The Sword And The Olive

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The Sword And The Olive Page 50

by van Creveld, Martin


  6 Y. Ratner, Chayai Ve-ani [My Life and I] (Tel Aviv: Schocken, 1978), p. 262.

  7 A facsimile of the document is printed in Di-nur, Sefer Toldot Ha-hagana, vol. 1, pt. 2, p. 527.

  8 Y. Elam, Ha-gdudim Ha-ivriyim [The Jewish Battalions] (Tel Aviv: Zmora Bitan, 1984), pp. 259-266.

  9 See on this phenomenon A. Kadish, La-meshek Ve-la-neshek [To Farms and Arms] (Tel Aviv: Tag, 1995), pp. 190-191.

  10 A. Gorali, Judge-Advocate General, Report, September 5, 1948, TSAHAL Archive, file 121/50/221.

  11 Y. Horowitz, Mah Chidesh Ha-FOSH [FOSH Innovations] (Ranana: Snunit, 1985), p. 18.

  12 What little is known about the nodedot is summarized in M. Pail, Min Ha-hagana Li-Tsva Hagana [From Hagana to IDF] (Tel Aviv: Zmora Bitan, 1979), p. 133 ff.

  13 See on this entire question A. Shapira, Cherev Ha-yona [The Dove’s Sword] (Tel Aviv: Am Oved, 1992), p. 156 ff.

  14 Th. Herzl, Old-New Land (New York: Bloch, 1960 [1898]), p. 116.

  15 E.g., Sh. Yavnieli, Bi-yme Ha-keev [In the Days of Pain], Igeret (May 1921); Y. Aharonovitsh, Le-achar Ha-praot [After the Pogroms], Ha-poel Ha-tsair (May 13, 1921).

  16 E.g., Y. Brenner, Mi-Pinkas [From the Notebook], Kontras (April 1921); D. Ben Gurion, Anachnu Ve-shchenenu [We and Our Neighbors] (Tel Aviv: Davar, 1931), p. 61. For a low-level English-language exposition of the same idea see D. Duff, Palestine Picture (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1936), p. 295 ff.

  17 The Sheik’s story is told in Ch. Knaan, Be-enei Shoter Palestinai [Through the Eyes of a Palestinian Policeman] (Tel Aviv: Masada, 1980), pp. 7-32.

  18 On the beginning of the uprising see Ts. El-Peleg, “Ha-mered Ha-aravi, Hearot Mashlimot” [The Arab Uprising: Supplementary Remarks], in Ministry of Defense, ed., Tsva Ha-medina Ba-derech [Army on the Way to the State] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1988), p. 106 ff.

  19 Based on Knaan, Be-enei Shoter Palestinai, p. 79 ff., which constitutes an eyewitness account.

  20 The best source for Kauji’s activities is E. Danin, ed., Ha-knufiot Ha-araviot Bi-Meoraot 1936-1939 [The Arab Gangs in the Events of 1936-1939] (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1981), pp. 1-8.

  21 Figures on casualties may be found in W. Khalidi, ed., From Haven to Conquest: Readings in Zionism and the Palestine Problem Until 1948 (Beirut: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1971), app. 4, pp. 846-849.

  22 Data from S. Slutski, Kitsur Toldot Ha-hagana [Concise History of Hagana] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1986), p. 181.

  23 Y. Avidar, Ba-derech Le-TSAHAL [On the Way to TSAHAL] (Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1970), p. 115.

  24 A convenient account of British-Jewish military cooperation during this time was written by Ben Gurion and published in Jewish Observer and the Middle East Review (September 20, 1963): 13-14.

  25 An English translation of his article, “Our Friend: What Wingate Did for Us” (1963), may be found in Khalidi, From Haven to Conquest, pp. 382-388.

  26 See the colorful account in L. Mosley, Gideon Goes to War (London: Barker, 1955), pp. 55-64.

  27 Details on Sadeh’s life to this point may be found in Ts. Dror, Matsbi Le-lo Srara: Sipur-Chayav shel Yitschak Sadeh (Commander Without Power: The Life of Yitschak Sadeh] (Tel Aviv: Ha-kibbuts Ha-meuchad, 1996), pp. 1-124.

