יומנים > יומן - מלא 15/03/1948
March 15, 1948
Bar-Kochba [Meirovitz]: A cable has arrived from Sea-Wolf [saying that] the vessels have to be paid for in dollars and that the Italian flag may be swapped for another. He bought 2 LCTs [landing craft tanks] (£ 17,000) and 4 LCMs [Landing Craft Mechanized] (-3,000 or 1,300 each?). He offers 2 ML (motor launches-£ 12,000 each). Bar-Kochba proposes only one of the last one, because they will not be ready for another seven weeks. Altogether, £ 41,000. How many dollars? We won't do anything to expand the Tel Aviv port.
The amount of water in Jerusalem (at the end of February) for the Jewish Yishuv: 1. Cisterns that went over to the possession of the Emergency Committee, 30,000 cu.m. At 10 liters per day, this will suffice for 30 days. At five (being frugal), for 60 days. 2. By repairing existing cisterns: another 30,000 can be obtained. This will cost £ 8,000. 3. By cleaning existing cisterns, another 25,000 can be obtained. This will cost £ 6,800. 4. By repairing small cisterns, another 15,000 can be obtained. This will cost £ 400. 5. At the Romema pool, there are 15,000. 6. Building additional pools: 50,000, 100,000. Total: 165,000 cu.m. This will suffice generously for 165 days, frugally: 330 days.
Nahum [Shadmi] came, set out for Paris yesterday. Saw Ehud [Avriel] on Shabbat [the day before yesterday] in Paris. The first shipment in Yugoslavia was well guarded. They bought a 580-ton vessel with its manager [captain] and also wireless, it'll arrive three weeks from now-under Italian colors. He'll also bring ordinary goods from Italy. They'll load 280 tons of merchandise [arms] during the week. The trip will take about 8 days (commander: Binyamin Yerushalmi).
Ehud suggests splitting up the rest of the merchandise into three: in our vessel from Yugoslavia, in the Danube [?] ship from Hungary, and from Gdynia Poland]. By air, there's concern. Ehud believed it best to ship like the first way [our vessel from Yugoslavia].
At eleven, Yigal P. [Allon], Y[osef] Tabenkin, A[vraham] Zakkai, Yisrael Rosenbaum, Eliezer Klein [Tal], Shmuel Tankus, Shmuel Poznanski (Samek) about a naval service.
After a preface by Yisrael [Galili] and me, Y. T[abenkin] began: We began this work-in connection with ha'apala [illegal immigration], not like seamen. The war has presented us with new duties that transcend ha'apala: ha'avara [shipping] and fishing-and landing (encountering an Arab village from the sea) and defending the civilian side. The Palmach has to continue the military naval unit, because in human terms (personnel), this is the body that can deliver forces. They maintained the force not with the help not of a budget but of content. There are 200 [men] per landing unit, and there are tools (3 launchers, a motor that was shipped in) to train 200 in coastal seafaring. Some 80-100 of the 200 are abroad (in Aliyah Bet) or in Cyprus. They oppose including members of the Palmach in a general naval force and placing them under the command of a general naval command staff. These are strike-force men, vanguards, and their framework has special content and shouldn't be dismantled.
They have a naval command staff of their own: Yosef Tabenkin-commander. Shmuel Poznanski-deputy, Avraham Zakkai-administrative officer, Shmuel Tankus-naval instructor, Oded Packer-military instructor, Barchik Lifschitz [Dov Magen]-naval gear (dinghies, ropes), David Maimon-military transport, Yochai Fischmann [Bin-Nun]-strike-force commander. They are subordinate to command HQ of Yigal [Allon], Yitzhak Rabin, [Shalom] Chevlin (?). As the inquiry continued, they complained that the Palmach was being discriminated against in [supply of] clothing.
Yes, there are additional seamen-such as Captain Axel [sp?] (aboard the Amal), Scheinmann [sp?] (aboard the Atid), but they know the craft more. To my question, why not mobilize their knowledge-insofar as it exists-and their pioneering, with all the seamen, for general security needs?-I received no answer. Yosef Tabenkin claimed that had they set up an air force, they would have done much more than did the existing Air Service.
