יומנים > יומן - מלא 11/01/1948
Sunday, January 11, 1948
Rabin came to see me again. The land that's for sale is in ''Akir [Tel Nof]. There are 100 houses and barracks there. Cohen's wife is prepared to fly to the site with our people today. I asked Aharon [Remez] and Yitzhak Levi [of the aeronautics procurement team] to handle the matter.
- Shkolnik [Levi Eshkol] and [Binyamin] Avniel [director of the draft center]: overall the conscription is not going badly, but there are about 30% who haven't reported for duty. According to Avniel there are about 3,000-3,500 draft-age men in ETZEL. In LEHI there are few. They're going to assess 20,000 factory workers. Taking men from factories and other workplaces is difficult. After negotiations an agreement was reached on a "vacation bank" - each worker would donate one vacation day out of every six vacation days, and the employer would pay for a day and a half-day of vacation, and 200,000 vacation days would be pooled. However, [David] Zvi Pinkas from the Situation Committee is delaying this, because it will interfere with the fundraising campaign.
I promised to clear up the whole problem immediately after Kaplan arrives.
- Aharon Glazer [sp.], supervisor of the Histadrut's vocational schools: there are six vocational schools, the oldest one is the Max Fein School [in Tel Aviv]. 200 students: welding, electricity, mechanics (vehicle repair); a school in Jerusalem (Amal), 80 students - mechanical welding, with a chemistry track; a school in Hadera for woodworking, 29 students, is in dire straits; a school in Kiryat Haim for water facilities and industrial mechanics; a school in Safed, 60 students, mostly from ''Aliyat HaNo'ar [Youth Aliyah, a Zionist movement that handled the immigration and agricultural training of young Jews], precision mechanics; a school in Tiberias for agricultural mechanics.
I asked him if he could prepare a curriculum for conscripts who don't have a vocation to learn a vocation, and improvement for those who have a substandard [grasp of a] vocation. Glazer asks which are the vocations in which we have a shortage. Jewish vocations, actually: bakers, tailors, printers, shoemakers, because the youth aren't choosing these vocations. Glazer will consult with [Israel] Marminski [Merom] and school principals and bring me a proposal.
- Dr. A. Katznelson [Nissan] and Dr. Meir came again - they're fervently demanding P£ 25,000 for healthcare. I told them I'll reverse the order: they'll be those on whom demands are made and I'll be the demander. Within the Staff a medical branch will be set up to handle the healthcare needs of the "Organization," and they'll handle the Yishuv's healthcare needs. I asked them for a candidate: they propose Dr. Raphael Gjebin, deputy director of the municipal hospital in Tel Aviv. He was [a doctor for] four years in the British army. Dr. Meir proposes - as a second candidate - Dr. Sheeber [Sheba].
- Ehud [Avriel] telegraphs (January 8): The treasurer allocated us $ 750,000 immediately for Czechoslovakia, aside from the 500,000 for Alon [Yehuda Arazi]. He promised another 500,000 for Europe before the end of February. This means reducing activity in Italy and limiting Bulgaria and the France plan.
- Yosef Yizraeli proposes that Arthur [Asher Ben-Natan] be appointed liaison with the emissaries abroad for matter[s] of the Haganah, the Bricha [a movement that managed the flow of Jewish refugees in Europe and the USSR] and the Mossad [le-''Aliya Bet]. I agreed to this, his salary [will be] level 5 in the "Organization" (= level in the [Jewish] Agency).
- Elhanan [Vanhozker [sp.]-Yishai] and [Yehiel] Duvdevani: Elhanan wants to enlist 25 members as a core group to approach the conscripts [for hasbara and instructional activities]. He himself is a platoon commander - but he can't join the Palmach because he comes from Hayish…. I asked for some time to review the question. The recruits should not be seen as an "army" - and there will be a need for educational activity throughout the Yishuv, and among youth. There's more to discuss in terms of territorial blocs: Negev, the north, which need educational activity alongside the military activity.
- Zabrasky informs me that this morning he, Baruch [Rabinov], and others finished the projected budget calculations: the investments (aside from procurement abroad) - P£ 2,300,000. Upkeep of services through the end of July (in effect 6 - 6½ months) - 3 million. Upkeep of all the recruits for three additional months (through the end of October) - two million.
Where will we take these sums from?
- Gershon Zak returned from America last week after a stay of about a week in Paris. [Isaac] Hamlin [American Labor Zionist leader] did not help him. P. Goverman is sick and it isn't even possible to speak with him. [Avraham] Dickenstein helped a great deal. Through him he obtained $ 100,000, from the Pioneer Women 30,000, from various committees 20,000. He was promised stipends [for Beit Berl] for five years: from Ampal $ 6,000 per year, in Detroit 6,000, in Boston 6,000, in Cincinnati 6,000.
