272
CAIRO TO DAMASCUS
spread that the Jews had a devastating "secret weapon": the
"Davidka," named after David of David and Goliath, and
reputed to be powerful enough to rip through the Old City
walls, ten to twenty feet thick. "They may use it tonight,"
it was whispered. Somehow I connected the disappearance of
Bilby and Davidson with the anticipated debut of the
"Davidka."
There was something in tonight's attempt which convinced
me that it would be mightier than any previous effort. The
operation was in charge of a twenty-five-year-old sabra called
Uzi,3 who had led the assault on Castel. Uzi commanded an
undisclosed number of Portzim—stormers—a special unit of
the Palmach commandos chosen for the assignment. His order of the day (or night) was curt: "Portzim! You stand
before the walls of Jerusalem. For 1,900 years no Jew has
climbed them. Tonight you will mount them!"
We watched them from the Pantiles roof. The Old City
spread before us under moonlight, looked strange, distant,
infinitely lonesome. Its skyline of spires, cupolas, belfries, and
serrated walls seemed out of place in a modern world. They
were bleached by a moon that made deep shadows, everywhere adding mysterious pools of darkness where the Portzim, unseen, were now crawling their way forward under the
noses of Arabs. Olive and poplar trees stood out in black
clumps—each deadly with concealed snipers. Fitzsimmons
and I brought out our cameras, ducking frequently at wild
shots that came our way.
By midnight Uzi and the Portzim had swung into decisive
action. As Jewish gunners let go simultaneously, the ancient
walls thundered back with answering fire. It was like a box
of giant firecrackers going off all at once in every direction. A
terrific series of explosions, topped by a mighty volcanic roar,
sounded at Jaffa Gate as a giant geyser of fire leaped from the
base of the massive door, followed by smoke and debris bil3
Haganah leaders continued to use aliases, usually Biblical names, as a
carryover from the underground days of the British occupation.