  28 Abdu testimony, Hagana Archive, No. 1829.

  29 The decision is printed in Khalidi, From Haven to Conquest, pp. 331-333.

  30 Cf. figures in Asaf, Ha-yechasim ben Yehudim Le-aravim, p. 216.

  31 Y. Horowitz, Ma Chidesh Ha-FOSH, p. 25.

  32 Cf. ibid., pp. 164-165; also Pail, Min Ha-hagana Li-tsva Hagana, pp. 154-160.

  33 There is a list of its operations in Pail, Min Ha-hagana Li-tsva Hagana, pp. 176-177.

  34 An account of the Patria episode may be found in M. Merdor, Shlichut Aluma: Pirke Mivtsaim Meyuchadim Be-maarchot Ha-hagana [Secret Mission: Special Operations in the History of Hagana] (Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1957), pp. 23-25.

  35 For the importance of this episode in Dayan’s own life see S. Teveth, Moshe Dayan: The Soldier, the Man, the Legend (London: Quartet, 1972), chap. 8.

  36 For this and other attempts to curtail Hagana see Slutski, Kitsur Toldot Ha-hagana, pp. 297-300.

  37 Cf. Y. Avigur, Ba-derech Le-TSAHAL: Zichronot [Memoirs on the Road to TSAHAL] (Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1970), pp. 154-155.

  38 Figures from Ben Gurion, Jewish Observer and Middle East Review (September 27, 1963): 17-18.

  CHAPTER 4

  1 The episode is described in Y. Sadeh, “Im Zecher Ha-sira: Ech Naflu Giborim” [In Memory of the Boat: How Heroes Fell], Maarachot 33:4 (May 1946); also D. Hacohen, Et Le-saper [A Time to Tell] (Tel Aviv: Am Oved, 1974), pp. 165-174.

  2 On this episode see S. Teveth, Moshe Dayan: The Soldier, the Man, the Legend (London: Quartet, 1972), p. 137 ff.; also G. Warner, Iraq and Syria, 1941 (London: Davis-Poynter, 1974), chap. 5.

  3 The precise figures were: training: 9 days per month; work: 13.6 days; leave and sickness: 2.6 days; total: 25.2, Saturdays excluded. A day’s labor was valued at 0.5 Palestinian pounds, the PALMACHniks’ maintenance budget stood at rather less than 7 pounds per month—paltry even by the standards of those days. U. Brenner, Le-tsava Yehudi Atsmai: Ha-kibbuts Ha-meuchad Ba-hagana 1939-1945 [Toward an Independent Jewish Army: The United Kibbuts Movement in Defense 1939-1945] (Efal: Yad Tabenkin, 1985), p. 148.

  4 U. Narkis, Chayal shel Yerushalayim [A Soldier for Jerusalem] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1991), p. 52.

  5 The best recent work on PALMACH ideology is A. Kadish, La-meshek Ve-la-neshek [To Farms and Arms] (Tel Aviv: Tag, 1995), particularly chap. 7.

  6 Ts. Dror, Matsbi Le-lo Srara: Sipur-Chayav shel Yitschak Sadeh (Commander Without Power: The Life of Yitschak Sadeh] (Tel Aviv: Ha-kibbuts Ha-meuchad, 1996), p. 210.

  7 The best source for the plan is U. Brenner, Le-nochach Iyum Ha-plisha Ha-germanit Leerets Yisrael, 1940-1942 [Confronting the Menace of a German Invasion of Palestine, 1940-1942] (Efal: Yad Tabenkin, 1985).

  8 Dror, Matsbi Le-lo Srara, p. 214; Ch. Knaan, Matayim Yeme Charada [Two Hundred Days of Fear] (Tel Aviv: Art, 1975), pp. 245-247.

  9 Y. Gelber, “Ha-mediniyut Ha-britit Ve-hatsiyonit, 1942-1944” [British and Zionist Policy, 1942-1944], Ha-tsiyonut 7 (1981): 335 ff.

  10 S. Slutski, Kitsur Toldot Ha-hagana [Concise History of Hagana] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1986), p. 304.

  11 H. Gofer, Ha-mishmar al Ha-chof [The Guard on the Shore] (Tel Aviv: TAG, 1995).

  12 For a breakdown of those who served in the various forces see ibid., p. 376.

  13 For the attempts to set up a Jewish brigade and the authorities’ attempts to frustrate them, see Y. Gelber, “Mekomah shel Ha-hitnadvut La-tsava Ha-briti Ba-mediniyut Hatsiyonit, 1939-1942” [The Role of the Volunteer Movement to the British Army in Zionist Policy, 1939-1942] (Ph.D. thesis, Haifa University, 1977).

