1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War (85 page)

129. Entries for 21, 22 April 1948, Yosef Nahmani Diary, Hashomer Archive.

130. Morris, Birth of Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, 183-185; unsigned, "The Fall of Tiberias," Falastin, 4 September 1955, IDFA 922/75//695.

131. Protocol of meeting of Defense Committee, 18 April 1948, CZA S25-9348

132. Gen. Hugh Stockwell, "Report," 24 April 1948, SAMECA CP V/4/102.

133. Carmel, Northern Battles, 86.

134. Stockwell, "Report," 24 April 1948, put the numbers at "400 trained Jews, backed by an indeterminate number of reserves" and "some 2,000 Arabs." Haj Nimr al-Khatib later claimed that the Arab militias in the town had "415" rifles, "15" Sten submachine guns, and a handfiil of machineguns and z-inch and 6omm mortars (see translation of al-Khatib, "Following the Naqba," 13, IDFA 922/75//932).

135. Eshel, Carmeli Brigade, 138.

136. Carmel, Northern Battles, 102.

137. Max to Bar-Kochva, "Report on the Operation in Arab Halissa, 22-24 April 1948," undated, IDFA 7353/49//46.

138. Tactical HQ, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, "Battalion Sitrep. No 16," zz April 1948, PRO WO 261-297.

139. Protocol of meeting of Mistaaravim [i.e., Palmah scouts/spies], quoting from a report by "Havakuk," written c. 23 April 1948, HA z5/1z.

140. Segev, ed., In Enemy Eyes, 23-24.

141. Cunningham to secretary of state, "Weekly Intelligence Appreciation," i May 1948, PRO FO 371-68503.

142. Stockwell, "Report," 24 April 1948.

143. Stockwell, "Report," 24 April 1948.

144. Stockwell, "Report," 24 April 1948.

145. Houstoun Boswall, Beirut, to FO, zz April 1948, 13:32 hrs.; Broadmead, Damascus, to FO, zz April 1948, ii:58hrs.; and Campbell, Cairo, to FO, zz April 1948, 21:07 hrs., all in PRO CO 537-3901.

146. Harry Beilin, "Operation Haifa," 25 April 1948, CZA S25-1o584.

147. Stockwell, "Report," 24 April 1948, "Annexure II."

148. Carmel, Northern Battles, 107; Sasson to Shertok, New York, 23 April 1948, ISA, Documents, December 1947-May 1948, 670.

149. Tamir Goren, "Haifa," 18q, basing himself on the transcripts of interviews in the early 1970s with two HIS officers, Ephraim Alro'i and Aharon Kremer, argues that orders had reached the local notables by telephone from someone in Beirut to evacuate the city. But the evidence is of dubious value: the two "witnesses" were unable to say who had given the wiretapped orders to whom, and in any case, their testimony was elicited or volunteered some twenty-five years after the event. See also Goren, Haifa, 217-223.

i5o. Hiram to HIS-AD, z8 May 194.8, HA 1o5/252.

151. Stockwell, "Report," 24 April 1948; Cyril Marriott to Bevin, 26 April 1948, PRO FO 371-68505; Beilin, "Operation Haifa," 25 April 194-8.

152. Solomon to Political Department, Israel Foreign Ministry,l April 1949, ISA FM 2401/11.

153. Beilin, "Operation Haifa," 25 April 1948; Carmel, Northern Battles, 107. But neither Stockwell nor Cyril Marriott, the British consul-to-be, mention Levy's appeal.

1$4. Carmel, Northern Battles, 107.

155• For reports on these orders, see Hiram to HIS-AD, 28 April 1948 ("The AHC's Order to the Arabs of Haifa"), HA 105/257; Aubrey Lippincott to secretary of state, 26 April 1948, USNA, Haifa Consulate, Classified Records 1948, 8oo-Po litical Affairs; and Cunningham to Secretary of State, 25 April 1948, SAMECA CP 111/4/52. For the "treachery" charge, see, e.g., "Summary of Carmeli Brigade Information No. 1, from 1.5 to 5.5," 5 May 1948, IDFA 273/52//5.

