KADDISHEL
A Life Reborn
The Yishuv (Jewish community of Palestine) sensed that the possibility of our own country was within reach. We were looking ahead and preparing for what was to come; we were anxious to es- tablish the State of Israel. After all that had happened to the Jewish people, we thought the world might have a conscience. Somehow, we hoped, something might bend our way. The British did not permit us to possess any kind of weapons to defend ourselves, so in anticipation of establishing the State, we were busy with attempts to smuggle them in. Illegal weapons from Czechoslovakia were being delivered at night by small planes. In prearranged locations, small fires were lit to show the planes where to land and the landing fields were protected by Palmach units. The weapons were then quickly unloaded and removed from the area. Many of them were brand new rifles, delivered with their wood - en butts still unvarnished and unstained. These beautiful new guns were needed badly. The Haganah also received many machine guns. In April 1948, it smuggled two hundred rifles and four light ma - chine guns into the country from Czechoslovakia flown on United States aircraft. However, the Haganah did not have many heavy weapons until after the establishment of the State, when Israel was able to buy airplanes and weapons from Czechoslovakia. Payment had to be in U.S. dollars, and the money was raised privately in the United States. At the same time, a lot of paramilitary training was taking place. Training and hiding weapons was easier on a kibbutz than in a city. The kibbutzim formed the backbone of the Haganah and Palmach. They were fierce and well trained, and they always got the best weapons available. Everyone at Kibbutz Yagur belonged to the Haganah, and the best of the best belonged to the Palmach. The kibbutz was large and profoundly dedicated to the security of the nation; the members were idealistic, devoted, and trained to defend our land. Our group of forty, including the girls, was accepted into the Palmach, which had a policy of accepting en- tire groups, and we secretly trained in the use of weapons, in- cluding Sten guns, as well as judo and other skills. Though there
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