יומנים > יומן - מלא 14/05/1948

Friday, May 14, 1948

At 4 this afternoon Jewish independence was declared and the state was established. Its fate is in the hands of the security forces.

       - Immediately after the proclamation ceremony I returned to the [Command] headquarters [at the "Red House" on the Tel Aviv coast] and we discussed the escalating situation. Disturbing news [is reaching us] about armed columns of the [Arab] Legion and enemy concentrations in Mafraq [northern Transjordan] and Syria. According to some [sources] - around Lod too. On the other hand, our forces have reached the isolated settlements in the Western Galilee, and Achziv and Bassa [Betzet] have fallen [into our hands]. The police school in Jerusalem and other important outposts have also been captured [by us].

       We decided to "commandeer" rifles from farms [i.e., farming communities - kibbutzim or moshavim] for a new brigade [the 7th Armored Brigade], to accelerate production, and [to set up] anti-tank barricades.

       Nearly all the [General] Staff objected to my position that we should mobilize a larger force and make a more determined effort to capture the areas around the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road, between Hulda and Sha'ar HaGai. [Their] argument is that we don't have the necessary forces and don't know the enemy's plans. Without an explicit decision by the yod-gimmel ["the 13," the Provisional Government] (I'm not used to saying government yet), I didn't want to issue an order that disregarded the views of all the Staff members, but I feel that they missed and continue to miss the opportunity for a conquest that would determine the fate of Jerusalem - and perhaps of the entire war.

       In the evening we also received disturbing news from the Negev.

       Will Tel Aviv be bombed tonight?