156. Haganah Haifa District OC, "Announcement No. 2 by Commander of the Haganah," 22 April 1948, HA 105/92.

157. Morris, Birth of Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, 2oo-201.

158. Haifa Workers Council, "Announcement by Haifa Workers Council," 28 April 1948, IDFA 481/49//62.

159. Lippincott to secretary of state, 29 April 1948, USNA, Haifa Consulate, Classified Records 1948, 8oo-Political Affairs; Times (London), z6 April 1948; high commissioner to secretary of state, 25 April 1948, SAMECA CP 111/4/5 2.

16o. Beilin, "Operation Haifa," 25 April 1948.

161. JA Political Department, Arab Division, "In the Arab Public," 28 June 1948, IDFA 26o/51//4.

162. Avner to HID-AD, "On Events in Jaffa from the Attack on Her. A General Survey," 6 May 1948, HA 105/92 aleph.

163. Cunningham to secretary of state, 26 April 1948, SAMECA CP 111/4/71; Sir Henry Gurney, "Palestine," 84, SAMECA.

164. Gelber, Budding Fleur-de-Lis, 187-

165. Bandman, "British Military Intervention," 284.

166. Kiryati/Intelligence, "Daily Summary from 18:00, 30 [April] to 18:oo [1 May]," HA 105/94.

167. Menachem Begin, "The Conquest of Jaffa," undated but from May or June 1948, JI, IZL, kaf--4, 8/1.

168. Avner to HIS-AD, "Events in Jaffa since the [Start of the Attack on It]. General Survey," 6 May 1948, HA 105/92 aleph.

169. Cunningham to secretary of state, 3 May 1948, SAMECA CP III/5/43.

170. Lazar, Conquest ofJaffa, 124, 126.

171. Unsigned, "Summary of the Interrogation of the Manshiva POWs from 28 April 1948," JI, IZL, kaf-8, 8/8; "Miscellaneous (Events in Jaffa, from Prisoner Interrogations by `Ham')," z8 April 1948, IDFA 8275/49//136.

172. Alexandroni Brigade to Yadin, "Summary of Operation Hametz," 3 May 1948, IDFA 922/75//94-9-

173. Quoted in Gabbay, Political Study of the Arab Jewish Conflict, 9o.

174- Avner to HIS-AD, "Events in Jaffa 18:45, 7.5.48 -10:00, 8.5.48," IDFA 8275/ 49//162.

175. Bandman, "British Military Intervention," 282-z83.

176. Gurney, "Palestine," z8 April 1948, SAMECA.

177. "Fortnightly Intelligence Newsletter No. 67 Issued by HQ British Troops Palestine," 6 May 1948, PRO WO 275-64, quotes an Iraqi cabinet minister as saying that Britain "has purposely engineered Jewish domination in Haifa as an integral part of its programme for Palestine."

178. War Office to parliamentary secretary of the prime minister, etc., "Extract from Middle East Special Situation Report 29 April 1948," PRO CO 537-3875•

179. Montgomery, Memoirs, 473-474.

18o. "Note of a Meeting Held at io Downing Street at 5:15 p.m. on Friday 7th May 1948," 7 May 1948, PRO CAB 127-341.

181. "Note of a Meeting Held at io Downing Street at 5:15 p.m. on Friday 7th May 1948," 7 May 1948; Montgomery, Memoirs, 474; minutes attached to PRO FO 371-68544 E51o2/4/31G.

182. Bandman, "British Military Intervention," 298.

183. W. A. C. Mathieson, minute, 4 May 1948, PRO CO 537-3870.

184. Bandman, "British Military Intervention," 302-304.

185. Bandman, When Will Britain Withdraw from Jerusalem?76.

186. Bandman, "British Military Intervention," 304-309.

187. Mathieson, minute, 4 May 1948.

188. Bandman, "British Military Intervention," 283.

18q. Bandman, "British Military Intervention," 283-284; Montgomery, Memoirs, 474; STH, 3, pt. 2:1552; Haganah Logbook, 27 April 1948, IDFA 922/ 75//949. In the last document, a British brigadier is quoted as telling an HIS officer that the British would protect Jaffa for "about three weeks," after which Jaffa would be "no longer the brigadier's concern."

