יומנים > יומן - מלא 15/12/1948

Wednesday, December 15, 1948

Ministry of Defense meeting, Hai [Issachar]: They've been waiting to receive the "Spits" [Spitfire planes], but there's a delay because of money. Kozlowski [Pinchas Sapir] went abroad and will sort it out. And possibly - if the weather is good as well - we'll receive 15 "Spits" (8 + 7) in two days. Ten have already been sent in crates to Yoram [Yugoslavia], and from there by ship. The Air Force has fuel for six months - for war! Al Schwimmer will be sent to Australia to purchase planes. They say that there are hundreds of "Spits" packed in crates over there. In America they're ready to send 5 Mustangs and 62 Harvards for training.

       St. Jean [aeronautical] school ([renamed in honor of Modi] Alon) near Acre [Camp Shraga] has 450 trainees across all the occupations: flight, ground service, etc. The school's director is Harold Greene, the budget - unknown.

       Gershon [Zak]: The fleet - the 3 purchased ships [frigates] have not yet set sail from America, the two landing crafts from Cuba have already reached Marseilles. The standard - two flotillas (3 ships each), with the coast guard - twenty small boats, one destroyer, 2 training ships, 2 PC [patrol craft], 2 naval reconnaissance airplanes.

       Current military strength: 3 Corvettes (i.e., one flotilla), the 3 frigates that are in America, 10 coast guard boats, 1 PC, the two ships in Marseilles (for a landing corps - marines). The Staff promised 1,500 men, haven't provided a single man. The 12 cannons that arrived are very good, all have been positioned. They have a firing range of 10 kilometers.

       [Yosef] Yaakovson: Some of the winter clothes are tight, especially the jackets, they can be fixed in the country. In Belgium they're offering 100,000 winter uniforms. It's possible to obtain dollars in America if liras are paid here - immediately. It's possible to obtain $1 million; need to obtain loans of P£ 133,000 here and the amount will be returned over the course of the year. The million will be spent on spare parts. Each dollar's worth of spare parts will cost P£ 1.20 here - if we buy the spare parts here.

       [Avraham] Zabar: There's only money until the end of January. For December a few departments will be P£ $400,000 short, after cuts, aside from P£ 200,000 that's being reduced this month from the food stocks. Zabar agrees regarding the loan in America.

       Zabar suggests that Perlson [Eliezer Peri] replace him and to some extent replace Eshkol as well. [We] need another person for the procurements committee - [Yoel] Artzi (Degania Aleph), Binyamin Ben-Zvi (Gvat, Mapam); the Logistics [[Department] needs a civilian economics person - such as Schreiber [Zvi Shariv]. Schreiber doesn't want this. He's willing to replace Zabar. Shaul [Avigur] insists on Perlson as director of the Defense Ministry's economy [finances and logistics]. Aryeh [Bahir] proposes [Yehuda] Levitov for procurements. Yizraeli suggests the following order [of preference] for procurements: Schreiber, Levitov, Artzi.

       Yizraeli proposes Kalman Kit [General Staff - Personnel Department] as [the army's] representative to the elections committee. Bahir proposes Mina Rogozik [Ben-Zvi, commander of the Women's Corps].

       Duvdevani and Bahir met with Ya'akov [Dori] yesterday regarding the appointments: for brigades, AMAL [military reservists conscripted for fixed periods of time], battalions etc. Bahir objects to replacing Avraham Hirsch [Ofer] with Rafi Rothberg [sp.]

