Page 170 - big friday
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lights of Haifa disappearing behind us like the blink of an eye, and the Carmel lighthouse
flickering behind us, its light slowly subsiding."
A lan Cunningham reached London on May 19, a day behind schedule. "In many ways
I was glad to leave Palestine," he told those who came to welcome him. There were no
ceremonies. Even if the High Commissioner had wished to celebrate, those who greeted
him found no reason for festivities.
Motti Golani, HaNetziv HaAharon (The Last Commissioner),
Tel Aviv University and Am Oved, 2011, pp. 310-311.
T he Invasion Begins
T he book "MiShenei Evrei HaGiv'a" (From Both Sides of the Hill), written
by brothers John and David Kimche, is one of the best-known works
about the War of Independence. The following excerpt describes the final
hours leading up to the all-Arab invasion on May 15, from the Jewish
perspective.
John and David Kimche
Dawn broke early over the eastern region of the Mediterranean. Shortly after 4am on May
15, 1948, the sun rose for the first time over the new State of Israel. Tel Aviv seemed to be
fast asleep, after the exhausting celebrations that had gone on the previous night, following
the proclamation of Israeli independence. This was also the first Sabbath of the new Israel.
But all through the night the lights had burned behind the blackout drapes in the pink
gabled building on the sea shore. This was the Hagana headquarters, and a meeting was
going on with Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion. Yisrael Galili, Ben-Gurion's
de facto deputy, was there, along with operations officer Yigael Yadin.
The fog of war weighed heavily on all discussions at the Red House. Ben-Gurion, Galili
and Yadin were quite confident, although not completely certain, that at dawn the regular
Arab armies would launch their campaign against Israel. Up until the last moment they
still entertained a sliver of doubt as to the Arabs' intentions. Either way, all they could
do now was to wait until the matter became clear, since for the sake of Israel's standing
in the UN it was essential that the first overt act of war be instigated by the Arab states,
and not by the Israeli side. In any event, from a military point of view Ben-Gurion and
his commanders had no choice: the paltry manpower and limited equipment at their
disposal, and their particular strategic position, required that they await the Arab armies'
168 The Friday That Changed Destiny
flickering behind us, its light slowly subsiding."
A lan Cunningham reached London on May 19, a day behind schedule. "In many ways
I was glad to leave Palestine," he told those who came to welcome him. There were no
ceremonies. Even if the High Commissioner had wished to celebrate, those who greeted
him found no reason for festivities.
Motti Golani, HaNetziv HaAharon (The Last Commissioner),
Tel Aviv University and Am Oved, 2011, pp. 310-311.
T he Invasion Begins
T he book "MiShenei Evrei HaGiv'a" (From Both Sides of the Hill), written
by brothers John and David Kimche, is one of the best-known works
about the War of Independence. The following excerpt describes the final
hours leading up to the all-Arab invasion on May 15, from the Jewish
perspective.
John and David Kimche
Dawn broke early over the eastern region of the Mediterranean. Shortly after 4am on May
15, 1948, the sun rose for the first time over the new State of Israel. Tel Aviv seemed to be
fast asleep, after the exhausting celebrations that had gone on the previous night, following
the proclamation of Israeli independence. This was also the first Sabbath of the new Israel.
But all through the night the lights had burned behind the blackout drapes in the pink
gabled building on the sea shore. This was the Hagana headquarters, and a meeting was
going on with Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion. Yisrael Galili, Ben-Gurion's
de facto deputy, was there, along with operations officer Yigael Yadin.
The fog of war weighed heavily on all discussions at the Red House. Ben-Gurion, Galili
and Yadin were quite confident, although not completely certain, that at dawn the regular
Arab armies would launch their campaign against Israel. Up until the last moment they
still entertained a sliver of doubt as to the Arabs' intentions. Either way, all they could
do now was to wait until the matter became clear, since for the sake of Israel's standing
in the UN it was essential that the first overt act of war be instigated by the Arab states,
and not by the Israeli side. In any event, from a military point of view Ben-Gurion and
his commanders had no choice: the paltry manpower and limited equipment at their
disposal, and their particular strategic position, required that they await the Arab armies'
168 The Friday That Changed Destiny
