12 The New State
The British forces evacuated Palestine. By the 13th May 1948, no British soldier was left in the country. Both Jews and Arabs were prepared for this eventuality and juggled for places to occupy, such as army bases, police stations and other strategic places. In most cases, these positions were handed over by the British officer-in-charge to the Arabs. However the Hagana, Palmach and Etzel managed to seize some positions which were then used as bases for the defence of the whole country.
On 14 May 1948 the Jewish State, to be known as the State of Israel, was declared. The first pronouncement by the provisional government was the dissolution of the various militias into one fighting force - the Israeli Army. This was a slow process; however, under the leadership of Ben Gurion, the Army eventually consolidated. Those with experience of fighting under foreign armies, or in local forces like Hagana, were promoted to the ranks they held before. I became a sergeant, the rank I held in the British Army.
After undergoing some basic training I was posted to the reception camp of "Kelet 5", near Beit Lidd. With immigrants and volunteers coming in from all over the world, it was important to have people with knowledge of several languages to receive them. Together with about 20 others, it was our job to enlist these people, swear them in and supply them with clothing and some equipment. The problem was that we hardly had any equipment. All we had was secondhand clothing from British Army stores, which were left behind, and from the American Army stores in Germany. One day, we had trousers, socks and underwear in store; another day, it may be shirts, belts and berets. We never had sufficient boots, and during my time of serving we never had everything. This situation very often caused bitterness amongst the new arrivals, and more than once we were attacked for not being able to supply all.
On the home front, our daughter Miriam had been born on 12th April 1948 in the Assuta Hospital. When I left home for the Army, Miriam was four weeks old and Friedel was left alone with a newborn infant. Miriam spent most of the war in a laundry basket in order to be ready to be taken to the lower floor or to an air raid shelter whenever there was a warning.
My base was about 80 km from Tel Aviv, and I could not always get transport when I had the chance to spend a night at home. Very often I spent hours on the road getting a lift to Tel Aviv. One day I was told by one of the staff who had just returned from Tel Aviv that a bomb had been dropped on the corner of the street in which we were living. I was given immediate leave to rush home. Hours passed, until I arrived home in the middle of the night. Thank G-d, the bomb fell on an empty lot, creating a large crater in the middle of it. The pressure of the blast caused windows to be broken and blinds bent. The shock for the residents of the neighbourhood was tremendous. Imagine Friedel being alone with the baby when the bomb exploded, a few metres away! I was certainly relieved that, but for the shock, no serious damage had been caused. I could only stay for the night, and the next morning, I had to return to the camp. That incident happened at the beginning of the war and, as time went on, many more bombs fell, and people got into a routine of reaching the air raid shelter and safety. I tried to get home as often as possible, even for a few hours, day or night.
In camp we were getting more and more people to deal with. One day, we received a new batch of people, coming from the camps in Europe. It was a very busy day, and we worked into the late hours at night, supplying these people with some clothing, whatever we had in store. We were nearly at the end, when a tall fellow came forward. I asked his name, and he said: "Zvi Tiefenbrunner". Imagine both our surprise and joy - my cousin from Poland had arrived, and was received by me.
This was one of the incidents that made life in the Israeli Army different from anywhere else. Life in the camp continued with some pleasant incidents. We arranged sports events and lectures and, when we had leave, we'd go out and have a good time. This broke up the dull routine of our duties. On two occasions, when the situation on the front line was getting very serious, more trained people were needed. During my time of service, I volunteered twice to be sent to the front, but was rejected for reasons of being needed in the camp to deal with newcomers.
The War of Independence came to an end, and soldiers were discharged. However as I was in charge of stores I was given the duty to break up the camp. With a handful of soldiers, we worked very hard, in order to shorten the time in which we could get all the equipment, clothing and blankets etc., and return it to the stores at headquarters in Tel Aviv. Finally, the lorry load of goods was ready and, in buoyant mood, we said goodbye to our camp and left for Tel Aviv. It was an emotional moment to arrive home and, this time, for good.
My service during the War of Independence lasted just over a year. That is a long time, considering we had only recently married and had a month-old baby when I left. Of course, Israel needed a regular army after this experience with our not-so-friendly neighbours. All able men, between the ages of 18 and 49, were recruited for reserve duty. At that time, the minimum per annum was four weeks, and NCO's and officers had to serve about six weeks. You could be called at any time of the year, and whenever the call came, you had to go. For me, like many others, it was a very difficult time. After coming home, I tried to pick up the business where I'd left off. The economy as a whole was not very promising, and who wanted to spend money on curtains which were considered a luxury.
We had won the war, and we had a State - this compensated us for every shortcoming. Although life was hard, I believe that most people were content and there were fewer complaints than twenty, thirty and forty years later, when the standard of life was much higher. Like everyone else, we adjusted to these conditions, and tried to make the best of it.
During 1952, our son Benny was born. We enjoyed life with our two children, who gave us lots of pleasure. We had lots of friends, as well as relatives, and on Shabbat we spent many joyful hours either at home or on visits to them.
So life went on until the year 1956. During that year, we were subjected to heavy pressure from the family to return to England and join Friedel's father's business. At first, we did not want to hear of it and refused outright, but pressure increased, not only from Friedel's parents, but also from her uncle, Bernard Blasbalg in the USA, and relatives in Israel. As time went on, my father-in-law became ill, and found it hard to cope with the strain of the business. He owned a manufacturing plant of tissue paper, and employed about 30 people. He did not like to take in any outsiders, but wanted to keep the business within the family. I consented to come over for a trial period of a year or two.
