Pages 21-48 - Telfed

Peopledrew Telfed Magazine’s attention to therecent passing away of another non-Jew,South African Milton Boettger, known as“Butch Ben Yok”, who flew as a wirelessoperator/ air-gunner in the Israel Air Force.“Butch had a ‘Jewish heart’ to the extentthat he even used to go to Cheder with hisJewish pals,” said fellow machalnik ZanSwartzberg in a tribute to the passing ofhis good friend. “So when years later,Butch learnt that volunteers were queuingup at the Zionist Federation offices to fightin Israel’s War of Independence, he joinedus.” With Butch’s WWII experience, hehad “the perfect credentials.”Together with a group of nineteen machalniksfrom Southern Africa, they took aserpentine route via Rome to Czechoslovakia.There, in a secret out-of-the-wayairfield, they were brought face to facewith three B-17 Flying Fortress bomberssmuggled out of the USA. After fitting-outthe B-17s with bomb racks, bombs, andguns, the Machalniks were ready to fly theaircraft to Israel.Smoky thought it not a bad idea to killtwo birds with one stone, so together withthe Chief of Air Force and South AfricanDov Judah, it was decided that on theflight to Israel, the B-17s would attackCairo and bases in the Gaza Strip.And here is the interesting connection.The aircraft that were smuggled out of theUSA by the non-Jewish Charles Winterswere flown to Czechoslovakia, and werethe same B 17s that the non-Jewish Butchand his comrades then flew on to Israel,bombing Egypt en route.Smoky reveals that “amongst the 425volunteers who flew in the Israel Air Forceand in Air Transport Command (ATC), 92were non-Jews, representing 21.6% of allthe flying crews. In the face of the U.N.embargo on arms exports to the MiddleEast, ATC was a lifeline for bringing in alltypes of ‘illegal’ armaments from abroad.”Nine non-Jews, who were killed either inaction or in accidents, are buried in themilitary cemetery in Haifa.Times have changed, and yet in someinstances not. The writer cannot fail to notethat the same targets in the Gaza Strip thatButch and his fellow Machalniks bombedin 1948 were again bombed in December2008 and January 2009.Peace remains as elusive as ever!43