יומנים > יומן - מלא 15/02/1948
Sunday, 15 February 1948
In the morning I went to Jerusalem, via Moledet-Masmiyya. Nothing happened along the way.
[Jewish Agency] Executive meeting. Discussed the Government Council. At Gruenbaum's request - the vote was postponed. The meeting lasted until 3 p.m.
- At four I spoke with B. Joseph [Dov Yosef] regarding Jerusalem matters:
Water: It turns out that there are pits for 30,000 cubic meters (Jerusalem's Jews need 1,000 c.m. [cubic meters] daily). As of now the pits are two-thirds full. In ten days they'll all be full [with rainwater]. This will be enough for a month or slightly longer. In my view water should be guaranteed up until the rainy days of the [1948-1949] winter. Towards this end, additional pits have to be dug and containers prepared. There's a government pool in Romema (on Jewish land) that contains 20,000 c.m.. Currently British guards are watching over the pool. The army has tanks of water. They should be bought (Riklis is coordinating purchases from the army here - also need to see [Zvi] Leibowitz, the city engineer!)
They're planning to prepare an oil [kerosene] reserve - in pits of 600 c.m. - this will be enough for six weeks.
Food stocks are not known because the wholesalers are hiding the quantities in their possession. They want HaMashbir to bring food stocks of P£ 50,000 (last Saturday they brought 500 tons; they want to bring another 3,000 tons - this will last about two months.[)] Every day a special convoy of 25 vehicles arrives - solely for stocks. Each vehicle brings 4-5 tons. Next Saturday they'll bring another 200 vehicles. There's a warehouse belonging to the Steel [Brothers Ltd., a British company contracted by the government to provide supplies] with 900 tons of flour (for the Yishuv) at Schneller [Camp].
These arrangements are not adequate.
In particular - employment needs to be arranged, because hundreds of immigrants will need to be brought to Jerusalem.
- [Eliahu] Dobkin is optimistic about the defense appeals [fundraising campaigns] in various countries. In South Africa the women want to send two air ambulances, and the Zionists want to train 20 pilots - [training for] each one will cost P£ 10. There's a defense appeal in 28 countries. [We] need a film about the Haganah. Norman Lurie [sp.] is prepared to make it - if he's given an armored vehicle. Dobkin wants a representative of the defense [establishment] for the overseas recruitment committee (Abe [Abraham] Herman, [Giora] Josephtal, a representative of the Labor Deparment).
Uruguay sent Hammer $ 100,000 for defense, and also P£ 22,000 (?). Ruth [Aliav] transferred $ 300,000 from Argentina to the Mossad.
- I reviewed financial matters with [Eliezer] Kaplan. I insisted that defense finances not be mixed up with [general] finances. I don't mind if Hammer coordinates finances - but he won't receive instructions about these funds from Kaplan. He has the final say in Europe.
Kaplan reports that Granovski [Dr. Granot, KKL director-general] is insisting on half of Golda's funds (?!). At present Granovski is also refusing to provide a guarantee for the Anglo-Palestine Bank's loan of 2 million. He's only willing to go up to half a million.
- In the evening I sat down with David [Shaltiel, who was appointed Jerusalem commander in early February]. He admitted that he'd issued an order at his own initiative - to forcefully resist searches and arrests [by the British]. I told him that even if the order was appropriate - he had no authority to do so, and he should have proposed it to the Supreme Command and received authorization or not, and that assuming the authority in this regard is a serious [matter]. He promised that it would not happen again. He complained about the situation in Jerusalem: 1) The members of his staff (63 men) are scattered - he needs 22 rooms in one place. This is only possible in the Agency [building]. He has 1,500 recruits, aside from 2,000 in the garrison force and 2,000 in the People's Guard. But there's no equipment. In the entire district there are only 350 rifles, 400 Stens, a few hundred handguns (aside from the legal weapons at the [British guard stations] in the district, and aside from weapons belonging to the settlements). In the city itself there are 300 Stens, 150 rifles, and a few handguns.
[They] need material for fortifications, barbed wire, mines, lighting. Another 150 Stens are imperative for the municipal reserve. He isn't receiving money for personnel upkeep (he's maintaining 1,800 men) and he lacks clothing and shoes for them. There are no beds or mattresses.
Finally I sat down with Aharon [Katzir]: 1) Shimshon: there's 20 kg. In two weeks half a ton. Ta'as has been transferred to Tel Aviv. 2) X: there's 300 gr. The X manufacturers have also transferred to Tel Aviv. 3) It's possible to get half a ton of X(b) in America at $ 10,000. X(b) has a twentieth of the power of X. 4) Under Alex Kutznik [Keynan]'s leadership, the investigation and logging of water sources is coming to a close. 5) Need $ 25,000 in America for scientific purchases - the money should be made available to Ephraim [Katzir]. 6) A shell that can toss 4 kg of Shimshon a distance of 6-800 meters is being built (in Tel Aviv). [Construction of] the large flamethrower is coming to an end. It ejects a ton of fuel in one minute. About 100 students are working on these issues. They need to be consolidated as a special brigade - to be sent anywhere as needed. His brother [Ephraim Katzir] sent us three (infrared) night-vision lenses. [They make] everything within a distance of 100 meters visible in the dark. A lens costs $ 120. His brother brought 100 lenses. Need to buy another 250 (will cost $30,000). A [military] factory needs to be established in Jerusalem. This will require P£ 20,000.
- At 10 p.m. Hillel [Landsmann, from the Upper Galilee] cabled: Last night Sheikh Hussein Bridge, a bridge northwest of Metulla, a bridge northeast of Metulla, [and] a bridge near Kafr Tarbikha were attacked and Kafr Sa'sa' was attacked [by us].