torch's 'Edge of the Sword' Acclaimed as Israel's Cotton Production Climbs
Major Story of Israel's Independence War

-

Of the many books that have ' 10, 1948; June 10-July 19, 1948,
been written during the past 12 the period of the first truce and
years about Israel's military "the ten days of fighting," and
triumphs, "The Edge of the July 19, 1948, to Jan. 7, 1949,
Sword—Israel's War of In- the Israeli offensive leading up.
- dependence, 1947-1949," by Lt. to the periods of Israel's ac-
Col. Netanel Lorch, published quisition of maritime and air
by G. P. Putnam's Sons (200 strength which enabled the new
Madison, N. Y.) is the corn- state to overcome major attacks
pletest and most informative. of Egypt.
• Utilizing all available evi-
The concluding chapter de-
dence—the mute witnesses in scribes the end of the war, the
documents, monuments, tomb- armistice agreementS, the meet-
stones, photographs, burned-out ings on Rhodes and the cessa-
tanks • and armored cars on tion of fighting enabling Israel
roadsides—Lorch has sketched to enter "the era of armistice."
"an account of the main events
Maps, photographs, the texts
of this war which. signalled .a of the UN Partition Plan, Is-
new dawn of freedom for Israel rael's Declaration of Independ-
in its own homeland."
ence, contribute toward making
The original Hebrew title "The Edge of the Sword"' ex-
of the book was "Koroth Milk- tremely important in the study
hemeth Ha'Atzmauth." Adding of Israel and the Middle East.
to the importance of the his-1 Lorch is factual and realis-
torical analysis contained in ' tic. He deals with actual devel-
this book is a foreword by Gen. opments. He recognizes the dif-
S. .L. A. Marshall, of Detroit, ficulties that were encountered
and an epilogue by Maj. Gen. as well as the triumphs that
Yigael Yadin, former Chief of were achieved. In his prologue
the General Staff _.of the Israel he leads up to the actual oc-
Defense Forces. The consultant currences by pointing out that
editor for the book was Jack while Palestinian Jews were
Winocour.
celebrating the adoption of the
Lorch is thorough in his Partition Plan by the United
review of the war of libera- Nations on Nov. 29, 1917, they
tion and of the political back- were to face the brutal truth,
ground that affected the con- the very next day that the "UN
flict. He not only reviews the resolution had not . established
events that had led.to Israel's the Jewish State, that "the way
statehood but offers a thor- ahead was still long and
ough explanation of the years tortuous." This long and diffi-
of "struggle and revolt." In cult trek is retraced in the ably-
his clarification of the written "The Edge of • the
numerous elements in that Sword."
struggle., he outlines "the
In his foreword, Gen. Mars-
arena of battle," providing a hall pays tribute to Israel's
geographical outline for a army as "that very solid body
better understanding of the . . . firm in the affection of its
scene of the warfare.
people."
Lorch divides the war's con-
"Here," Gen. Marshall
duct into four phases: Its be- writes, "is the smallest stand,
ginnings, Nov. 29, 1947, the ing professional force serving
date of the adoption of the any modern state. Israel's
Palestine Partition Plan by the sword and shield is a citizen
United Nations, to April 1, army which may be sum-
1948; "Palestine Disaster"— moned from the streets, shops
April 1, 1948, to May 15, 1948, and olive fields within a few
the date of the proclamation of hours . . . The array is
Israel's Independence; "Repell- tailored to the defense of the
ing the Invasion, May 15-June , homeland and is not designed

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for adventuring abroad . . .
The old-fashioned look is the
secret of its power as a pro-
tecting shield . . . As for the
individual man, he is a strong
soldier because he is schooled
hard in the fundamentals and
because he knows that when
the fire flames, his leader
will go first."
In his epilogue, Gen. Yadin
writes of "The Edge of the
Sword" that it is "the first
attempt to give the reader a
systematic and objective ac-
count of the order of events"
of Israel's war for freedom.
He declares that "Lt. Col.
Lorch' is endowed with most of
the criteria by which a true
study of the War of Independ-
ence, written at this time,
should be judged. It is to
Lorch's great credit that he
was one of the founders of
the Military History Division of
the General Staff."
Thus, a military history has
been written by an expert and
an authority and "The Edge of
the Sword" must, therefore, be
viewed as the most important,
basic history of Israel's success-
ful war for independence.