  14 The differences are discussed in U. Ben Eliezer, Derech Ha-kavenet: Hivatsruto shel Ha-militarizm Ha-yisraeli, 1936-1956 [Through the Gunsight: The Emergence of Israeli Militarism, 1936-1956] (Tel Aviv: Dvir, 1995), p. 117 ff.

  15 M. Dayan, Avnei Derech [Memoirs] (Tel Aviv: Dvir, 1976), p. 39.

  16 A. Koestler, Thieves in the Night: Chronicle of an Experiment (New York: MacMillan, 1946), p. 152. The full quote runs: “These stumpy, dumpy girls with their rather coarse features, big buttocks and heavy breasts, psychically precocious, mentally retarded, over ripe and immature at the same time; and these raw, arse-slapping youngsters, callow, dumb and heavy, with their aggressive laughter and unmodulated voices.”

  17 M. Naor, Laskov: Lochem, Adam, Chaver [Laskov: The Soldier, the Man, the Friend] (Jerusalem: Keter, 1988), p. 128.

  18 The 1939 figures: investment: 14,475 pounds; employees: 25; production 5,508 pounds. The 1944 figures: 97,500 pounds; employees: 140; production: 32,577 pounds. Source: Y. Evron, Ha-Taasiya Ha-bitchonit [The Defense Industries] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1980), pp. 61-62.

  19 U. Milstein, Toldot Milchemet Ha-atsmaut [The War of Independence] (Tel Aviv: Zmora Bitan, 198
9), vol. 1, p. 232.

  20 Slutski, Kitsur Toldot Ha-hagana, p. 463.

  21 Y. Arnon-Ochana, “Ha-machane Ha-aravi Bi-meoraot 1936-1939” [The Arabs During the Events of 1936-1939], in Ministry of Defense, ed., Tsva Ha-medina Ba-derech [Army on the Way to the State] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1988), pp. 96-105.

  22 These operations are described in detail in Y. Avidar, Ba-derech Le-TSAHAL [On the Way to TSAHAL] (Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1970), pp. 115., 233-237.

  23 Cf. above all L. Pyenson, Civilizing Mission: Exact Science and French Expansion, 1870-1940 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993).

  24 For Jabotinsky’s views see R. Bilski-Ben Hur, Every Individual a King: The Social and Political Thought of Zeev Vladimir Jabotinsky (Washington, D.C.: Bnai Brith, 1993), p. 111 ff. (the Arab question), pp. 46 ff. and 214 ff. (militarism).

  25 Lecture by Dr. Y. Eldad, Tel Aviv, September 1, 1989 (eyewitness account).

  26 Cf. J. Heller, The Stern Gang: Ideology, Politics, and Terror, 1940-1949 (London: Frank Cass, 1993), particularly pp. 289-296.

  27 On the so-called season see Y. Bauer, Diplomatya U-Machteret Ba-mediniyut Hatsiyonit, 1939-1945 [Diplomacy and Underground in Zionism, 1939-1945] (Tel Aviv: Sifriyat Ha-poalim, 1966), pp. 275-283.

  28 R. Crossman, Palestine Mission (London: Hamilton, 1947), p. 139.

  29 For the debates that led Hagana in particular to follow this policy see J. Heller, “‘Neither Masada nor Vichy’: Diplomacy and Resistance in Zionist Politics, 1945-1947,” The International Historical Review 3:4 (October 1981): 517-539.

  30 D. A. Charters, The British Army and the Jewish Insurgency in Palestine, 1945-1947 (London: MacMillan, 1989), p. 196.

  31 A. Dankner, Dan Ben Amots, Biographia [Dan Ben Amots—a Biography] (Jerusalem: Keter, 1992), pp. 92, 98. Dan Ben Amots was a PALYAM member who later became a well-known journalist and satirist.

  32 A detailed analysis of the attempts at illegal immigration, and their interception by the British, is presented in N. Bogner, Sfinot Ha-meri [The Ships of the Revolt] (Efal: Yad Tabenkin, 1993).

  33 The Star, September 8, 1947, p. 11; The Daily Telegraph, September 8, 1947, p. 12; and The News Chronicle, September 8, 1947, pp. 1 and 7.

  34 Hagana’s activities in Cyprus are described in N. Bogner, “Shurot Ha-meginim” [The Defenders], in G. Rivlin, ed., Ale-Zayit Ve-cherev: Mekorot U-mechkarim Be-ginze Ha-hagana [Olive Leaves and Sword: Sources and Studies in the Hagana Archives] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1990), pp. 177-205.

