [French] consul in Jerusalem, to maintain friendly relations with the government of Israel henceforth.

       The three ministers - George Marshall [US], [Ernest] Bevin [UK], Queuille [France] - seemingly decided (per Marshall's proposal) to press the UN member states to recognize the State of Israel de jure even before it is admitted into the UN, and to admit it into the UN. France will be the first to recognize it. They believe that LEHI is pro-Soviet and the government of Israel's war against LEHI motivated Marshall to provide assistance to the government. They'll impose borders on Israel - what's in our hands, without the Negev. In Jerusalem there will only be a "roof" - a governor on behalf of the UN, but in practice Jerusalem will be divided between Jews and Arabs. The French, it seems, aren't interested in Haifa - because they discovered enough oil in the Pyrenees [Mountains] to suffice for France.

       - Afterwards I consulted with Eshkol on the [military] manufacturing needs, particularly mortars and shells, and the organization of the Defense Ministry. [Yisrael] Amir will go into work with Yosef [Yizraeli], Hillel [Cohen] will go into manufacturing, Shaul [Avigur] with [Ze'ev] Herring and [with Ze'ev] Tchernetsky for personnel problems,