p.

13.

for their outlook - & they have correctly guessed the
official attitude as to their uses. Dr Weizman, for
the Jewish Agency, has asked for Jewish Batallions,
& the Cabinet promised them - & then put them
off, & has finally gone back on its word. The
Government, of course, are going carefully, & do
not want any Jewish-Arab troubles again after
the war. But I feel that their attitude is
muddled & misinformed rather than deliberately &
intelligently careful. Misinformed, because they
rely on the Palestine & local Government officials,
who are notoriously out pro Arab, only because
they are jealous of the abilities & industry of the
Jews, & cannot patronise [illegible] over them as they can
over the Arabs - & muddled because of being
misinformed.

But what am I to do? I have 196 soldiers. & I
consider it my duty to train them & treat them as
soldiers, & quite irrespective of surrounding bad
examples. War is war, & we are up against a ruthless &
efficient enemy - & we must be the same, if we
hope to win by force of arms, rather than by
blockade & gold, & so give them the opportunity again
of thinking they were not beaten & so they must
try again in 1960. Solomon & Ben-[Azi?] agree
with me. that (the hard way is the only way) this is the right way
Headley, who is milk & water & a fish, says the
men are unhappy & I drive them too hard.