       - Ya'akov [Dori] and Gershon [Zak]: Ya'akov - tremendous work has been done in the Navy, and Gershon has a major part in this; he was essentially defense minister in the Navy until now, but now a staff has been established and departments have been organized:

       Personnel Department - Avraham Ofer (Hirsch); Logistics Department - Shura Fishman [sp.]; Engineering Department (coastal and ship repair) - engineer [Benjamin] Kessel; Landing Department - Ahiya Ben-Ami (from Nahalal), his assistant - Filtzer [sp.], American; Operations Department - Avraham Zakai (previously was [Shmuel] "Samek" Poznanski [Yannay], who's now commander of the large flotilla). The staff has five departments. Chief of Staff - Paul Shulman (Shaul Ben-Zvi) and his deputy is Yossi Hamburger [Harel], and the administrative officer - Luba [Eliav] (might go to [naval] sabotage or gunnery). The five department heads: Avraham Ofer, Shura Fishman, [Benjamin] Kessel, [Ahiya] Ben-Ami, Avraham Zakai.

       The question is who will the Naval chief of staff receive orders from - until now he received them from Gershon; in Ya'akov's view he should receive them from Ya'akov.

       I concluded that  matters of command should be the sole authority of the [Naval] chief of staff, who receives his orders from the chief of staff [of the General Staff]. The organization of forces, procurements, etc. - are the purview of the deputy defense minister for naval affairs. Borderline areas [overlapping areas of activity for which both the deputy minister and chief of staff are responsible] and the like - Ya'akov should be consulted first. For all matters concerning [the appointment of] individuals in the Navy, Gershon should consult with Ya'akov.

       - [The archaeologist] Prof. [Eliezer Lipa] Sukenik came to see me: Some of the Tanakh writings [from the Judean Desert scrolls] were taken to America to be sold - in his view this can be prevented by force of law. He also wants us to ask Abdallah for permission to search in the rivers between ''Ein Gedi and the northern Dead Sea. He also requests P£ 2,000 to publish commentary and sources, and a new translation of the Yosef Ben-Matityahu wars [The Jewish War by Josephus].

       - I received the figures on outside officers [those not trained by the Haganah or ETZEL] currently serving in our army. They number 529, of whom 60 were in Hayil ([the Jewish] Brigade), 273 in the British army [aside from Hayil], 36 Russian, 60 Polish, Austrian 9, Czech 18, Hungarian 8, American 11, Romanian 9, South African 4, Yugoslav 2, Spanish 2, Italian 4, Belgian 1, Greek 1, Bulgarian 3, Latvian 3, Dutch 2, German 2, Argentinian 1, Canadian 1, Swiss 1, Australian 1, Syrian 1, that is, 139 from the East, 390 from the West.

       The number of officers in our army generally: In Front A staff - 10, B - 28, C - 14, D - 16, Brigade 1 - 108, 2 - 112, 3 - 140, 4 - 115, 5 - 153, 6 - 105, 7 - 115, 8 - 95, 9 - 83, 10 - 112, 11 - 92, 12 - 120; Galilee District 52, Valley 48, Haifa 74, Tichon [Central] 108, Tel Aviv 161, Jerusalem 129, Shfela [central plain] 52, Negev 17, Sdom 16, WC [Women's Corps] 90, housing service 66, supplies 38, fuel 33, armament 65, equipment 32, transportation 107, intelligence 38, maps and photography 17, signal 64, post 5, religious 37, medical 382, legal 97, MP [military police] 43, culture 167, engineering 134, Training Bureau 81, physical training 19, press liaison 22, Science Corps 7, mule riders 17, oversight over transportation and transport 14, artillery 192, heavy mortars 32, paratroopers 8, General Staff base 101, registration center 22, Jerusalem 13, S.H.K. [military enlistment and integration service] 16, induction 12, city officers 29, intake [facilities] 26, training base 58, payments 7, production 5, Jerusalem consulate 2, transit and classification 4 + 38, discharges 1, military government 17, monthly magazine 4, POW camp 44, recreation 7, Marcus [?] 1, Gadna [Youth Battalions] 60, basic camp 25, Elisha 9, Shekem [the army's food service] 26, psychological research 1, total [in land forces] 4,410. Air Force 586 (Navy not submitted).

       - Government meeting on relations with Arabs, and kashrut.  The religious ministers [ministers from the religious parties] again left the meeting.