received blunt instructions:
"Get rid of them!" The Egyp-
tians could not fire without vio-
lating the truce, nor could the
Israelis, for the same reason.
Shulman ordered one of Is-
rael's little ships to pull up
within hailing distance. "We
shall not shoot during the
truce," he shouted at the Egyp-
tian captain, but our men, act-
ing as individuals, are ready to
board you and engage in parti-
san activity!" Israeli sailors
stood by, some with knives in
their teeth, and others bran-
dishing belaying pins.
The ships fled to Gaza, but
Shulman and the navy fol-
lowed, and set up their own
blockade. Long-range shore
batteries opened fire, and
Shulman radioed for permis-
sion to fire back. His repeated
requests were each time de-
nied, until he asked that the
question be put to Ben-Gurion
directly. A terse reply came
back: "If you can sink them,
shoot; if not, don't."
Four or five small boats,
packed with explosives, were
lowered. Each was manned by
a single sailor who steered the
craft in the direction of the
enemy, who were riding at an-
chor. When he reached the
perimeter of his safety zone,
each sailor directed the "tor-
pedo" directly at target, and
activated his ejection seat,
which catapulted him into the
water. And that is how the
Egyptian flagship, the Farouk,
and two smaller- ships, went
down in our navy's first armed
encounter.
Recruitment to the Egyptian
navy dropped to nil for several
months at least, Shulman
commented.
One of the human torpedoes
and the officer in immediate
charge of the operation was
Yochai Bin-Nun, who later be-
came commander-in-chief of
the navy.
When the War of Liberation
was over, and military service
was established on a lifetime
career basis, Shulman was
able to withdraw, but his year
and a half of service laid the
groundwork for what was to
follow. Since then he has con-
tributed to the country
through his engineering com-
panies, which have executed
major projects in Israel, and
under the flag of Israel in Af-
rica and Asia, as well as
through the development of
local industry. From his home
in Haifa he is today also
engaged in helping to organize
an Israel Navy League, com-
prising all former members of
the service.
Perhaps the crowning mo-
ment in the family annals
came some years ago when Re-
becca Shulman, the national
president of Hadassah at the
time, was identified as "the
mother of Paul Shulman."
of the Detroit-area Jewish Community!
14§gatt*S...„ liMetikE
Ntandwine
will be honored at the Jewish National Fund Testimonial Dinner
on Wednesday, June 24, 1987, at Congregation Shaarey Zedek,
27375 Bell Road, Southfield, Michigan.
For Information and Reservations,
Phone 557-6644
or write to
JEWISH
NATIONAL FUND
18877 W. Ten Mile Road / Suite 104 / Southfield, Michigan .48075
31