Diary Written in 1947-8 by a Soldier in the "Mishmar Ha'am." Jerusalem 1948

Diary Written in 1947-8 by a Soldier in the "Mishmar Ha'am." Jerusalem 1948

Diary for 1947-8 written by a soldier in the "Mishmar Ha'am" who served in the Jerusalem area. The diary entries include descriptions of events related to his service, various developments regarding Arab-Jewish security, description of activities of the "Mishmar Ha'am," notes regarding the sessions of the "Hanhalat HaVaad HaLeumi," description of security arrangements for sensitive areas, a visit with Yitzchak ben Tzvi and more.

On the leaf dated the 3rd of Kislev, 1947, the writer describes: "After the two nights that passed in Jerusalem, Shabbat night and Motzei Shabbat, when tens of thousands of bullets were shot towards the all the Jewish areas of the city, I got up early ... to visit the places that were the primary targets of the bullets of the police and soldiers. The primary target was again the homes near the police dormitory in the hospital of the English Mission. The view of the horrifying sight of the destruction caused to these homes and the miracle that nobody's life was taken ... testimonies were collected from dozens of people..."

Another interesting event took place on the 23rd of Cheshvan 1947: "A delegation on behalf of the Jewish residents of the Old City came to point out the danger threatening them with the opening of an Arab cafe near the entrance of the Jewish Quarter on the side of Zion Gate. When I asked Weingarten about this, he said that he believes that no license was ever given for the opening of this cafe ..."

Entry from Erev Yom Kippur, 9th of Tishrei 1947: "After we received information regarding the desecration of the synagogue by the army during their search, R' Nattan and I went to check if the information was correct. We reached the location...all the synagogue benches, the tables, chairs and pillows were upside down. All of the books, mishnayot, Zohar, gemaras were scattered on the floor. the holy ark was open and the Torah scrolls were open ..."

Entry from the 5th of Cheshvan 1947: "Visit to the places damaged as a result of the explosion of mines placed on the promotional flags of the Irgun ... in one place, near Ben Yehuda, security forces used explosives to take down the flag ..." and more.

"Mishmar Ha'am" was a volunteer group dedicated to preserving order in the big cities - Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In some cities [such as Jerusalem], this organization was founded before the State of Israel was established. Men who served in this unit were above draft age, or young men who were not drafted for military service due to health problems. Pre-State, the units primarily focused on maintaining law and order during the shelling, as described at length in this diary. 

Most of the diary features handwritten entries from the first months of the year of 1947-8 - from Tishrei to Tevet. Starting in the month of Shevat, there are just scattered short notes regarding events.

17 cm. Leather binding with gilt text תש"ח.

Fine-very fine condition.