Exodus - Leon Uris [211]
Major Fred Caldwell made a disastrous mistake. One of the Arabs in the coffeehouse who saw the boy thrown from the car was a member of the Maccabees.
General Sir Arnold Haven-Hurst, KBE, CB, DSO, MC was infuriated. He paced the office of his headquarters in the Schneller compound in Jerusalem, then snatched Cecil Bradshaw’s letter from his desk and read it again.
The situation has degenerated to such a state that unless means can be recommended for immediate stabilization by you I will be compelled to suggest the matter be turned over to the United Nations.
The United Nations, indeed! The tall blond man snorted and crumpled the letter and threw it to the floor. A week before Haven-Hurst had ordered a boycott on all Jewish places of business.
This was to be his thanks after fighting the Jews for five years. He had warned the Home Office in World War II not to take these Jews into the British Army but no, they wouldn’t listen. Now, lose the Palestine mandate. Haven-Hurst went to his desk and began working on an answer to Bradshaw’s letter.
I propose immediate adoption of the following points, which in my opinion will stabilize Palestine.
1. Suspension of all civil courts with fines and punishments and prison terms to be dispensed by the military commander.
2. Dissolve the Yishuv Central, disband the Zion Settlement Society and all other agencies of the Jews.
3. Cessation of all Jewish newspapers and publications.
4. Swift, quiet elimination of some sixty top Yishuv leaders. Haj Amin el Husseini has proved this method successful against his political opposition. This phase could be carried out by Arab confederates.
5. Complete use of the Arab Legion of Trans-Jordan.
6. Imprisonment of several hundred secondary leaders in the Yishuv and their subsequent quick banishment to some remote African colonies.
7. Grant the military commander the right to destroy any kibbutz, moshav, village, or part of a city found with arms. Institute a nationwide screening with all illegals to be deported at once.
8. Impose collective fines against the entire Jewish population for every act of Maccabee terror, and place these fines so high the Jews will begin to co-operate in the apprehension of these gangsters.
9. Offer larger rewards for information on key Maccabee terrorists, Aliyah Bet agents, Haganah heads, etc.
10. Hang or execute every apprehended Maccabee gangster on the spot.
11. Institute a series of boycotts on Jewish business, farm products, and halt all Jewish imports and exports. Keep complete control on all the movements of all Jewish vehicles.
12. Destroy the Palmach by armed attacks on kibbutzim known to be harboring them.
My forces have been compelled to operate under most difficult circumstances. We have been made to follow the rules and restrain ourselves from the widest and most effective use of our powers. On the other hand the Maccabees, Haganah, Palmach, and Aliyah Bet observe no rules and, indeed, attack our restraint as a weakness. If I am allowed to use my power I assure that order will be restored in short time.
General Sir Arnold Haven-Hurst
KBE, CB, DSO, MC
CHATHAM HOUSE, INSTITUTE OF FOREIGN RELATIONS, LONDON
Cecil Bradshaw’s color was a sickly gray when General Tevor-Browne finally reached his office.
“Well, Bradshaw, you asked Haven-Hurst for his ideas. You have them now.”
“Has the man gone mad? Good Lord, his report reads like Adolf Hitler’s ‘Final Solution.’ ”
Bradshaw picked up the twelve-point “Haven-Hurst Report” and shook his head. “God knows we want to keep Palestine, but murder, burning villages, hangings, starvation? I cannot recommend this beastly thing. Even if I did I don’t know whether you have enough men in the British Army who could carry it out. I’ve been for the Empire all my life, Sir Clarence, and many’s the time we’ve had to take harsh and unfair measures in our own behalf. But I also believe in God. We’re just not going to hold Palestine this way. I wash my hands of the matter. Let someone else endorse Haven-Hurst