The British forces evacuated Palestine. By the 13th May 1948, no British soldier was left in the country. Both Jews and Arabs were prepared for this eventuality and juggled for places to occupy, such as army bases, police stations and other strategic places. In most cases, these positions were handed over by the British officer-in-charge to the Arabs. However the Hagana, Palmach and Etzel managed to seize some positions which were then used as bases for the defence of the whole country.
On 14 May 1948 the Jewish State, to be known as the State of Israel, was declared. The first pronouncement by the provisional government was the dissolution of the various militias into one fighting force - the Israeli Army. This was a slow process; however, under the leadership of Ben Gurion, the Army eventually consolidated. Those with experience of fighting under foreign armies, or in local forces like Hagana, were promoted to the ranks they held before. I became a sergeant, the rank I held in the British Army.
After undergoing some basic training I was posted to the reception camp of "Kelet 5", near Beit Lidd. With immigrants and volunteers coming in from all over the world, it was important to have people with knowledge of several languages to receive them. Together with about 20 others, it was our job to enlist these people, swear them in and supply them with clothing and some equipment. The problem was that we hardly had any equipment. All we had was secondhand clothing from British Army stores, which were left behind, and from the American Army stores in Germany. One day, we had trousers, socks and underwear in store; another day, it may be shirts, belts and berets. We never had sufficient boots, and during my time of serving we never had everything. This situation very often caused bitterness amongst the new arrivals, and more than once we were attacked for not being able to supply all.
On the home front, our daughter Miriam had been born on 12th April 1948 in the Assuta Hospital. When I left home for the Army, Miriam was four weeks old and Friedel was left alone with a newborn infant. Miriam spent most of the war in a laundry basket in order to be ready to be taken to the lower floor or to an air raid shelter whenever there was a warning.
My base was about 80 km from Tel Aviv, and I could not always get transport when I had the chance to spend a night at home. Very often I spent hours on the road getting a lift to Tel Aviv. One day I was told by one of the staff who had just returned from Tel Aviv that a bomb had been dropped on the corner of the street in which we were living. I was given immediate leave to rush home. Hours passed, until I arrived home in the middle of the night. Thank G-d, the bomb fell on an empty lot, creating a large crater in the middle of it. The pressure of the blast caused windows to be broken and blinds bent. The shock for the residents of the neighbourhood was tremendous. Imagine Friedel being alone with the baby when the bomb exploded, a few metres away! I was certainly relieved that, but for the shock, no serious damage had been caused. I could only stay for the night, and the next morning, I had to return to the camp. That incident happened at the beginning of the war and, as time went on, many more bombs fell, and people got into a routine of reaching the air raid shelter and safety. I tried to get home as often as possible, even for a few hours, day or night.
In camp we were getting more and more people to deal with. One day, we received a new batch of people, coming from the camps in Europe. It was a very busy day, and we worked into the late hours at night, supplying these people with some clothing, whatever we had in store. We were nearly at the end, when a tall fellow came forward. I asked his name, and he said: "Zvi Tiefenbrunner". Imagine both our surprise and joy - my cousin from Poland had arrived, and was received by me.
This was one of the incidents that made life in the Israeli Army different from anywhere else. Life in the camp continued with some pleasant incidents. We arranged sports events and lectures and, when we had leave, we'd go out and have a good time. This broke up the dull routine of our duties. On two occasions, when the situation on the front line was getting very serious, more trained people were needed. During my time of service, I volunteered twice to be sent to the front, but was rejected for reasons of being needed in the camp to deal with newcomers.
The War of Independence came to an end, and soldiers were discharged. However as I was in charge of stores I was given the duty to break up the camp. With a handful of soldiers, we worked very hard, in order to shorten the time in which we could get all the equipment, clothing and blankets etc., and return it to the stores at headquarters in Tel Aviv. Finally, the lorry load of goods was ready and, in buoyant mood, we said goodbye to our camp and left for Tel Aviv. It was an emotional moment to arrive home and, this time, for good.
My service during the War of Independence lasted just over a year. That is a long time, considering we had only recently married and had a month-old baby when I left. Of course, Israel needed a regular army after this experience with our not-so-friendly neighbours. All able men, between the ages of 18 and 49, were recruited for reserve duty. At that time, the minimum per annum was four weeks, and NCO's and officers had to serve about six weeks. You could be called at any time of the year, and whenever the call came, you had to go. For me, like many others, it was a very difficult time. After coming home, I tried to pick up the business where I'd left off. The economy as a whole was not very promising, and who wanted to spend money on curtains which were considered a luxury.
We had won the war, and we had a State - this compensated us for every shortcoming. Although life was hard, I believe that most people were content and there were fewer complaints than twenty, thirty and forty years later, when the standard of life was much higher. Like everyone else, we adjusted to these conditions, and tried to make the best of it.
During 1952, our son Benny was born. We enjoyed life with our two children, who gave us lots of pleasure. We had lots of friends, as well as relatives, and on Shabbat we spent many joyful hours either at home or on visits to them.
So life went on until the year 1956. During that year, we were subjected to heavy pressure from the family to return to England and join Friedel's father's business. At first, we did not want to hear of it and refused outright, but pressure increased, not only from Friedel's parents, but also from her uncle, Bernard Blasbalg in the USA, and relatives in Israel. As time went on, my father-in-law became ill, and found it hard to cope with the strain of the business. He owned a manufacturing plant of tissue paper, and employed about 30 people. He did not like to take in any outsiders, but wanted to keep the business within the family. I consented to come over for a trial period of a year or two.
The Barmitzvah