190. Bandman, "British Military Intervention," 285 -z86, n. 27. The British lost one tank commander killed.

191. Gurney to Ben-Gurion, 29 April 1948, CZA S25-4o11. The Jewish response (Kohn to Gurney, 29 April 1948, ISA, Documents, December 1947-May 1948, 703 -705), asserted that the British had done nothing for five months to prevent Arab attacks on Jews.

192. Hamilton, Monty: Final Years, 696 - 697.

193. Bandman, "British Military Intervention," 292-294; Ben-Gurion, War Diary, entry for 30 May 1948, 377-

194. HGS/Operations to Alexandroni, etc., "Orders for Operation Hametz," z6 April 1948, IDFA 6647/49//15; Operation Hametz HQ to Giv ati, etc., 27 April 1948, IDFA 67/51//677-

195. Alexandroni to brigades, etc., 8 May 1948, IDFA 2323/49//6.

196. Tiroshi to HIS-AD, "Initial Interrogation of 13 Arab Prisoners Captured after the Conquest of Kheiriya and Sakiyya," 2 May 1948, HA 105/54 aleph.

197. Ben-Gurion, War Diary, entry for 3o April 1948, 377•

198. For example, Sergei to battalions, "Instructions on Behavior with Prisoners of War," ii March 1948, IDFA 6809/49//8, and 01203 to HIS-AD, z6 December 1947, IDFA 481/49//62, on the execution of two Jewish scouts in Jaffa.

199. Klein, "Arab Prisoners of War."

zoo. Unsigned, "Latest Reports from the Front," z8 April 1948, HA 48/3.

zoi. Kiryati-Dafna to fronts, 3o April 1948, IDFA 8275/49//I30.

2oz. Kiryati-Dafna to fronts, "Events in Jaffa, Survey, Night of 3-4.$.48," IDFA 8275/49//; and Kiryati/Intelligence, "Daily Summary, from 18:00,3o [April] to 18:oo, i [May]," HA 105/94.

203. Segev, ed., In Enemy Eyes, 34.

204.. Unsigned, "Events in Jaffa," 12:30, 4 May 194.8, IDFA 8275/49//162; Cunningham to secretary of state, 5 May 1948, SAMECA CP 111/5/92; Gurney, "Palestine," 94, SAMECA.

zo5. Ben-Gurion, War Diary, entry for 18 May '948,438.

2o6. "Protocol of Meeting between the Commander of the Haganah in Tel Aviv and His Aides and Representatives of the Inhabitants of Jaffa, in Tel Aviv, on 12 May 1948," and "Second Meeting between the Haganah OC in Tel Aviv and Representatives of the Jaffa Emergency Committee in Tel Aviv on 13 May 1948, at 10:45 hrs.," both in IDFA 321/48//97-

207. Texts of "Agreement" and "Instructions ... ," both in HA 55/31.

2,o8. Unsigned, "Report on an Effort to Prevent Theft in Manshiya," 20 May 1948, IDFA 8275/49//136.

209. Gefen to minister of police and minority affairs, z5 May 1948, ISA MAM 306/ 77-

210. Military governor's office, Jaffa, "Summary, 1$.$.48," IDFA 321/48//97; Emergency Committee to representative of commander Tel Aviv District, zz May 1948, and Emergency Committee to representative of the International Red Cross Organization, Tel Aviv, z1 May 1948, both in ISA FM 2564/9.

211. Nicola Saba, Jaffa Emergency Committee, "Note," 27 May 1948; Dr. M. Mishalany, Dr. G. Ayoub, and Dr. H. Pharaon, "Report on the Bodies That Were Found Dead [sic] on Jabalieh Area on 25.5.48 and Examined by Us on 27.$.48"; and "Second Memorandum Submitted by the Emergency Committee of Jaffa Protesting against the Irregular Activities of the Jewish Forces in Jaffa Area," 28 May 1948, all in ISA FM 2406/2. Some of the bodies had identity cards issued by the Haganah after 15 May 1948; all had been shot.

212. "Statement by Mr. B. Shitrit," meeting of People's Administration, 3 May 1948, ISA, People's Administration, 32.

