The Negev Committee
Owing to the hard-pressed and strained situation of the settlements and the Palmach forces in the Negev, it was decided to establish the Negev Committee with senior representation of the national and economic institutions. The committee was responsible for all the maintenance and reinforcement requirements of the defense capabilities relating to the 25 settlements and the Palmach forces in the Negev. The committee met daily and it played a crucial role in maintaining and strengthening the Negev during the War of Independence.
In the middle of December 1947, Ben Gurion established the Negev Committee. It was headed by a representative of the Jewish National Fund, Yosef Weitz. The committee members were: Haim Gvati – the representative of the Agricultural Center; Yehuda Horin – the representative of the Settlement Department of the Jewish Agency, Hillel Cohen – the representative of Solel Boneh; Yigal Alon – Palmach Commander; Levi Eshkol – the Director of Mekorot and the Histadrut representative. The committee had at its disposal 200,000 lirot, skimmed off the security budget, a special security fund, the Jewish National Fund, the Settlement Department of the JNF, and loans from Mekorot and the Histadrut. The Negev Committee operated without a letter of appointment and a definition of its jurisdiction. It acted according to the discretion of its members and its power emanated from their personalities, determination and implementation abilities and performance as well as from their abilities to acquire resources for the Negev. The Negev Committee shouldered the full responsibility for the Negev settlements as well as for the Palmach forces serving in the Negev.
Prior to the formation of the Negev Brigade, a Negev home-front office was opened in Tel Aviv under the command of Yosef Shein, the logistics officer of the 2nd Battalion. The office dealt with all the necessary matters of coordination with the Negev Committee, the General Staff, the Palmach headquarters and other institutions. The home-front office also dealt with the acquisition of supplies and fortification materials, organized the processing of new recruits from the Palmach headquarters or the General Staff and organized the convoys that were sent to the Negev.
The Negev Committee traveled around the Negev from time to time and met daily to decide on issues related to fulfilling the requirements of the Negev.
This is a list of some of their decisions:
Approving the plans for the fortification of the Negev settlements and approving the funds for these plans.
Building a hospital in Nir-Am.
Acquiring and armoring 28 trucks.
Establishing a 'Machane Mekorot' for the headquarters of the Negev Brigade in Nir-Am.
Establishing a garage for vehicle repairs in Nir-Am with branches in Gvulot and Halutza.
The activities of the Negev Committee facilitated the task of preparing the Negev for the anticipated war; fortification of the settlements and preparation for combat. The Negev Committee made plans with Solel Boneh (the building company) for the execution of the following activities:
· Fortification of the settlements.
· Paving roads.
· Building landing strips for light aircraft.
· Building living quarters.
· Building storehouses
· Building hospitals.
The Solel Boneh company also produced land-mines for the Negev.
Akiva Atzmon (Wittenberg), the officer for fortifications of the 'Hagana' headquarters, was sent to the Negev to head the plans for protection and fortification of the settlements.
The food supply and other supplies were sent to the Negev from outside the Negev area. The settlements themselves had their own means for supporting their agricultural entities. The Negev Committee arranged for 'Hamashbir Hamercazi' to establish a central storehouse at Nir-Am to serve as a supply center for the needs of the people and the farm animals in all the Negev settlements. About 80% of the products transported to the Negev were supplied by 'Hamashbir Hamercazi' while the remainder was supplied by the home-office headquarters of the Negev Brigade, financed by the Negev Committee. 'Tnuva' also had a central storehouse in Nir-Am that supplied agricultural products to the settlements and the Palmach.
When the Egyptian army began its invasion, all the people responsible for the storehouses left the Negev and the central supply system collapsed.
One of the most difficult problems of the Negev settlements was the civilian and army fuel supply and it became necessary to store fuel reserves. The fuel was supplied solely in barrels and refueling was done with hand-pumps. The committee financed the installation of 18 fuel tanks, each with a 9 cubic meter capacity for fuel storage in the settlements and additional tanks for the storage of aircraft fuel. In January 1948, the Negev Committee estimated the monthly fuel consumption needs at 50,000 liters and allocated 100,000 lirot for that purpose – for a period of 8 months. A month later that estimate was changed to 250,000 liters per month. From time to time the allocation was increased accordingly.
At the beginning of 1948, most of the self-employed drivers refused to travel to the Negev. It was therefore necessary to use the services of the transportation co-operatives like: 'Tnuah' and 'Tachbura', but in that they achieved only partial success. In order to overcome the problem, the Negev Committee decided to loan money to the 'Tachbura' co-operative in order to armor 18 trucks on condition that they would obligate themselves to transport supplies to the Negev.
