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Jerusalem Embattled: A Diary of the City Under Siege March 25, 1948 to July 18th, 1948
This diary, kept by a foreign correspondent and resident of the city, is an intimate account of the ninety-day ordeal and its effects on the lives of the men, women and children of Jerusalem, including the rapid deterioration or living conditions and the desperate attempts to break the siege. Levin accompanied military operations in and around Jerusalem, and travelled along the Burma Road, which the Jews build secretly by night across the mountains in an attempt to break free. Distributed in the US by Books International. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
286 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1996
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August 10, 2023
This diary of Harold Levin which covers the Arab siege of Jerusalem during Israel's War of Independence in 1948 is invaluable to anyone studying this conflict.
This document tells in in intimate and human detail the harsh and often deadly conditions endured by the 100 000 Jews of Jerusalem during the 90 day siege. Including starvation, cramped conditions and hourly Arab shelling. Covers the period when the Mufti of Jerusalem's Arab Liberation Army besieged the city and later the armies of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
The author was both a journalist covering the conflict and a Jewish resident of Jerusalem, the city that has had a Jewish majority since 1860. Levin was also in charge of the underground broadcasting service of the Haganah in Jerusalem, during part of the siege.
He witnessed first hand the valiant military operations of the Jews of the Land of Israel at this time, and traveled along the 'Burma Road' built secretly , across the mountains at night by the Jews, in an attempt to break the siege.
The human element and the experiences and stories of the author's friends and the men, women and children of Jerusalem is covered extensively in this journal.
It is interesting in the light of today's conflict to read of photographs of 50 dead Jews being circulated by the Arabs outside the YMCA and pinned up outside the YMCA building (The YMCA today are still a heavily pro-Arab and anti-Jewish organization).
We read of the splendid self-sacrifice of the Jews of Jerusalem, as children not yet of age for the Haganah marched out after school to help build defense works.
The author quotes a woman in Jerusalem saying during the deadliest period of the siege "I used to weep because my children in Jerusalem were hungry. Now I pray to G-D that they may be left alive to continue feeling hungry. The author writes of the wretched condition of Jewish evacuees expelled from Arab countries, who had recently reached Jerusalem. He also writes how a Haganah girl captured by the Arab Liberation Army witnessed how she was told by a German officer in the Arab Legion, who told her the Legion would kill every Jewish woman and child in 'Palestine', sentiments still echoed today as violently as ever by the likes of Iran's genocidal President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the terror networks of Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad.
Many former Nazi officers served with the Arab Liberation Army, and passed their anti-Semitic poison on to the new Arabs they now served with.
The author speaks of Arab demands that in return for a ceasefire the Jewish State must be cancelled and euphemistically observed that this would be like trying to push a chicken back into an egg.
He also muses on world indifference to the plight of the Jews in the Holy Land when they were threatened, which is interesting to compare to the hysterical outrage we see from the world whenever the Jews of Israel succeed in defending themselves.
We also reads much of the shameful actions of the British authorities and occupying forces in Palestine, which to all intents and purposes was a party to the conflict allied with the Arabs, before the British withdrawal from the Mandate on May 14, 1948. This was the most shameful hour ever of the British Empire, and the author laments things could if been different if Britain at this time had adhered to the best of her wisdom and traditions of fair play and
support for liberty.
This document tells in in intimate and human detail the harsh and often deadly conditions endured by the 100 000 Jews of Jerusalem during the 90 day siege. Including starvation, cramped conditions and hourly Arab shelling. Covers the period when the Mufti of Jerusalem's Arab Liberation Army besieged the city and later the armies of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
The author was both a journalist covering the conflict and a Jewish resident of Jerusalem, the city that has had a Jewish majority since 1860. Levin was also in charge of the underground broadcasting service of the Haganah in Jerusalem, during part of the siege.
He witnessed first hand the valiant military operations of the Jews of the Land of Israel at this time, and traveled along the 'Burma Road' built secretly , across the mountains at night by the Jews, in an attempt to break the siege.
The human element and the experiences and stories of the author's friends and the men, women and children of Jerusalem is covered extensively in this journal.
It is interesting in the light of today's conflict to read of photographs of 50 dead Jews being circulated by the Arabs outside the YMCA and pinned up outside the YMCA building (The YMCA today are still a heavily pro-Arab and anti-Jewish organization).
We read of the splendid self-sacrifice of the Jews of Jerusalem, as children not yet of age for the Haganah marched out after school to help build defense works.
The author quotes a woman in Jerusalem saying during the deadliest period of the siege "I used to weep because my children in Jerusalem were hungry. Now I pray to G-D that they may be left alive to continue feeling hungry. The author writes of the wretched condition of Jewish evacuees expelled from Arab countries, who had recently reached Jerusalem. He also writes how a Haganah girl captured by the Arab Liberation Army witnessed how she was told by a German officer in the Arab Legion, who told her the Legion would kill every Jewish woman and child in 'Palestine', sentiments still echoed today as violently as ever by the likes of Iran's genocidal President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the terror networks of Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad.
Many former Nazi officers served with the Arab Liberation Army, and passed their anti-Semitic poison on to the new Arabs they now served with.
The author speaks of Arab demands that in return for a ceasefire the Jewish State must be cancelled and euphemistically observed that this would be like trying to push a chicken back into an egg.
He also muses on world indifference to the plight of the Jews in the Holy Land when they were threatened, which is interesting to compare to the hysterical outrage we see from the world whenever the Jews of Israel succeed in defending themselves.
We also reads much of the shameful actions of the British authorities and occupying forces in Palestine, which to all intents and purposes was a party to the conflict allied with the Arabs, before the British withdrawal from the Mandate on May 14, 1948. This was the most shameful hour ever of the British Empire, and the author laments things could if been different if Britain at this time had adhered to the best of her wisdom and traditions of fair play and
support for liberty.
January 23, 2011
I found this book in a small used bookshop in Brecon. It was a pretty gruelling read as the diarist recorded repeated accounts of hunger, constant shelling, and endless deprivation. The conditions in mid-1948 Jerusalem were harsh to say the least. I imagine this probably wasn't a bestseller, though as a detailed first-hand account of the Arab siege of the city during Israel's war of independence, it stands as an important piece of primary evidence history.
The entries relating to the Jewish massacres of Arabs at Deir Yassin and Liftah serve as important reminders of the partial responsibility Israel has in regard to the Palestinian refugee problem of today. On the other hand, the entries towards the end of the diary (July '48) recount the endless stream of refugees fleeing on account of rumoured Jewish ill-treatment propagated by King Abdullah's [of Transjordan] men as a means to bolster the Arabs' sense of justified revenge. One fascinating section recounts how a Galilean Beduin Sheikh and his tribe joined forces with the Israelis in fighting the invading Arab forces.
The entries relating to the Jewish massacres of Arabs at Deir Yassin and Liftah serve as important reminders of the partial responsibility Israel has in regard to the Palestinian refugee problem of today. On the other hand, the entries towards the end of the diary (July '48) recount the endless stream of refugees fleeing on account of rumoured Jewish ill-treatment propagated by King Abdullah's [of Transjordan] men as a means to bolster the Arabs' sense of justified revenge. One fascinating section recounts how a Galilean Beduin Sheikh and his tribe joined forces with the Israelis in fighting the invading Arab forces.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews