Taken from Herm's letter 1948

Wednesday 12.05. '48.

It is 12:30 A.M. Besides Mr. Sharett there were Jews and Arabs on the plane who had just been appointed by the UN to be the official "post" representatives for both Jewish and Arab held parts of Palestine.
In Athens we were picked up by a Dakota plane which carried us directly to Tel Aviv. Today Jaffa officially capitulated. They accepted our terms which, however, have not yet been announced. Jaffa has at present no electricity, no water, 3000 instead of 70,000 inhabitants. On the other hand heavy fighting is taking place on the Jerusalem road which is still closed with all the implied consequences. The Arabs are successfully attacking Kfar Etzion today with up to now very heavy losses in dead and wounded. Tomorrow, I will have a conversation with Bernstein, our minister of economics... and my exact responsibility and job will be fixed. Frankly, I am timid. Do I want as much responsibility as possible or do I prefer to work under a strong executive? It looks as if I shall have to answer these questions myself. Bart and Shapiro think I should take over "foreign trade". Bart, because he thinks I would handle it best and Shapiro because it would mean most power for me and indirectly , for the party. Bernstein who would then be my direct boss is a weak personality and I would have considerable independence. Kaplan, on the other hand would like me to work with him - and I like and admire him. He,
however, is a much stronger personality and I would probably have much less independence. Both positions have advantages from a personal point of view. The first is a specific job about which I do know something - the second would mean less responsibility and would enable me to make myself useful to and work under a man whom I admire and would give me a chance to learn and gain experience.
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