יומנים > יומן - מלא 12/03/1948
Morning-[Yosef] Barfel: 530 men [illegal immigrants] set out from France ([aboard the] Yechiam). Yesterday another 280 headed out from Italy and will receive 530 from France, and the French ship will head back. There's a plan concerning 1,200 additional people from Italy and 160 more from Italy, 500 + 550 from France-all in March. In April, 500 + 500 will set out from Italy. In May, 500 + 500 from Italy. There's a ship in France for 3,500 people in May, and a ship in America for 3,000 people-that's roughly 11,400 altogether up to May. From January 1948 arrived: "Umot Meuchadot" [UM] 537, "Lamed-Heh" ("Etsiyyon") 274, "Jerusalem" 670, "to Komemiyut" 699, "Builders and Fighters" 1,002, 3,182 altogether. I asked: What's the [human] material that's going to come? From now on, we need only men who are suitable for the Haganah, aged 18-35 or so. From Cyprus-Barfel says-4,200 men of unknown age. [If] Schwartz gives the million-we'll still be a million dollars short for the ''aliya [immigration] of 11,400. (It costs $160 per person.) The ''aliya coordinators now: Venia [Pomeance-Hadari] and [Yehuda] Braginsky in Paris, Pino [Ginzburg] in Geneva, Ada [Sereni], [Shmuel] Zelinger and [Shalom] Levine in Italy, Moshe Averbuch is in Paris right now-he wants to return to Romania (if he can). He's coordinating the matter of inductions right now. In the Bricha [the organization that managed the flow of Jewish refugees in Europe]: Ephraim [Dekel]-in Prague (coordinator), Meir Sporn is about to replace him, in Germany-Ernst [Ephraim] Frank [commander of the Bricha in Germany], in Austria-Amos [Ravel], in Italy-Issachar Chaimovitz (of Hanita). [Giora] (Josephtal reports: for March, ''aliya from Cyprus has been approved: 3,200 children aged 14-17 and another 250 for the regular. Some 24,000 people will remain in Cyprus.) The two large ships for May (from France and America) are heading for East European countries, Yugoslavia or Bulgaria, for ''olim [immigrants] from Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania. [Haim] Ariav: The Rosh Ha'ayin-Petah Tikva [railroad] line is operating, bringing fuel and other commodities from Haifa. Guards and fortifications are needed on that route. There are two bridges and the commander insists that they be fortified; otherwise, he'll take away the guards. He asks him to delay the order and to give money for the fortifications. They wanted to impose a tax on trade-Pinkas said that the Situation Committee will give the money. I announced that I would not deal with these two matters. An order to a local commander-that's something for Headquarters to deal with. Money for a bridge-it's not part of the defense budget. It may be possible to buy the military hospital in Bir Salem. I sent it to [Max] Schumacher, who's dealing with buying camps. He complains about the induction of all the young people in Nes Tsiyyona. They're being posted to the Field Corps and the town is emptying out. It's a general problem in all the small locations-and it has to be worked out. - A shipment of 34 tons [of TNT], 47,000 primers, 130,000 detos [detonators], 43 kilometers of wicks, 108,000 Breda [Italian machine gun] rounds, 60,000 Mauser rounds, and 120,000 firing pins has arrived. An import license for a vehicle from America has been obtained. - I inquired with Yisrael [Galili] and Yigael S. [Sukenik = Yadin], Negev staff, strike battalions, and the naval service. Yisrael proposes that the Palmach battalions in the Negev be made available to Negev staff and that their connection with Palmach staff be limited to training grounds, switching units around, commanders' in-service training. I accepted the principle-and I'll still check the details of the connection. As for the problem of strike force and reserve mobility-Yigal thinks-the reserve will be made up of strike battalions and the strike force will operate in one of the areas-it will be subordinated to the area commander but it'll be a special force with its own staff, subordinate to the High Command. As for the naval service-I have designated a special naval service, unrelated to any battalion of the Palmach. Yisrael suggests that Even-Zohar be sent to coordinate the shipment in Europe. Once there, he will also coordinate relations with our people and coordinate their activity. "Stone" [Mickey Stone, Col. David Marcus] also has to be given an official status-Deputy Chief of General Staff. Yisrael agrees.