  35 For a breakdown see H. Lebenberg, The Military Preparations of the Arab Community in Palestine, 1945-1948 (London: Cass, 1993), p. 94.

  36 Cf. L. James, Imperial Rearguard: Wars of Empire, 1919-1985 (London: Brassey’s, 1988), p. 94.

  37 A. Horne, A Savage War for Peace (London: MacMillan, 1979), p. 566.

  38 Field Marshal John Dill, Chief of the General Staff, 1941, quoted in James, Imperial Rearguard, p. 96.

  39 Cf. R. D. Wilson, Cordon and Search: With 6th Airborne Division in Palestine (Aldershot: Gale and Polden, 1949), app. K, pp. 230-246.

  40 Charters, The British Army, p. 87.

  41 Field Marshal Montgomery to General Dempsey, Commander, British Forces, Middle East, June 27, 1946, quoted in A. Nachmani, “Generals at Bay in Post-War Palestine,” Journal of Strategic Studies 4:6 (December 1983): 68.

  42 Life in the camp is described by A. Krinitsi, Be-Koach Ha-maase [By the Deed] (Tel Aviv: Masada, 1959), pp. 182-190. In the end, since nothing could be definitely proven against them, almost all the detainees were released.

  43 Figures from Slutski, Kitsur Toldot Ha-hagana, p. 426.

  44 Avidar, Ba-derech Le-TSAHAL, pp. 238-239.

  45 Cf. J. Heller, “Neither Masada—Nor Vichy: Diplomacy and Resistance in Zionist Politics, 1945-1947,” The International History Review 3:4 (October 1981): 558-559.

  46 M. Begin, The Revolt (New York: Dell, 1977), pp. 285-287.

  47 LECHI poster printed in Y. Nedavah, Mi Geresh et Ha-Britim Me-erets Yisrael [Who Expelled the British from the Land of Israel] (Tel Aviv: Ha-amuta Le-hafatsat Todaah Leumit, 1988), p. 60.

  48 A book-length account of this episode is A. Eshel, Shvirat Ha-gadromim: Parashat Chatifatam Ve-tliyatam shel Ha-serjentim im Chasifat Mismechei Ha-hagana [Breaking the Gallows: The Kidnapping and Hanging of the British Sergeants in the Light of Hagana Documents] (Tel Aviv: Zmora Bitan, 1990).

  49 Cf. M. J. Cohen, Palestine and the Great Powers, 1945-1948 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982).

  50 Charters, The British Army, chap. 5; Nachmani, “Generals at Bay,” p. 70 ff.

  51 B. L. Montgomery, The Memoirs of Montgomery of Alamein (London: Collins, 1958), p. 468.

  52 C. von Clausewitz, On War (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976), p. 127.

  53 House of Commons (HC) Debates, vol. 441. The same source puts the number of soldiers, policemen, and civilians killed and wounded at 79/40, 16/180, and 69/10 respectively.

  54 Lord Davies as quoted in A. Koestler, Promise and Fulfillment: Palestine, 1917-1949 (London: MacMillan, 1949), p. 62.

  55 Cf. B. J. Evensen, Truman, Palestine, and the Press: Shaping Conventional Wisdom at the Beginning of the Cold War (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1992), for the effect on American public opinion in particular.

  56 Quoted in James, Imperial Rearguard, p. 100.

  57 Quoted in Begin, The Revolt, p. 313.

  58 Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War (Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1954), p. 360.

  CHAPTER 5

  1 This and the following paragraphs based on Z. Ostfeld, Tsava Nolad: Shlavim Ikariyim Bi-bniyat Ha-tsava Be-hanhagato shel Ben Gurion [An Army Is Born: Main Stages in the Buildup of the Army Under the Leadership of Ben Gurion] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1993), vol. 1, p. 18 ff.

  2 The committee’s establishment is described in D. Almog, Ha-rechesh Be-artsot Ha-brit, 1945-1949 [Arms Acquisition in the U.S., 1945-1949] (Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1987), pp. 30-31.

  3 The reasons for the change are discussed in Y. Gelber, Lamah Perku et Ha-PALMACH? [Why Did They Abolish PALMACH?] (Tel Aviv: Schoken, 1 986), chap. 8; also, at much greater length, in M. Pail and A. Ronen, Maavake Koach Ba-tsameret Ba-derech Le-nitsachon Be-milchemet Ha-atsmaut [Trials of Strength at the Top on the Way to Victory in the War of Independence] (Efal: Yad Galili, 1991).

