NOTE ON SOURCES, TRANSLATIONS, TRANSLITERATIONS, AND ACRONYMS
AS NECESSARILY follows from the nature of the subject, the great majority of sources used in this study are in Hebrew. Some of them, notably the memoirs of such famous personalities as Moshe Dayan, Yitschak Rabin, and Ariel Sharon, have been translated into English. Nevertheless I have normally made use of, and referred to, the Hebrew originals—the reason being that they are often much more detailed and contain important documentary material that has been omitted from the English editions. To give the non-Israeli reader at least an idea of the nature of the source in question I have quoted each Hebrew title and provided it with a translation. Those translations are my own and by no means always correspond to the “official” English titles that are carried on the front pages and that all too often sacrifice accuracy for literary effect. It is my hope that this system will enable the non-Israeli reader, if not to check on my facts, then at least to obtain some kind of feel for the sources that I have used.
As foreigners driving around Israel and trying to read the road signs will note, transliteration represents a problem; occasionally it seems there are as many transliterations as there are people, if not more. I tried to be as simple, consistent, and phonetically correct as I could, even if this meant ignoring the normal system (e.g., kibbuts instead of “kibbutz,” Chayim instead of Haim) and substituting one of my own.
Finally, and for consistency’s sake, I have treated Hebrew acronyms as I would English ones: for example, in writing TSAHAL (for Tsva-Hagana Leyisrael) rather than the more normal Tsahal (let alone Zahal, which does not correspond to the way in which the word is pronounced); and PALMACH (for Plugot Machats) rather than Palmach. The reason for this is to make the informed reader, who may well have heard these terms before, aware that they do in fact represent acronyms. And indeed acronyms are something that the Israeli armed forces, like their opposite numbers in other countries, have been spouting forth in prodigious numbers.
Still there is no denying that, for all but Hebrew-speakers, access both to the numerous Hebrew terms and to the sources remains difficult if not impossible. Therefore, as in any good restaurant, please feel free to ignore the kitchen and enjoy the meal.
GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND HEBREW TERMS USED IN THE TEXT
Achdut Ha-avoda Unity of Labor; a left-wing activist party led by Yisrael Galili and Yigal Allon
AEW airborne electronic warfare
AFV armored fighting vehicle
aluf, alufim (pl.) brigadier (later major) general
APC armored personnel carrier
APSDFS armor-piercing, sabbot-discarding, fin-stabilized ammunition
BAKUM (Basis Klita U-miyun) Recruit Absorption and Classification Base
Bar Giora first Jewish self-defense organization in Palestine (1907)
Betar right-wing nationalist organization founded in 1925
chalutsim pioneers
chared, charedim (pl.) “the anxious ones”; non-Zionist orthodox Jews
chatatsit gravel thrower; a contraption dreamed up by TAAS for combating Palestinian demonstrators
CHEN (Chel Nashim) Women’s Army Corps
Cherut Freedom; a right-wing political party, the ancestor of the modern Likud Party
Chets Arrow: (1) type of elongated, armor-piercing ammunition developed for the Merkava tank; (2) antiballistic missile developed by IAI
CHIM (Chel Mishmar) Garrison Force; Hagana’s stationary force
CHISH (Chel Sadeh) Field Force; one of Hagana’s strike forces
Chok Sherut Bitachon National Service Law of 1949
CIC commander in chief
CO comanding officer
COS chief of staff
dunam a parcel of land measuring 1,000 square meters
en brera “no choice”; the ideological justification for Israeli wars until 1973
ECM electronic countermeasures
ETSEL (Irgun Tsvai Leumi) National
AS NECESSARILY follows from the nature of the subject, the great majority of sources used in this study are in Hebrew. Some of them, notably the memoirs of such famous personalities as Moshe Dayan, Yitschak Rabin, and Ariel Sharon, have been translated into English. Nevertheless I have normally made use of, and referred to, the Hebrew originals—the reason being that they are often much more detailed and contain important documentary material that has been omitted from the English editions. To give the non-Israeli reader at least an idea of the nature of the source in question I have quoted each Hebrew title and provided it with a translation. Those translations are my own and by no means always correspond to the “official” English titles that are carried on the front pages and that all too often sacrifice accuracy for literary effect. It is my hope that this system will enable the non-Israeli reader, if not to check on my facts, then at least to obtain some kind of feel for the sources that I have used.
As foreigners driving around Israel and trying to read the road signs will note, transliteration represents a problem; occasionally it seems there are as many transliterations as there are people, if not more. I tried to be as simple, consistent, and phonetically correct as I could, even if this meant ignoring the normal system (e.g., kibbuts instead of “kibbutz,” Chayim instead of Haim) and substituting one of my own.
Finally, and for consistency’s sake, I have treated Hebrew acronyms as I would English ones: for example, in writing TSAHAL (for Tsva-Hagana Leyisrael) rather than the more normal Tsahal (let alone Zahal, which does not correspond to the way in which the word is pronounced); and PALMACH (for Plugot Machats) rather than Palmach. The reason for this is to make the informed reader, who may well have heard these terms before, aware that they do in fact represent acronyms. And indeed acronyms are something that the Israeli armed forces, like their opposite numbers in other countries, have been spouting forth in prodigious numbers.
Still there is no denying that, for all but Hebrew-speakers, access both to the numerous Hebrew terms and to the sources remains difficult if not impossible. Therefore, as in any good restaurant, please feel free to ignore the kitchen and enjoy the meal.
GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND HEBREW TERMS USED IN THE TEXT
Achdut Ha-avoda Unity of Labor; a left-wing activist party led by Yisrael Galili and Yigal Allon
AEW airborne electronic warfare
AFV armored fighting vehicle
aluf, alufim (pl.) brigadier (later major) general
APC armored personnel carrier
APSDFS armor-piercing, sabbot-discarding, fin-stabilized ammunition
BAKUM (Basis Klita U-miyun) Recruit Absorption and Classification Base
Bar Giora first Jewish self-defense organization in Palestine (1907)
Betar right-wing nationalist organization founded in 1925
chalutsim pioneers
chared, charedim (pl.) “the anxious ones”; non-Zionist orthodox Jews
chatatsit gravel thrower; a contraption dreamed up by TAAS for combating Palestinian demonstrators
CHEN (Chel Nashim) Women’s Army Corps
Cherut Freedom; a right-wing political party, the ancestor of the modern Likud Party
Chets Arrow: (1) type of elongated, armor-piercing ammunition developed for the Merkava tank; (2) antiballistic missile developed by IAI
CHIM (Chel Mishmar) Garrison Force; Hagana’s stationary force
CHISH (Chel Sadeh) Field Force; one of Hagana’s strike forces
Chok Sherut Bitachon National Service Law of 1949
CIC commander in chief
CO comanding officer
COS chief of staff
dunam a parcel of land measuring 1,000 square meters
en brera “no choice”; the ideological justification for Israeli wars until 1973
ECM electronic countermeasures
ETSEL (Irgun Tsvai Leumi) National
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