213. "A Call from His Majesty King Abdullah to the Arab People of Palestine on Behalf of the Arab League," as carried in Al-Nasr, Amman, 5 May 1948, USNA, US Consulate General, Jerusalem, Classified Records 1948, 8oo-Political Affairs.

214. Weitz, Diary and Letters, entry for z6 April 1948, 3:273.

215. Unsigned, undated HIS report, HA 105/217; Alexandroni, "Bulletin No. 1," 7 May 1948, IDFA 2323/49//5.

216. Texts of broadcasts by Kol Hamagen Ha'ivri (Haganah Radio), Jerusalem, 5, 6 May 1948, CZA Sz5-8918; "Information about the Arabs of Palestine (According to Arab Radio Transmissions, 6-7 May 1948)," CZA S25-9o4$; "Daily Monitoring Report No. z8," 6 May 1948, DBGA.

217. Aharon Cohen, "In Face of the Arab Evacuation," summer 1948, HHA-ACP 10.95.'1 (8); "HIS Information," 13 May 1948, KMA-PA ioo/MemVavDalet/ 35 -158; "Information about the Arabs of Palestine (from Arab Broadcasts, 'o" May)" and "Information about the Arabs of Palestine (from Arab Broadcasts, 14-15 May)," both in CZA S25-9o4$.

218. Yigal Allon to Yadin and Galili, 22 April 1948, KMA-PA 170-44. In the copy of this document in IDFA 957/51//25, the passage relating to Beisan is censored out-though Allon's recommendation "to harass Arab Safad to speed up the evacuation" was left intact.

219. HGS to Allon, etc., 25 April 1948, IDFA 67/51//677-

220. Palmah HQ to HGS, "Daily Report," 22 April 1948, IDFA 922/75//1066; Gilead, ed., Book of thePalmah, 2:219-222.

221. Palmah HQ to HGS, "Daily Report," 4 May 1948, IDFA 922/75//I066; Yiftah to HGS, 5 May 1948, IDFA i28/5i//5o.

222. Beineinu, no. 13, 9 May 1948, KMA 2-2o/aleph.

223. Tzuri, Cochba, to HIS, "A Letter Sent by the Priest Boniface ... ," 4 June 1948, HA 105/92.

224. Palmah HQ to HGS, "Daily Report," z May 1948, IDFA 922/75//1044-

225. Shertok to Alexandre Parodi, 5 Max, 1948, ISA, Documents, December 1947May 1948, 738.

226. Tzuri, Dori, to HIS-AD, "Events in Safad after Its Conquest," i June 1948, HA 1o5/zzz.

227. Abbasi, "Safad in the War of Independence," 129.

228. Abbasi, "Safad in the War of Independence," 131.

229. Abbasi, "Safad in the War of Independence," 131.

230. Abbasi, "Safad in the War of Independence," 133.

231. Ben-Yehuda, Through the Ropes, 243; Abbasi, "Safad in the War of Independence," 135 -136.

232. Elad Peled, "The Conquest of Safad," HA 2/222; Yiftah to HGS, 19:15 hrs., z1:oo hrs., z May 1948, both in IDFA 128/51//5o.

233. Yiftah to HGS, 6 May 1948, IDFA i28/5i//5o; Palmah HQ to HGS, "Daily Report," 7 May 1948, IDFA 922/75//1o66.

234. Golan HQ, "Weeldy Summary," 7 May 1948, IDFA 1196/5 z//1.

235. Sari al-Fnaish to Adib Shishaldi, 5 May 1948, quoted in Abbasi, "Safad in the War of Independence," 138.

236. Gilead, ed., Book of the Palmah, 2:283 -284.

237. Abbasi, "Safad in the War of Independence," 139.

238. Abbasi, "Safad in the War of Independence," 142.

239. Yiftah HQ to Palmah HQ, HGS, etc., "Report on Operation," 1o May 1948, IDFA 922/75//1066.

240. Yiftah HQ to Palmah HQ, HGS, etc., "Report on Operation," 10 May 1948.

241. Abbasi, "Safad in the War of Independence," 144.

242. Tzuri to HIS-AD, "Events in Safad after Its Conquest," i June 1948, HA 1o5/ 222.