[Moshe] Melamed came from Paris. He didn't see Ehud [Avriel] but rather Maurice Fischer. He received my letter and is dealing with the matter thoroughly. Reports [quoting Fischer]: 1) It is now France's absolute policy to support a Jewish state. But they are cautious because of Arabs in southern [sic-northern] Africa and friendship with England. 2) Most of the ministers favor moving over aircraft. The problem lies [not] in the principle but in the ability-the experts believe they have too few aircraft for their strategic needs. Aircraft are in northern Africa and that's where their airbase is. But they are dealing with the matter. 3) As for the airfield [for stopovers] there will be no problem-not only for French aircraft but also for [aircraft] from the outside.
Melamed was told that Fischer is doing good work. Incidentally, he related that Naamani [?] [an arms dealer from England] had been in Yugoslavia some time ago and ate with the British envoy together with someone from the British tevuna [intelligence]. When he returned to London, he was invited by this man, Major Hunter, deputy director of military intelligence, and in the course of the conversation told him: We'll leave the country but we'll remain in Haifa-both for the oil and to prevent a foreign state from entering."
Eliezer Shoshani finally came up with the material that I had requested about the Palmach budget, October-December. At headquarters-38 people, including 3 staff members, planning officers, 2 doctors, a medic, a quartermaster, 2 warehousemen, 2 bookkeepers, 3 secretaries, 6 signalmen, 2 rendezvous people [?], an adjutant, 5 drivers, an arsenal keeper, 2 for information, and others-5941 (in three months, thereof wages and upkeep 4142, travel and fuel 1366, office expenses 433). Apparatus [career personnel in] 4 battalions: 45 in battalions' [staffs], 66 in the companies, 66 in the platoons. Each platoon had three paid instructors (because [they] did not work [on the kibbutz]). A course was set up for 95 instructors, it lasted 55 days; a sabotage course-50 participants, lasted 18 days; a sports course for 60 people. Division personnel at the beginning of: Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. General Staff [Brigade] 35 37 40 50 65 78 Battalion and company staffs 110 112 120 135 150 160 Privates 1,615 1,881 2,290 3,065 3,765 4,162 Total 1,760 2,030 2,450 3,250 3,980 4,400 Equipment, March 10, 1948: 3" mortars-15, shells 220; 2" mortars-76, shells 5,817; Browning machine [guns] 15, Vickers 2, Bren 110; magazines 1,070; American sub [machine guns] 94, magazines 515; Stens 728, magazines 3,117; English [rifles] 749; defensive grenades 3,132, assault grenades 816; Mills [Mills hand grenades] 2,537, and more. Motor vehicles: private [passenger] 12, pick-up 11, truck 2, motorcycle 10.
A delegation from the Jordan Valley [Avraham] Haft, [Aryeh] Bahir, Shkolnik [Levi Eshkol], [Zeev] Sackser [sp?]: most of the Jews from inner [the Old City of] Tiberias have escaped; remaining are those on the outside. From inside, the Arabs are firing. 300 British military personnel are encamped at Tsemah, helping the Arabs. The Tsemah road is blocked. After the events that happened-they removed the Arab police [from the city] and left only four, unarmed. They are asking for Jewish police (unarmed).
There's no security on the Bet She'an road. The Yavne'el-Mas'ha [Kefar Tavor] road may also be closed. There's no Palmach platoon in the whole valley except in Afikim-for training, 50 men. The commander of the north sits in Yavne'el but hasn't got a brigade and hasn't got a battalion. In Bet Yerah there are buildings for a hundred people, 500 people can be housed in the kibbutzim (if they'll provide tents and equipment). In the Jordan Valley there are 45 trucks, 35 of which are partly armored. If they're given material-they can do the work [armor the vehicles] on their own.
They propose: bring people up [using the] tower and stockade [method] to Duwir (between Tsemah and [Kibbutz] Massada); the JNF has 3,000 dunams [of land] here. 2) to bring people up to Samra [today: Kibbutz HaOn]. 3) to fortify the banks of the Yarmouk-from Hamma [al-Hamma] to Naharayim-to prevent incursion, fencing and mining the bank. 4) mining the frontier and the surroundings of Tsemah. 5) securing the Bet She'an road-this will require 40 men and several trucks. 6) The same thing for the Yavne'el road. 7) discontinuing the train from Haifa to Tsemah (Jews aren't using it.) Tsemah has become a hub of gangs and from there they offer aid to the Arabs of Tiberias in boats (the Arabs have fishing boats). 8) expediting the fortification of ''Ein Gev and Gesher. 9) [establishing] two additional guard points-between Bet Yosef and Hammadiya and between Gesher and Bet Yosef.