The introduction of cotton into Israel as a commercial -
crop has met with great success. A cotton mill worker is
shown here at the Israel Cotton Mills at Herzlia, just north
of Tel Aviv, in a plant financed with Israel Bond dollars.
Israel fashions created out of cotton cloth grown and woven
in Israel have met with tremendous success in world fashion
centers, and Israel has become the world's third largest ex-
porter and producer of cotton rainwear.

Nazi Collaborator Tyler Gatewood Kent

BY MILTON FRIEDMAN

(Copyright. 1961,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc,)

case involved disclosure of con-
fidential messages between
Winston Churchill and Presi-
dent Roosevelt.
Kent was dismissed, arrest-
ed by the British with Ameri-
can consent, and charged with
communicating diplomatic
documents that might aid Hit-
ler for war ,purposes. At a
secret trial, he was convicted
on five counts of violation of
the British official secrets act,
and imprisoned for the war's
duration. Ambassador Ken-
nedy has commented that, if
the United States had then
been in the war, he would
have recommend I that Kent
be returned- to Washington,
tried for high treason and
shot.
The case was especially shock-
ing because of Kent's distin-
guished family and educational
background. His father, the late
William Patton Kent, was a
respected State Department of-
ficial and once a candidate for

Kent was sentenced to seven
years. Miss Wolkoff got 10
years. The trial judge said
she "apparently was moti-
vated by an anti-Semitic ob-
session:'
Miss Wolkoff had dispatched
a coded letter to - her friend,
William Joyce, the British
traitor who broadcast for Hit-
ler from Berlin under the name
"Lord Haw-Haw." It was inter-
cepted by British intelligence.
Kent's U.S. diplomatic immu-
nity was waived by the State
Department. In 1944• the De-
partment revealed that in Kent's
possession, when he was arrest-
ed, were over 1,500 copies of
diplomatic paper s, duplicate
keys to the code room, and
photographic plates of Embassy
documents "believed to have
been made by confederates for
the purpose of endeavoring to
transmit to Germany and cer-
tain printed propaganda mate-
rial which was prejudicial to
the British conduct of the war."
Kent's arrest caused an emer-
gency "diplomatic blackout" be-
tween the State Department and
embassies throughout the world.
New codes had to be devised.
Kent and his wife, the former
Clara Hunter Hyatt, left a life
of leisurely farming in the
1950s for cruises aboard their
yacht. More recently, Kent
settled in Northern Florida,
and entered politics. Last year,
he suffered defeat when he
sought election as county com-
missioner. -
Twenty years have elapsed
since Kent's conviction for aid-
ing the Nazis. There is no evi-
dence his political and racist
philosophy has changed.