In order to improve the efficiency of the transportation arrangements, the committee undertook the project of establishing the 'Hanegev' transport cooperative and provided the finance (through loans) to the settlements and the cooperative for the purchase of trucks. The 'Hanegev' cooperative together with the trucks belonging to the settlements, transported all the supplies up until the time that the Negev was cut off and isolated, at the beginning of the first cease-fire.
The Negev Committee ceased to operate after the 'Yoav' campaign
Yigal Alon expressed appreciation of the work done by the Negev Committee in these words:
"Who can know whether, without this committee, the few fighters in the Negev would have been able to hold out under the conditions that prevailed there at that time!"
Prior to the formation of the Negev Brigade, a Negev home-front office was opened in Tel Aviv under the command of Yosef Shein, the logistics officer of the 2nd Battalion. The office dealt with all the necessary matters of coordination with the Negev Committee, the General Staff, the Palmach headquarters and other institutions. The home-front office also dealt with the acquisition of supplies and fortification materials, organized the processing of new recruits from the Palmach headquarters or the General Staff and organized the convoys that were sent to the Negev.
The Negev Committee traveled around the Negev from time to time and met daily to decide on issues related to fulfilling the requirements of the Negev.
This is a list of some of their decisions:
Approving the plans for the fortification of the Negev settlements and approving the funds for these plans.
Building a hospital in Nir-Am.
Acquiring and armoring 28 trucks.
Establishing a 'Machane Mekorot' for the headquarters of the Negev Brigade in Nir-Am.
Establishing a garage for vehicle repairs in Nir-Am with branches in Gvulot and Halutza.
The activities of the Negev Committee facilitated the task of preparing the Negev for the anticipated war; fortification of the settlements and preparation for combat. The Negev Committee made plans with Solel Boneh (the building company) for the execution of the following activities:
· Fortification of the settlements.
· Paving roads.
· Building landing strips for light aircraft.
· Building living quarters.
· Building storehouses
· Building hospitals.
The Solel Boneh company also produced land-mines for the Negev.
Akiva Atzmon (Wittenberg), the officer for fortifications of the 'Hagana' headquarters, was sent to the Negev to head the plans for protection and fortification of the settlements.
The food supply and other supplies were sent to the Negev from outside the Negev area. The settlements themselves had their own means for supporting their agricultural entities. The Negev Committee arranged for 'Hamashbir Hamercazi' to establish a central storehouse at Nir-Am to serve as a supply center for the needs of the people and the farm animals in all the Negev settlements. About 80% of the products transported to the Negev were supplied by 'Hamashbir Hamercazi' while the remainder was supplied by the home-office headquarters of the Negev Brigade, financed by the Negev Committee. 'Tnuva' also had a central storehouse in Nir-Am that supplied agricultural products to the settlements and the Palmach.
When the Egyptian army began its invasion, all the people responsible for the storehouses left the Negev and the central supply system collapsed.
One of the most difficult problems of the Negev settlements was the civilian and army fuel supply and it became necessary to store fuel reserves. The fuel was supplied solely in barrels and refueling was done with hand-pumps. The committee financed the installation of 18 fuel tanks, each with a 9 cubic meter capacity for fuel storage in the settlements and additional tanks for the storage of aircraft fuel. In January 1948, the Negev Committee estimated the monthly fuel consumption needs at 50,000 liters and allocated 100,000 lirot for that purpose – for a period of 8 months. A month later that estimate was changed to 250,000 liters per month. From time to time the allocation was increased accordingly.
At the beginning of 1948, most of the self-employed drivers refused to travel to the Negev. It was therefore necessary to use the services of the transportation co-operatives like: 'Tnuah' and 'Tachbura', but in that they achieved only partial success. In order to overcome the problem, the Negev Committee decided to loan money to the 'Tachbura' co-operative in order to armor 18 trucks on condition that they would obligate themselves to transport supplies to the Negev.
In order to improve the efficiency of the transportation arrangements, the committee undertook the project of establishing the 'Hanegev' transport cooperative and provided the finance (through loans) to the settlements and the cooperative for the purchase of trucks. The 'Hanegev' cooperative together with the trucks belonging to the settlements, transported all the supplies up until the time that the Negev was cut off and isolated, at the beginning of the first cease-fire.
The Negev Committee ceased to operate after the 'Yoav' campaign
Yigal Alon expressed appreciation of the work done by the Negev Committee in these words:
"Who can know whether, without this committee, the few fighters in the Negev would have been able to hold out under the conditions that prevailed there at that time!"