Let My Right Hand Wither

A memoir of the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948 by an American veteran of that conflict and World War Two.

“I have tried through my own experiences, first as a G.I. student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and later as a volunteer in the defense of Israel, to depict the life in Israel during the past few crucial years. I have tried to describe the many tremendous changes embroidered in the one major transformation of Palestine, 1946, to Israel, 1949. The underground struggle, the life in the cities and farm communities, the constant preparation for the eventuality of a war which every Jew in Palestine knew was inevitable, the early struggle against local Arab gangs, and finally, the struggle against the seven invading Arab armies.

The events in this book are true.

Through the events that my wife, some friends and myself, all Americans, have participated in, I have tried to paint a picture of the rebirth of Israel, spiritually as well as physically. And I have taken the liberty of injecting, throughout the text, small incidents in which I had no active part, but of which I have heard or read. These incidents typify the fighting and living in Israel during these fateful years. They are included in the hope that they will contribute to a better understanding of the new Jew, the Sabra, who is growing up with Israel.

The American reader, I am sure, will notice the close resemblance of the youth of Israel to his own youth. The former G.I. will be amazed to see how closely the “Palmachnick” resembles him in the last war. And the scene of Palestine, and later Israel, as a frontier country, will remind Americans of the struggle America once had in its fight for independence.”—From the Introduction.