If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say:
“If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us:
Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 124
THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM
Pauline Rose
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
This book is compiled from notes from my diary and extracts from letters written during my stay in Jerusalem in the summer of 1946, and during the whole war [War of Independence] period 1948 – 1949.
It does not profess to be a comprehensive survey of the situation in Palestine and I have intentionally not dealt with the political, economic and spiritual problems which contributed to this war.
I have only tried to give a few pictures of life as I experienced it in Jerusalem before, during and after the siege.
As so many distorted pictures have been given to the world concerning the war in Palestine, this book is meant as a contribution to the truth regarding the unique and heroic stand of the Jewish people
in the face of overwhelming odds.~ Pauline Rose
Jerusalem, June, 1949
Click on each link in sequence below to hear Keren share Pauline’s personal and gripping account of The Siege of Jerusalem.
Part I
TOWARD EVENING
1946-1947
Two Worlds
The Holy City
Under Escort
England Again
Partition
Part II
THE DAY IS FAR SPENT
February – March 1948
Return
The Armored Car
Tel Aviv
Haifa and Ships
Bullets
To Jerusalem
Part III
NIGHT
March – July 1948
The Battered City
In the Throes
A Sabbath Day
Street Scenes
The State of Israel – Travail / Birth
Struggle for Life
IV
FLAMES
July – August 1948
The Old City / Memories
Uprooted
V
DAWN
August 1948 – May 1949
Burma Road / Malaya Road
Bonds
The New State / Elections
Ein Karem
Independence Day