  4 The article, called “Hatsaa Chashuva” [An Important Proposal], was published in Leachdut Ha-avoda 113 (October 15, 1946). Cf. also Ts. Dror, Matsbi Le-lo Srara: Sipur-Chayav shel Yitschak Sadeh (Commander Without Power: The Life of Yitschak Sadeh] (Tel Aviv: Ha-kibbuts Ha-meuchad, 1996), chap. 18.

  5 For the differences between the two systems see M. van Creveld, Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945 (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1982), chap. 6.

  6 Figures in Ostfeld, Tsava Nolad, vol. 1, p. 54.

  7 COS note, January 13, 1948, TSAHAL Archive, 5205/49/14, quoting British document.

  8 Data on these forces in Y. Shimoni, Arviye Erets Yisrael [The Arabs of Erets Yisrael] (Tel Aviv: Am Oved, 1947), pp. 376-377.

  9 IDF, Historical Department, Toldot Milchemet Ha-komemiyut [History of the War of Independence] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1959), p. 69.

  10 Quoted in A. Koestler, Promise and Fulfillment: Palestine, 1917-1949 (London: MacMillan, 1949), p. 156. Lebenberg, The Military Preparations of the Arab Community in Palestine, 1945-1948 (London: Cass, 1993), p. 200, puts the number at 6,000.

  11 On the early history of the Arab Legion see J. B. Glubb, The Story of the Arab Legion (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1948), chaps. 1-11.

  12 On the strength and organization of the Arab Legion see Abdullah al Tal, Zichronot [Memoirs] (Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1960), pp. 66-67. According to him the Arab Legion forces in Palestine had 84 armored cars and 131 guns of various calibers.

  13 The negotiations were summed up by Ms. Meir’s assistant, E. Danin, in Zionist Archive Doc. No. S 25/4004. See also G. Meir, My Life (Jerusalem: Steimatz
ky, 1975), p. 176, which, however, is much less specific.

  14 Lists of these atrocities, together with expressions of satisfaction at their success, may be found in IDF, Toldot Milchemet Ha-komemiyut, p. 86; and al Tal, Zichronot, pp. 18-20.

  15 Y. Rabin, Pinkas Sherut [A Service Record] (Tel Aviv: Maariv), vol. 1, p. 51.

  16 D. Ben Gurion, Yoman Ha-milchama, 1948-1949 [War Diary, 1948-1949] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1982), vol. 1, p. 67.

  17 See in particular U. Milstein, Toldot Milchemet Ha-atsmaut [The War of Independence] (Tel Aviv: Zmora Bitan, 1989), vol. 3.

  18 M. Asaf, Ha-yechasim ben Aravim Ve-yehudim Be-erets Yisrael, 1860-1948 [The Relationships Between Arabs and Jews in Palestine, 1860-1948] (Tel Aviv: Tarbut Vechinuch, 1964), p. 217.

  19 Shimoni, Arviye Erets Yisrael, p. 205.

  20 M. Begin, The Revolt (New York: Dell, 1977), p. 224 ff.

  21 This short account of the exodus, as well as the figures, is based on B. Morris, Ledatah shel Baayat Ha-plitim Ha-palestinaim, 1947-1949 [The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949] (Tel Aviv: Am Oved, 1986).

  22 Elazar’s account of the episode may be found in N. Bar Tov, Dado: Arbaim U-smoneh Shanim Ve-esrim Yom [Dado: Forty-Eight Years and Twenty Days] (Tel Aviv: Maariv, 1978), vol. 1, pp. 40-43; that of Eytan in R. Eytan, Sippur shel Chayal [A Soldier’s Story] (Tel Aviv: Maariv, 1991), pp. 38-41.

  23 For the role played by the Arab Legion in the fighting for Jerusalem see S. Ali El-Edroos, The Hashemite Arab Army, 1909-1979 (Amman: The Publishing Committee, 1980), pp. 253-254.

  24 A book-length account of the fighting for Kfar Etsion is presented in D. Knohl, ed., Gush Etsion Be-milchamto [Gush Etsion at War] (Jerusalem: Jewish Agency, 1957).

  25 The operations around Mishmar Ha-emek are described in Dror, Matsbi Le-lo Srara, p. 349 ff.; also N. Lorch, The Edge of the Sword: Israel’s War of Independence, 1947-1949 (Toronto: Longmans, 1961), pp. 93-95.

  26 IDF, Toldot Milchemet Ha-komemiyut, p. 135.

  27 Cf. his own description quoted in Lorch, The Edge of the Sword, p. 280.

 

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