יומנים > יומן - מלא 15/05/1948
[Saturday,] May 15, 1948
I was awakened twice during the night. At 1 - to inform me that Truman has recognized the Jewish state. At 4:30 - in between these times I didn't get back to sleep - that our men in America were insisting that I make an immediate radio appearance. I went with Yan [Yaakov Yanai] to the Haganah studio [radio station] at the Yonah Army Base [today - Independence Park in northern Tel Aviv]. The arrangements for my speech took until 5:15, and as I was speaking Tel Aviv was bombed - apparently around the airport [Sde Dov]. I finished my remarks - though not easily - and said [on the radio] that at this moment Tel Aviv was being bombed, and I headed to the airport. One shed was on fire, a few people with injuries were taken to Hadassah, a few airplanes were taken out of service, and the Reading [Power] Station was also damaged. The [Egyptian] planes came in low - when our artillery fell silent for some reason - and dropped their charges. There were about four-five bombers flying back and forth.
People in pajamas and nightshirts were peeking out of all the houses - but did not seem to be overly scared.
- There is news of a third [arms] airlift (where is the second?) 13 crates, 16 boxes with belts, 6 crates each [with] 3 heavy machines [machine guns]; 3 crates each with 6 tripods. 1 crate with 18 optic calibrators, 4 boxes, 1 crate with 18 calibration devices, 4 crates each [with] 4 heavy [machine guns]. 2 crates each [with] 5 tripods, 1 crate with 3 tripods and a calibrator. 1 crate with 18 optic calibrators, 15 devices, and more, in total 39 crates.
News of another sort: The Legion is going wild, looting Nahara'im [a power station and its employees' residential area, Tel-Or]. They haven't hurt the people. The Legion is threatening to bomb Kibbutz Gesher. The Syrian army is concentrated around Butayha [Bethsaida, where the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee] and is planning to cross the Jordan south of Hirbat Hitti [near Almagor today].
An Egyptian military cargo ship is stationed near Majdal. The British supposedly asked the Egyptians not to advance northward. According to an army radio transmission intercepted this morning, the Egyptian army is going to invade tonight at midnight.
- [One of the Haganah commanders, Moshe Zadok] Lehrer [came]: What did Shlomo [Shamir, first commander of the 7th Armored Brigade] get? Nothing, he wasn't ready. Golani [Brigade] enlisted 400 [troops] over the course of a week, Palmach [Haganah strike force] has 300 for the Negev. More than 500 are ready for Shlomo.
The forces are divided [as follows]: Palmach - about 6,000, of whom 1,300 are in Harel [a brigade stationed in Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Corridor], 1,300 in the Negev, 1,200 in the north, 1,000 women; Golani has 3,573 + 522 paid recruits; Carmeli 2,289; Alexandroni 3,588; Kiriati 2,504; Givati 3,229; Etsiyyoni 3,166 - the total for all brigades is about 24,400. In addition: Training Department 398, Artillery Corps 659, Air Force 675, Engineering Corps 150, Military Police 168, Transportation 1,097, Total [for] divisions and services 4,161; [new recruits] in processing 1,719, overall total 30,573.
- I summoned Stone [Mickey Stone - David Marcus, one of the first generals of the Israeli forces] and asked him what forces he would need to capture the Jerusalem road and surrounding villages. He said he would drive out to see Yitzhak Rabin [commander of the Harel Brigade] and return at 10 tomorrow to give me an answer.
- [In a morning assault] our boys at the airport [Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv] downed an Egyptian plane. The pilot is in our hands.
- I appointed [British Captain] Ashe Lincoln as naval advisor to the provisional government - without tying the hands of the future government.
Shlomo's brigade will have 2 infantry battalions, each with 737 [troops], and an armored battalion of 496 [troops]. (Eliahu [Ben-Hur] had already appointed a commander - I informed Shlomo that Eliahu does not have the authority to appoint [officers]).