A New Beginning
New life in Our Ancient Land New Life in Our Ancient Land
were some things I could not do, such as military-style run- ning with a rifle, I could drive a jeep and do other tasks, and I trained with the rest of the group. We did this out in the open with someone always watching the gate so that the British would not surprise us. After the UN vote on November 29, 1947 in favor of the par- titioning of Palestine, the British began to plan their departure. They did not realize that they would leave us some presents. Some Israelis knew which British contingent would be the last to evacu- ate and prearranged that three large British-made Centurion tanks and their crews would “disappear” on their way to being evacuated and thus remain in Israel. One tank got stuck in a ditch, and the crew fled. The other two tanks were hidden under camouflage. The British were furious and searched like crazy for the tanks until two minutes before their scheduled time of departure. However, being punctilious, they kept to their schedule. Those tanks eventually saved many lives. The Haganah did not have any cannons, and the weapons the British had taken on Black Sabbath were never restored to us. All the Haganah had were old rifles from the days of the Turks, rifles that fired one bullet at a time. Now, suddenly, they had these tanks, and the tanks had two cannons. During the War of Independence, every time there was a major catastrophe, or an area had to be occupied, or cement walls needed to be blown up, those tanks were used. They were constant- ly loaded onto a truck platform and moved to the spots that needed help, wherever these were. Meanwhile, the Grand Mufti in Jerusalem was agitating against the Jews and trying to stir up trouble. After the UN vote on par- tition, he and his contingent preached to the Arabs, “Don’t wor- ry about the Jews! Go and hide, because four or five Arab armies are going to attack Israel, and Israel does not stand a chancel As soon as it is overrun, you will be able to go back to your homes — and you will be able to take the Jews’ possessions. Pick any of their houses you want! They will all be yours!” Of course, the Arabs now claim that the Israelis gave some chance!
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