Page 123 - big friday
P. 123
kibbutz. Moshe shouts towards them: "Bas wahad! (Just one!)"
Two of them approach: one is a young man of about twenty, dressed in khaki, armed
with a rifle and two bullet belts; the other is an old man in European dress, with shiny
boots. They draw near to us and stop. There is a moment of awkward silence, followed
by greetings. "Hello, doctor!" the younger one greets me. I return his greeting and look at
him, this suntanned youngster, with his curly black hair, one foot resting on the barrier.
A "hero"… had I met him in the middle of town, I would no doubt have thought he was
a native-born Jew of Middle Eastern extraction. We ask why the Red Cross is taking so
long to arrive; their response is that the Red Cross is accompanying the Legion's convoy,
which is carrying the people of Revadim and Ein Tzurim to Hebron. In half an hour they
will come and take us, too. "Don't be afraid," the old man adds; "nothing bad will happen
to you. Be happy…"
The young man points to the water bottle and asks to drink. I hold it out to him, and he
takes a few sips that empty half of it. Afterwards he offers it to the old man, and eventually
returns it to me with thanks. I go back to the sanatorium feeling relieved, and tell the guys
that the Red Cross will soon come for us.
B ut at this point an argument breaks out among them. Most have no faith in the Arabs'
good intentions; they are convinced that the residents of Revadim and Ein Tzurim were
butchered after being removed from Gush Etzion, and soon our turn will come. There is
no choice but to try to break out of here and reach Jerusalem by foot.
I turn to the heliograph [a signaling device, by which sunlight is reflected in flashes
from a moveable mirror] which is in constant contact with Jerusalem, and recount the
conversation to Moshe. Moshe listens with amazing calm, and then approaches the
heliograph and asks Jerusalem whether we are permitted to break out of the Gush by foot.
The answer comes promptly: Headquarters forbids any departure. It would be suicide.
But the intensifying gunfire intensifies our concern. Who can say which is preferable –
surrender to the murderers, or an attempt to carry out a retreat? On the way to the gate
another muffled explosion is heard, and someone says to the young man standing on the
other side of the barrier, "Tell your men not to step on our mines." He answers proudly, "I
have men who know about mines, too." He points to two of his men, who are rolling up
the telephone wires stretched along the road.
A t that moment we see two figures approaching the gate, waving a white flag. After
they draw nearer we discover that one is Baruch, a member of Revadim. "I have just come
from Hebron," he tells us. He goes on to describe the brave fight and eventual surrender of
Revadim, concluding with the words, "There's nothing to fear. Their treatment is fair, and
there is every chance that the Arabs will fulfill the conditions of the agreement."
E ven the most suspicious among us are now relieved. Clearly, the intentions of King
Abdullah are fair and humane…
As darkness falls [three hours after Ben Gurion had declared the establishment of the
State of Israel, in Tel Aviv] the first vehicles of the Legion enter the kibbutz: officers' cars,
buses, and trucks. The officer announces that the Red Cross has not come because the
T he Same Day, in... 121
Two of them approach: one is a young man of about twenty, dressed in khaki, armed
with a rifle and two bullet belts; the other is an old man in European dress, with shiny
boots. They draw near to us and stop. There is a moment of awkward silence, followed
by greetings. "Hello, doctor!" the younger one greets me. I return his greeting and look at
him, this suntanned youngster, with his curly black hair, one foot resting on the barrier.
A "hero"… had I met him in the middle of town, I would no doubt have thought he was
a native-born Jew of Middle Eastern extraction. We ask why the Red Cross is taking so
long to arrive; their response is that the Red Cross is accompanying the Legion's convoy,
which is carrying the people of Revadim and Ein Tzurim to Hebron. In half an hour they
will come and take us, too. "Don't be afraid," the old man adds; "nothing bad will happen
to you. Be happy…"
The young man points to the water bottle and asks to drink. I hold it out to him, and he
takes a few sips that empty half of it. Afterwards he offers it to the old man, and eventually
returns it to me with thanks. I go back to the sanatorium feeling relieved, and tell the guys
that the Red Cross will soon come for us.
B ut at this point an argument breaks out among them. Most have no faith in the Arabs'
good intentions; they are convinced that the residents of Revadim and Ein Tzurim were
butchered after being removed from Gush Etzion, and soon our turn will come. There is
no choice but to try to break out of here and reach Jerusalem by foot.
I turn to the heliograph [a signaling device, by which sunlight is reflected in flashes
from a moveable mirror] which is in constant contact with Jerusalem, and recount the
conversation to Moshe. Moshe listens with amazing calm, and then approaches the
heliograph and asks Jerusalem whether we are permitted to break out of the Gush by foot.
The answer comes promptly: Headquarters forbids any departure. It would be suicide.
But the intensifying gunfire intensifies our concern. Who can say which is preferable –
surrender to the murderers, or an attempt to carry out a retreat? On the way to the gate
another muffled explosion is heard, and someone says to the young man standing on the
other side of the barrier, "Tell your men not to step on our mines." He answers proudly, "I
have men who know about mines, too." He points to two of his men, who are rolling up
the telephone wires stretched along the road.
A t that moment we see two figures approaching the gate, waving a white flag. After
they draw nearer we discover that one is Baruch, a member of Revadim. "I have just come
from Hebron," he tells us. He goes on to describe the brave fight and eventual surrender of
Revadim, concluding with the words, "There's nothing to fear. Their treatment is fair, and
there is every chance that the Arabs will fulfill the conditions of the agreement."
E ven the most suspicious among us are now relieved. Clearly, the intentions of King
Abdullah are fair and humane…
As darkness falls [three hours after Ben Gurion had declared the establishment of the
State of Israel, in Tel Aviv] the first vehicles of the Legion enter the kibbutz: officers' cars,
buses, and trucks. The officer announces that the Red Cross has not come because the
T he Same Day, in... 121