A central committee was established for activities on behalf of Beit Berl: Heller as president, Dickenstein secretary, Maurice Sheeber [sp.] - treasurer; assistant - Altman (from the [movement Dror Ha-]Bonim). 250 of the Bonim are prepared to immigrate here immediately - by any means.
[Gershon Zak reports that there are] complaints about procurements - and a need for centralization. Regarding Paris, Gershon reports on problems: Nahum [Shadmi] is surrounded by people from hostile [political] parties. His secretary and deputy - members of HaShomer HaTza'ir. The commanders in Italy, Hungary, Poland, Germany, and Austria: members of HaShomer HaTza'ir. In Romania it's someone from Si'ah Bet [Faction B within Mapai].
All the funds of the Haganah, the Bricha, and the Mossad are concentrated in the hands of Pino [Pinchas Ginzburg]. Ephraim [Dekel], [Ya'akov] Eshkoli (Mossad treasurer), [Haim] Shurer, Ross [Neta Razin] [sp.] [Aliya Dalet], and Cooper [sp.] (No'ar VeHalutz) told Gershon that the three branches [the Haganah, the Bricha, and the Mossad] were united per an order from the country.
The members [of the Hitahdut, a union of HaPo'el HaTza'ir and the right wing of the Tze'irei Zion movement] who came to Paris from Poland - [Moshe] Steinberg [Sarig] (chairman) and Shatz complain that members of HaShomer HaTza'ir and Si'ah Bet [in Poland] are indirectly informing on our members. [Moshe] Sneh's announcement caused a great deal of harm to the movement.
Some of the children's homes that are supported by Joint money are headed by communists and assimilationists.
[Marc] Jarblum wants to send 15 [Po'alei Zion] members from France to Beit Berl.
- Dobkin informs me that P£ 150,000 has already been received from [South] Africa and P£ 62,500 from England.
- On the morning of the 8th of this month [Dr.] Khalidi [sp.] speaks from Jerusalem with Farid Bek of Haifa: "Things are hard for us in Jerusalem. The neighborhood of Katamon has been evacuated. Sheikh Jarrah was abandoned, half [the residents] of Musrara left. Neither money nor men are being sent - it's like we're in transit here. For months now I've been phoning and phoning [the Mufti in] (Egypt). I'm going out of my mind."
Farid Bek tells Khalidi: "Jerusalem and Haifa cannot do anything but defend themselves. The situation is tough. You cannot imagine the situation outside."
Khalidi answers: "And they're sitting down and forming a government."
Farid replies: "And those who are here are the ones dying daily. That's how it is for us, that's how it is for you. And that's how is in Jaffa."
Khalidi comments: "In Jaffa it's worse. Everyone is leaving."
On the same day Muhammad Ali Salah speaks with an unnamed man (10:40 a.m.): "Why are you [plural] going to Tulkarm?"
Unnamed man: "Because we're used to going every week."
Muhammad Ali Salah: "But the route is unsafe, because Sheikh Jarrah is in constant danger and under fire from the Jews. Yesterday they overturned a bus that was heading to Ramallah. As of now they're still shooting there. At the moment there are no Arab guards on site. The Jews are firing on the route. Why aren't Arab guards being stationed during daytime? It seems to me that Sheikh Jarrah is lost. Our men are not worth a penny. It's good that the Jews don't know the truth --- [dashes in the original] no communication among the various cities. We don't want the Jews to know the truth about Sheikh Jarrah. It's emptied out entirely and there's no one there. We need to ensure that the Jews don't discover our situation."
On the same day Stephen (?) tells Muhammad Ali, from the [Arab] Higher Committee (regarding the severing of telegraph lines by Arabs): "I wish to tell you - we're only sabotaging and ruining things for ourselves. [People] entered Hebron and stole all the mail there. This harms the Arab cause. There are a few clerks who don't want to work [in the post office] in the Old City, because they're afraid. Look at the Jews in their own branches - they're all working. Why can't the Arabs work in their branches?"
On the 9th of this month at 6:50 p.m. an unnamed man from Gaza informs the newspaper al-Difa': "The Haganah attacked the village --- [dashes in the original] in large number. All the young men of Gaza came out armed with automatic weapons. They killed 39 Jews and captured 10 and brought them to the Gaza police station. They decapitated the heads of five Haganah men and carried them on display through the streets of Gaza. There was great joy in Gaza and they don't remember such a happy day in years."
- Shkolnik [Levi Eshkol] and Kozlowski [Pinchas Sapir]: We've founded a company: Solel Boneh, HaMashbir, and the Central Company (of Gershon Gurevitch [sp.], Haim [sp.] Taiber) for the purpose of procurements. First of all 100 armored automobiles (in America, half-tracks) - half-tractor [as termed during Israel's War of Independence] (costs $ 1,550 in New York); barbed wire from the army, barrels, etc.
Shkolnik proposes that this company be recognized as the only agency [for procurement] (this could cause an uproar). In my view it's enough that it be recognized as a procurement agency [not an exclusive one].