In Safed, the Cabalists listened in hope of words to fulfill the ancient prophecies. In the Jerusalem corridor the dog-tired Palmach fighters of the Hillmen Brigade listened, and in the isolated and besieged settlements of the blistering Negev Desert they listened.
“… right was acknowledged by the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, and reaffirmed by the mandate of the League of Nations, which gave explicit international recognition …”
David Ben Ami rushed into the commander’s office at Ein Or kibbutz. Ari held his finger to his lips and pointed to the radio.
“… the recent holocaust which engulfed millions of Jews in Europe proved anew the need …”
Sarah Ben Canaan listened at Yad El and she remembered the first time she had seen Barak ride into Rosh Pinna on a 518
white Arab steed with his great red beard flowing down on his tunic.
“… re-establishment of the Jewish state, which would open the gates to all Jews and endow the Jewish people with equality of status among the family of nations …”
Dov and Karen held hands quietly in the dining hall and listened to the loudspeaker.
“In the second world war the Jewish people in Palestine made their full contribution to the struggle. … On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution requiring the establishing of a Jewish state in Palestine … the right of the Jewish people to establish their independent state is unassailable. It is the natural right of the Jewish people to lead, as do all other nations, an independent existence as a sovereign state.
“We hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine, to be called the State of Israel.”
Kitty Fremont felt her heart leap-Jordana smiled.
“The State of Israel will be open to immigration to Jews from all countries of their dispersion; will promote the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; will be based on the principles of liberty, justice, and peace as conceived by the prophets of Israel; will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of religion, race, or sex; will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, education, and culture; will safeguard holy places of all religions; and will loyally uphold the principles of the United Nations Charter …
“.’. . In the midst of wanton aggression, we yet call upon the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve the ways of peace and play their part in the development of the state, on the basis .of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its bodies and institutions …
“… we extend our hand in peace and neighborliness to all the neighboring states and their peoples, and invite them to co-operate …
“… With trust in Almighty God, we set our hand to this declaration at this session of the Provisional State Council, on the soil of the homeland, in the city of Tel Aviv, on this Sabbath eve, the fifth of Iyar 5708, the fourteenth day of May 1948.”
After two thousand years, the State of Israel was reborn.
Within hours, through President Harry Truman, the Urited States became the first of the nations of the world to recognize the State of Israel.
Even as the crowds in Tel Aviv danced the hora in the streets, Egyptian bombers took off en route to the city to
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destroy it and the armies of the Arab world crossed the frontiers of the infant state.
CHAPTER NINE: As the individual Arab armies violated the borders of Israel they boasted of immediate victory and began to issue glorious communiques giving vivid descriptions of imaginary triumphs. The Arabs revealed that they had a “master plan” for throwing the Jews into the sep, If a master plan existed there was no master commander, for each Arab country had its own idea of who should run the armies and each Arab country had its own idea of who should rule Palestine afterward. Bagdad and Cairo both claimed leadership of the Arab world and of a “greater Arab state”; Saudi Arabia claimed leadership as the country which held the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina;. Jordan aspired to Palestine as part of the mandate; Syria had never dropped the claim that Palestine was the southern part of an Ottoman province. And so-the “united” Arabs attacked.
NEGEV DESERT
A much-heralded Egyptian aggressive force came from bases in the Sinai through Arab-held Gaza along the coast. The first of two Egyptian columns, backed by tanks, armored cars, artillery, and modern aircraft, moved along the coastal road which followed the railroad due north to the Jewish provisional capital of Tel Aviv. The Egyptians were confident the Jewish settlements would break and run before their awesome, overwhelming power.
At the first kibbutz, Nirim, the Egyptians made a headlong rush and were hurled out. At the second and third settlements along the way they met the same stiff resistance. This shocking bit of business caused the Egyptian staff to re-evaluate the situation. They decided to bypass these tougher spots and continue on up the coast. However, they ran the danger of overextending their supply lines and leaving their rear open for attack from these Jewish pockets: it was mandatory that they stop and fight in certain key places.
Egyptian artillery pounded the settlements to the ground and Egyptian planes bombed and raked them. After furious encounters the Egyptians captured three settlements. The majority of the settlements held and were bypassed.
The most vital strategic settlement in the Egyptian line of march was kibbutz Negba-Gate of the Negev-which was located near the intersection of the north road to Tel Aviv and a lateral road that ran inland. This was one of the places that the Egyptians had to capture. 520
Less than a mile from kibbutz Negba stood the Taggart fort of Suweidan-the Monster on the Hill. Suweidan had been handed over to the Arabs by the British. From the fort they were able to shell kibbutz Negba to rubble. Negba did not own a gun which could reach the fort.
The farmers of Negba realized the importance of their vital junction to the invaders. They also knew they were not invincible. They knew what to expect; nevertheless, they made the decision to stay and fight. As the guns from Suweidan knocked down every last building and the water ration was reduced to a few drops a day and the subsistence fell to starvation level, Negba continued to hold. Assault followed assault, and each time the Jews threw the Egyptians back. During one Egyptian attack led by tanks, the Jews were down to their last five rounds of antitank ammunition and they knocked out four tanks. For weeks Negba held the Egyptians at a stalemate. It refused to be taken. It fought as the ancient Hebrews of Masada had fought, and Negba became the first symbol of the defiance of the new state.
The Egyptian coastal column left huge forces in Suweidan and continued on up the coast. They moved dangerously close to Tel Aviv.
At Isdud, only twenty miles from Tel Aviv, the Israelis stiffened their defenses. As quickly as arms could be unloaded at the docks, they were rushed to Isdud, along with green new immigrants, to block the Egyptian column.
The Egyptians called a halt to regroup, resupply, and probe in preparation for a final thrust which would take them into Tel Aviv.
The second half of the Egyptian invasion force wheeled inland to the Negev Desert. As they advanced unmolested through Arab cities of Beersheba and Hebron and Bethlehem, Radio Cairo and the Egyptian press hailed “victory after victory.”
It was intended that this second column join in the “glorious” conquest of Jerusalem by attacking from the south simultaneously with an attack of the Arab Legion. However, the Egyptians decided not to share the credit and went after Jerusalem by themselves.