ABSTRACT
On 27 December 1948 Yeivin wrote to the head of the Public Works Adminis tration. The bitter experience of the previous months, and especially the case of Megiddo, had shown him that without taking action it would be impossible to prevent sites and monuments being damaged and collections being robbed by soldiers. He and Pat, the army officer responsible for liaison with the public, devised a plan:
The IDAM will prepare a detailed list of 40-50 places that need guarding against damage and destruction, and special armed guards will be nomi nated, a kind of Notrim (Geffirs) battalion, as existed formerly in Manda tory times. They will be placed under the local army or police commander, according to need, and will act under the order of the IDAM. These Notrim will be responsible for guarding the monuments or collections, or any other property under their supervision. (GLl342/22 no. 1)
Yeivin suggested a budget of 3,000 Lira per month for 50 guards, shared by four ministries: Public Works, Defence, Religious Affairs and Foreign Affairs. A meeting was arranged with Kahana (the Ministry of Religious Affairs); Dr Mordechai Ettinger (later Etter) (General Secretary for Interior Affairs at the Ministry of Transport), Yeivin and Ben-Dor (GL1342/22,17.1.49). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to join in. Kahana objected to the idea of a shared budget and suggested that an army unit should do the guarding. Yeivin answered that this was impossible. Ettinger wondered about a special police force, and asked what the custom had been during the Mandatory period. Yeivin explained that the Mandatory Department of Antiquities had used Arab guards (paid 3-4 pounds per month), but this arrangement had only been partially successful.