WASHINGTON — Among the
motley assortment of extrem-
ists emerging in the turbulent
South is a wealthy aristocrat
who made news in 1940. He is
Tyler Gatewood Kent, once
State Department employe at
the U.S. Embassy in London,
who was convicted of giving
secrets to Nazi Germany.
Kent, now 50, is a descendant
of 'President Tyler. In recent
months, he has emerged as pub-
lisher of the Putnam County
Sun, a newspaper published at
Palatka, Fla. His headlines pro-
claim: "Klan Needed in South
Again" and o b e d Riders
Brought Order." His racist pub-
lication attacks "treason in the
State, Department" and Presi-
dent Kennedy's family.
'In 1940, when Hitler's war
machine was crushing Europe,
Scotland Yard notified Ambas-
sador Joseph P. Kennedy, father
of the President, that Kent was
secretly aiding the Nazis. Kent Governor
of from
Virginia.
Kent was
graduated
the exclusive
was
then
in
the
strategic
posi-
tion of code clerk at the Ameri- St. Alban's School. Princeton
the University , of
can Embassy in London. The Madrid,
Madrid, and attended the Sor-
bonne in Paris. Released from
prison after the war. Kent mar-
Hebrew Corner
ried a wealthy widow, and be-
Abraham Shapira— came a gentleman farmer in
Maryland.
Veteran Watchman
Former Ambassador Kennedy
Some time ago the veteran watch- recalls the Kent case: I re-
man Abraham Shapira reached the member they arrested him at 6
age of .ninety. Fromall over the ,
country people came to his home 0 clock one morning . . . They
in Petah Tikvah: from Nahalal, found in his pocket a message
Rishon leZion- G e e r a veteran
I had received from Winston
watchmen came wearing khaki, their
the
legs sheated in shining riding boots; Churchill just three hours
there came Knesset members, heads
of municipalities and ministers. earlier. The prison sentence was
There were children and old men mild to what he deserved."
there. Abraham Shapira has already
Kennedy said that "when he
become a legend among both Jews
and Arabs in his lifetime.
was arrested. and I asked what
In those days when the young
Shapira rode a horse and began to he could have been thinking of, Lebanese Official
do guard . duty, the prime minister he showed no remorse but went
of Israel was a baby. It was impos-
sible even to dream of the state of into an anti-Semitic blast that Tried as Israel Spy
Israel and Zahal, etc. In the country was a terrible thing."
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire to
there were only a few Jews and
Peter Flemings authoritative
The Jewish News)
they suffered from the Arabs
amongst whom they lived; young "Operation
Sea Lion" men-
LONDON
— A former Leb-
Shapira decided to become a watch-
man and in a short time the Arabs tinned the pro-Nazi activities of anese police official will be
learnt that there really was someone Kent, stating: •"In London, Kent tried by a military court in
watching and protecting Petah Tikva.
made the acquaintance of Anna Beirut on charges of espionage
Shapira took care of everything in
the Moshava (country town). If the Wolkoff, a lady some 10 years for Israel, it was reported here
Arabs stole anything Shapira would older than himself, and was Wednesday from Lebanon.
always find the thief. Sometime Sha- A
pica would ride for several days to d rawn into the orbit of the
The suspect, .Emile Khai-
Syris or Saudi Arabia in order to 'Right Club,' a small, seedy rallah, was arrested in Syria
restore a horse or cow. The arabs
were afraid of him but also re- clique of anti-Semites. By Jan- last month and has been held
spected his wisdom and invited him uary, 1940, Kent's. collection of on charges of being a member
t h
o eme .ome and adjudicate between
documents had begun to include of an Israeli spy ring allegedly
Abraham Shapira has met many copies of the messages between operating in Lebanon and
important people in his life; when
he met Lord Balfour, Shapira said; Churchill (then First Sea Lord) Syria. Major Zuhair Adili, a
"I am happy to shake the hand that and 'President Roosevelt . . military examining judge in
signed the Balfour declaration for
building a state for the Jewish peo- In February he applied for, but Damascus, was quoted as say-
ple": And Balfour gave a little laugh was refused, a transfer to Ber- ing that investigations of espio-
and said: "I am happy to shake the
hand that has watched many times lin." nage had shown that Lebanon
over the lives of settlers".
Kent and Miss Wolkoff, apparently was- center for espio-
Today Shapira lives in Petah Tik-
daughter of the former Im- nage activities and for recruit-
vah in a street called after him.
pedal Russian Navy admiral, ing of new agents for the
Edited by Brit Ivrit Olamit, Jerusalem
Translation of Hebrew column,
were arrested May 18, 1940. alleged spy ring.

