יומנים > יומן - מלא 22/02/1948

[Sunday,] February 22, 1948

[Eliahu] Krause of Mikve Yisrael is complaining about the overall situation. Alliance [Alliance Israélite Universelle] is insisting on its ownership of Mikve Yisrael but is not contributing even one cent. The Agency isn't helping either. But this time he came on the matter of Mikve [Yisrael]'s defense. The place has 500 students aged 15-18, as well as 50 children up to age 14. There isn't enough equipment or protective gear on site. They only have 30-40 rifles. A 40-man Palmach platoon was staying there until two days ago. Two days ago they left and sent 25 men from Hayish [Haganah Field Corps].

       When the Palmach departed, Krause told them about the early days of guard duty at Sejera 40 years ago, and about the first rifles we were given then. Now he's come to ask for something in exchange…. He's insisting on an additional 25 men and a number of Stens and [heavy] machine guns. [Mikve Yisrael] could come under attack from Tel Arish [today - Tel Giborim] and Yazur. Alex Tchernowitz [Tsur] is the commander in Holon and Aryeh Shapira is the regional commander. I said we'd do everything possible - but what's possible now is less than what's necessary.

       - Hai [Yissacharov] and [Avraham] Rutenberg are going to London today by airplanes. In the meantime it was announced that [the Yishuv's] money in London was frozen [and Palestine was removed from the sterling bloc], and I don't know whether we can use the funds that were collected for us over there for purchases in London.

       Regarding the airplanes, Reuven [Shiloah] telegraphed us on behalf of Freddy [Fredkins], [to say] that one Proctor will arrive in Lod this week and the rest will arrive in due time (?), and Freddy will return when the airplane shipment has been sorted. I therefore agreed with Hai that if these assertions by Freddy are true and there's an arrangement for the delivery of the airplanes he bought - that [they] should limit themselves to buying three Dakotas - and we'll make the payment arrangements after they inquire in London regarding the money situation and its transfer.

       At 10:30 [Chaim] Herzog arrived from Jerusalem. He left around the time of the explosion on Ben-Yehuda Street. He doesn't know the details, but there was a terrible explosion; everyone says it was the work of the English.

       David [Shaltiel] is complaining via Herzog about the matter of rooms [for his headquarters], and Leo Cohen is seeking authorization for the following appointments: [Walter] Eytan - general liaison [communications] officer for the UN Palestine Commission; [Dr.] Arian - economic liaison officer (substituting for Dolik [David Horowitz]), and [Chaim] Herzog - military and police affairs officer in Jerusalem (in Tel Aviv Sacharoff [Yehezkel Sahar]).

       - At twelve a meeting with journalists, without any statement, only Q&A, off the record.

       - Tonight Dan Ben-Amotz left Paris, where he saw Amos Rabel. The first purchase left Czechoslovakia yesterday by way of the Danube and will reach Yugoslavia in four days, and from there it will go by train for six days until it reaches the sea. Only after that will the Arab [Syrian] shipment be dispatched. The second shipment has also left. In order to finish, he needs another $950,000 by February 25, and another 954,000 by March 15. It's possible to get 6.75 [mm] caliber German guns (known as Czech guns). Each gun is $ 16, every thousand bullets $ 47. He's asking to be notified whether we want the 3 million (9 millimeter) bullets. If not - he can pass them up or replace them with others. There's an offer in Vienna for heavy machine [gun]s (Schwarzlose), but he couldn't find [ammunition feeding] belts. In two weeks there will be offers for cannons.

       The second shipment will go either via Hungary to the Black Sea (TA [presumably tapuhei adama - i.e., potatoes, used for concealment]) or via Poland, or via Italy-Vienna - by crates. Ehud [Avriel] is insisting that the departure of Yehuda Briger [Ben-Horin] and [Mordechai] Zagagi be expedited. The "Avigdor" matter was neutralized - reparations were paid.

       - At 4:30 Murilo Marroquim - envoy for Diarios in Brazil, which according to him represents 35 newspapers, 16 broadcasting stations in South America - came to see me. (Aside from Brazil - Argentina, Chile, Colombia, etc.). He presented me with 12 questions: 1) What are the possibilities for the Jewish state's existence - and its place in the Near East? 2) Will it be able to persevere - if the Arab world ostracizes it? 3) Is this the Jews' last war? 4) If the UN postpones the establishment of the state for 3 or 5 years - what will we do? 5) If they rescind the partition resolution in its entirety and impose a mandate, how will we respond? 6) What will the Jewish state be: socialist, capitalist? 7) Would the state participate in a Middle East confederation? 8) What will its foreign policy be in relation to the "East" and the "West"? 9) How will the state affect Jews abroad? 10) Will the state's envoy to Brazil [have to] watch over the Jews of Brazil? 11) What will be the nature of relations between the state and South America? 12) What would I say to the Jews of South America?

       So far I've given him answers to the first 10 questions. As to the last ones - before he leaves the country.

       - Zvi Goldberg [Avidan] (a witness) and Yair Diskin gave me the details of the secessionists' attack on Barclays Bank. The incident began around 7:45 in the morning. They arrived in military automobiles, dressed in military uniforms, speaking English and cursing Jews loudly. They sealed off Allenby Street (next to Montefiore [Street]) with barbed wire; a sergeant major in a steel helmet with a gun on his belt supervised the activity. Others went into the bank. They demanded to be shown the safe. The clerks refused, except for one, Burla (later arrested). Zvi Goldberg was initially certain that they were English, but slowly he recognized that a few of them were Jews and realized that this was a robbery. He telephoned [a Palmach] company. A unit of ours with 10-15 men with Stens arrived; they [the robbers] fled in the direction of Ahad HaAm Street. Our men fired in the air, the secessionists fired downward, and disappeared. [They're] certain that [the robbers] hid (7!) vehicles in an orchard in Petah Tikva. They didn't manage to take any money.

       I instructed Ya'akov [Dori] to order Kiriati to search vehicles. In Goldberg's view the robbers were not from Tel Aviv. He thinks they came from Haifa.

       - Katriel [Katz, Haganah spokesman at the time] informed me of the censorship arrangements: The newspapers pledged to refrain from publishing anything that the "Organization" [Haganah] insists on blocking. On the whole the newspapers accepted this. They set 16 rules. The censors are Gabi Moscovitch [sp.] [Doron] and Captain Motke Brown [sp.] for daily newspapers, [Eliezer] Lazerson [sp.] for weeklies and monthlies. The response committee convenes to discuss things from time to time, and is composed of six editors (chairman - [Yosef] Haftman), Katriel, and the censors. Katriel is complaining about lack of coordination among the institutions. [For example,] there's a news item that the "Organization" prohibits - and the Agency spokesman publishes it. There's also no coordination with [anyone] abroad.