[calanya]

My father was a commander in the six-day war, and certainly could not speak Polish. This is the first time I've heard of this notion.

Most anyone raised in Israel would not be able to speak Polish clearly enough to communicate commands, and most commanders (including the chief of staff Rabin) were born in (then) Palestine.

[simonh]

You only need one person in each unit with a radio that speaks Polish for this to work. They can translate for everyone else. Think of the Navaho code talkers the US used in WW2. If there isn't a polish speaker in a unit, then you would have to just use another language and be more careful what you say. It seems like the that the 'lets use Polish' strategy was more a widely used trick than a systematic policy though.