The most remarkable story told to me about the Israeli War for Independence was told to me by Rabbi Ronn Yaish of Bergenfield. His father, Azri Yaish, emigrated to British-controlled Palestine about five years before Israel declared independence. When the War for Israeli Independence came in 1948, there were two requirements to join the army:
- You had to be able to carry a gun.
- You had to be able to fit into an army uniform.
His father’s first assignment was to ride “shotgun” on a truck providing military supplies to military bases as part of a four-truck, 24-hour convoy. The first and last truck held armed soldiers to provide protection for the scarce military supplies, and the two middle material trucks held the actual supplies. Because the mission was dangerous, no sleeping was permitted.
At the completion of the first mission and return to the supply base, they were given the bad news: They had to make another 24-hour convoy under the same conditions to other locations. At the completion of the second mission, again they received another bit of bad news, but not as bad as the first two assignments: The third assignment would be only 12 hours and if things were quiet, they could take a nap.
Ronn’s father, being both new to the army and very exhausted, was very much looking forward to getting some sleep. However, along with the other soldiers in the truck there was an older man very interested in talking. He wanted to know how long Ronn’s father had been in Israel and how he was doing in the new country, and he was about to ask him another question when Ronn’s father was understandably out of patience and interrupted him with a request to remain silent so he could get some sleep.
The older man remained quiet for the remainder of the trip back to the supply base and Ronn’s father slept for the rest of the trip. At the base camp, Ronn’s father awoke to the shock of his life when Israeli generals and other high officials came to the truck and were saluting the older man. It turns out he was David Ben-Gurion.
