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Hi Everyone
Not everything is a rose garden at Matzuva but being ever the optimist when you have reached rock bottom the only way on is upwards.  However with water restrictions now in force the lawns will suffer as will the pockets of members with increased prices and penalties for exceeding quotas.

Firstly, let’s send our congratulations to Matzuva veteran members who have now passed the 90 years of age landmark – Miriam Mitzna, Eliyahu Koren and Shlomo Doron.  May they have many more years of health, happiness and contentment.

Along with Israel celebrating its 60^th birthday some of our older members have written of the situation at Matzuva in 1948.  One of the contributors is veteran member Dan Carmi (husband of Elisheva educator and former Ulpan teacher).
[translated and edited from Hebrew]

“60 years State of Israel – and how was it with us?”

May 1948 – tensions rise…

During the period that Matzuva was cut off and isolated – there was a need for daily improvising on the part of members, children and the livestock in the chicken houses and the dairy.
Everyone feared that with the termination of British rule it would signal violence and enmity on the part of our neighbours and their helpers from over the border.
On May 5^th, just 9 days before the declaration of independence, David Ben-Gurion, soon to be Israel’s first prime minister, along with Yigal Yadin the chief of staff and Joseph Weitz met with the representatives of the kibbutzim, Hanita, Eilon and Matzuva.  We had three queries – the evacuation of non-combatants, suitable budgets for fortifications and removal of the blockade.   Would the Hagana meet the imminent invasion from the north?  No promises were given but they heard us out and got the message.  Regarding the imminent armed confrontation Ben-Gurion remarked “Here there will not be a Masada!”  A further meeting at Kibbutz Yagur with Moshe Carmel, the commander of the northern army brigade, again no assurance was given that there would be a rescue mission – “We’ll act according to developments” we were told.

Meanwhile, preparations were underway to evacuate the children to a safe location.  Elisheva and Baver met with the Haifa mayor who offered them the Carmel monastery but they preferred to take the Hanita and Matzuva kids to the “Ahava” institution in Kiryat Bialik (Haifa Bay Township).

Dan attended further meetings in Tel Aviv but failed to hear of plans to break the blockade.   On May 13^th a light plane dropped supplies and mail over Matzuva.  In the evening Dan reached Nahariya by boat and on shore he found soldiers of  the 22^nd battalion ready for a night raid operation to break the blockade on the coast road at Achziv and Basa (Shlomi of today).  The operation named “Ben-Ami” was to achieve two objectives.  1) To bring 25 supply trucks for the Western Galilee settlements and 2) To evacuate the Hanita and Matzuva kids and child nurses to “Ahava”.  The relief convoy left Haifa at dusk – it was stopped by the British army at Kordani and eventually reached Kibbutz Ein Hamifratz (south of Akko).     We left Nahariya after midnight avoiding the British army camp to the north.  I guided them through the Koren wadi and then left them.  At dawn they sent a few mortar shells towards Basa and the villagers fled on mass mainly over the border into Lebanon.  We witnessed this from Matzuva and the Hagana forces had by then removed the blockades at Samaria (south of Nahariya) and Achziv thus opening up the road.  The same morning the trucks arrived bringing provisions and supplies.  The same trucks were to evacuate the kids – it was May 14^th and the day before the end of the British mandate.
In the afternoon the children and their attendants travelled to Nahariya and the only safe passage was by sea.  They sailed in the evening and arrived at Kishon port (northern part of Haifa port) during the night and travelled northwards to “Ahava” in the morning.
We heard on transistors in our defence positions at Matzuva Ben-Gurion proclaim the establishment of the State of Israel.  The same day our members Miriam and Eliezer Ben-Shachar were married by the Rabbi of Nahariya and another member, Dassi Banai (past Ulpan housemother) gave birth to Eyal at 2 a.m. on Independence Day in Nahariya.  Her husband, the late Aryeh Banai was the commander of Matzuva security who was away on duty and only saw his son two weeks later.
That was indeed a first Independence Day full of events. 
(Dan Carmi)

The months during which Matzuva, Hanita and Eilon were cut off completely from the rest of the country is another story – At Matzuva the menu was a diet of chicken from their chicken houses along with olives and carobs from the trees.  The daily routing was working during the day and guarding the kibbutz at night.

Have a good week
Baruch

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