Bahir added, speaking for the son of Mekler from Nahalal: In the Palmach, the men are complaining: a) they're not being given food, clothing, and shoes. 2) there's discrimination between them and the Hayish [the Haganah Field Corps]. 3) Why aren't they being sent on one large operation instead of wasting their strength on small responses? 4) Why do they want to disperse and liquidate them-is it because they're a class-based army?
[Avraham] Herzfeld came: Golda was about to go with him (he set out on Friday from New York) but about an hour before her departure she received a cable instructing her to stay. From Yehuda [Arazi] he received no news, because he told Golda everything but it was said to be "all right." Golda was successful. There are 10 million in America, 7 million they transferred to Switzerland. There will be about twenty million. The American Jews are aware of the situation in Eretz-Israel. They're looking out for security first of all.
Nahum [Shadmi, the Haganah commander in Europe, now on a home visit] advised me of recruitment and ha'apala programs. [Zeev] Schind had a plan for the immigration of 17,000, including 5,500 from Bulgaria and Romania with the permission of the two governments. Yisrael [Amir] came and demanded to raise an army. In Nahum's opinion, 3,500 people can [be trained] in March-April-without commanders. At first they get only detailed training, in April technical, too. 2) For May 15-3,000 in full training (apart from tactical, which "can't be done abroad"), with [training of] squad commanders and platoon commanders from Diaspora people, company commanders and battalion commanders, Eretz-Israel people. They'll also get clothing [uniforms] and [equipment] belts from Europe-maybe also armored vehicles and ambulances. 3) From Eastern Europe (the same), 5,500 young people. It's no longer known whether they will allow 10 instructors from Eretz-Israel to go to Bulgaria and Romania. 4) 1,000 men for a landing in Lebanon (?) [the question mark is Ben-Gurion's].
Nahum has a 30 [-person] staff of instructors. Thirty additional students from Eretz-Israel were mobilized and another 50 received induction orders. (These are students from Eretz-Israel now in France, England, and Switzerland.) There are 400 local instructors (for physical training), including 200 in Germany, 90 in Italy, 45 in France, the rest in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, etc. In Poland there are 70 apart from them.
In France, they're training 300 raw recruits. In the course of April, there will be as many as 1,200 of them; in Italy-700, by the end of April-2,000; in Germany-600.
To carry out the plan, the trainees will need aid from JDC (via Arye Stern [Oron] and Haim Hoffman [Yahil]). To recruit heads of families for army service, the families will need aid. $200,000 will be needed for five months (the recruitment apparatus, training commanders, maintaining the center). Herzfeld advises in the name of Ada [Sereni] that the English are preparing to sink immigrant vessels of ours.
Ian [Yaacov Yannai] returned, too. He bought up the whole order [of signal equipment]-for a quarter million. The first ship with 70 tons (the whole procurement: 250 tons) was supposed to depart today but the voyage was delayed until the 22nd of the month. The ships are concerned about mishaps (evidently-pressure from the English).
Finally a word from Yehuda [Arazi]: the procurement will arrive (a big promise!) only in mid-April. They have to switch ships, and for this reason a delay of 10-15 days [is expected]. 25 anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns with 120,000 rounds will arrive on a separate ship. The bazookas will come on the large aircraft-late next week (this was said late last week). 100 machine guns may also arrive in this manner. The C-46 aircraft (Commando cargo planes) are moving [cargo] to a European base. Pilots will arrive two weeks from now.
[He] bought 22 medium-sized tanks (16 tons each) with 37 mm. cannon for a price of 6,600 each. This will be a separate shipment for May 15. [He] contracted for 76 mm cannon with ammunition, to be received at a French port. This will also be sent on a special ship. He himself will set out for Europe tomorrow.