Six Days That Changed the World
"....On that very day on which the enemies of the Jews intended to dominate them, it was reversed----the Jews dominated their enemies!"
Esther, 9:1
As June 5 approaches, we are reminded of the June 5 that changed the map of the Middle East, and so the world, forever. The Arabs, eyes always fixed on the rear-view mirror of history, still demand that Israel return to the borders of June 5, 1967 (1). Let us take a look at why the Six-Day War was fought, and how it continues to affect our world today.
The Crisis
When Syrian armed forces fired on Israeli farms near the Golan Heights in April, 1967, the Israeli Air Force attacked Syrian artillery positions. Six Soviet-made MIG's were destroyed in subsequent air-battles. Syria, then under the reckless leadership of President Noureddin al-Atasi and Premier Salah Jedid, invoked its defense pact with Egypt, and demanded that President Gamal Abdul Nasser join the fight against Israel.
Nasser, then seeking leadership of the entire Arab World, evicted UN peacekeeping troops from Gaza and Sinai and massed his army on the southern border of Israel. After forgin a military alliance with Jordan, Nasser declared the Straits of Tiran (just south of Eilat) closed to Israeli shipping, despite the international status of the waterway. He whipped-up an intense war-hysteria in Cairo, declaring that the time had come for the Arab nations to unite and destroy Israel. (2)
While Israel formed a national unity government under Prime Minister Levi Eshkol and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, President Lyndon Johnson called for restraint by all parties. The Soviet Union promised full support to Egypt. The UN Security Council met and did nothing to resolve the crisis.
Jews all over the world gathered to raise funds and say Tehillim (Psalms) for Israel. Meanwhile, Israel mobilized the reserves and prepared thousands of military graves. The world watched and waited for Egypt to strike.
The Six-Day War
As dawn broke in the Middle East on June 5, 1967, Israeli Mirage jets streaked through the skies over Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Within a few hours, they devastated the air forces of all three countries; most enemy planes were destroyed on the ground.
Assured of total air control, Israeli armored forces swept across the Sinai desert, scaled the Syrian Golan Heights, and surrounded Jerusalem. By sunset on June 11, when all parties to the conflict had accepted a UN cease-fire resolution, Israel ruled from the Suez Canal to the Golan to the Jordan River.
The remarkable events of that week left indelible marks on every nation involved in the conflict, and the consequences remain with us today. Let's consider the lasting effects on each country and people.
Egypt
Fearing the wrath of President Nasser, army chief Amir told the President that Egyptian forces were winning the war. When Nasser learned the truth, Amir committed suicide. Nasser claimed that American and British warplanes had joined in the Israeli attack, perhaps to lessen the humiliation of defeat by Israel alone. He resigned the Presidency of Egypt, but rescinded his action in the wake of massive street-demonstrations.
After the war Nasser continued his conflict with Israel with skirmishes along the Suez Canal until his death in 1970.
The next President, Anwar Sadat, continued the skirmishes for three years, then launched the Yom Kippur War on October 6, 1973, along with Syria.
Israel was not prepared for the surprise attacks, and both Arab armies made major gains in the first few days of the War. Once fully mobilized, Israeli forces counter-attacked and defeated both enemies.
Sadat appears to have undergone a genuine change of heart as a result of the Yom Kippur War, in which his brother was killed. He expelled Soviet military advisors and sought American mediation of the conflict with Israel. After visiting the Knesset in 1977, Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin negotiated a peace treaty at Camp David, Maryland, with the assistance of President Jimmy Carter. In return, Egypt regained the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt refused to accept the Gaza Strip, which it had controlled between the 1948 War and June 5, 1967.
On October 6, 1981, the eighth anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Sadat was assassinated by Muslim fanatics posing as soldiers during a military parade.
His successor, Hosni Mubarak, has maintained the peace treaty with Israel, but his regime has discouraged any contacts between Egyptians and Israelis.
Syria
As Israeli forces were storming the Golan Heights, Syrian Air Force Commander Hafez al-Assad demanded that Primier Salah Jedid send all troops in Damascus to the front.
"You fool!" Jedid replied, " Don't you know that if we send those troops away, we would be out of power by tomorrow morning?" (3)
Within a year, Assad overthrew Jedid and ruled Syria the rest of his life.
Alone among the Arab combatants in the Six Day War, Syria has made no progress toward peace with Israel. Surrounded by US allies, and under the quirky leadership of former London ophthalmologist Beshir al-Assad, MD, Syria backs the Shiite fanatic terrorists known as Hezbollah, esconced in Southern Lebanon. Worldwide pressure forced Syria to withdraw its army from Lebanon in April, after occupying the country for about twenty years.
Jordan
King Hussein lost the West Bank, but gained hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in 1967. Within three years the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), under Yasser Arafat, seized control of parts of Jordan and threatened the throne. In the month that became known as "Black September," 1970, the King crushed PLO, which then fled to Lebanon. Syrian forces crossed the border into Jordan to save PLO, but were withdrawn when Israel threatened to attack them.
Like Sadat, King Hussein appears to have changed from an enemy of Israel into a friend. Jordan kept the 1967 armistice till it was replaced by a peace treaty in 1994. Hussein's son and heir, King Abdullah II, has followed his policies.
Israel
The jewel in the crown of victory of the Six Day War was eastern Jerusalem, especially the Temple Mount. First soldiers, then Israeli civilians, then Jews from all over the world streamed to the Western Wall (Kotel Maaravi), in Jewish hands for the first time in two thousand years. Even the most secular of Israelis were moved by the blowing of the shofar at the Kotel on June 7.
Although the Jewish state has made peace with Egypt and Jordan in the decades following the War, the problem of ruling over a hostile Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank remains unresolved. In 1993, Israel agreed to the establishment of PLO-rule in Gaza and the West Bank, and even armed a Palestinian police force. After failed negotiations and years of relentless terrorism, Israel has decided to cede Gaza to the Palestine Authority after Tisha B'Av this year. A fence (walled in some areas) is under construction between Israel and the West Bank. In 2003 Israel approved the establishment of a Palestinian state in both Arab areas.
Jews
Jewish people around the world, even the most secular and assimilated, shared the fear that gripped Israel during the tense weeks that led up to June 5. This fear turned to elation as Israel smashed its enemies decisively in six days. No longer victims, Jews were winners! Suddenly, Jewish teenagers were wearing yarmulkes on the street and learning Hebrew. Everyone wanted to visit Israel and see the newly-acquired areas "before they give them back." In the Soviet Union, Jews who had been scared into silence for decades demanded the right to emigrate to Israel. In the US, Jews demanded that presidential candidates promise to back Israel, and most did (4).
For many of these Jews, the capture of the Temple Mount and re-unification of Jerusalem had a spiritual aspect---------some even saw in these events the hand of G-d, perhaps the harbinger of the Messianic Era. Teenagers and young adults turned to Orthodox Judaism in numbers unseen in generations.
The remarkable Six Day War not only changed the world, it also changed us.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Before the Six Day War, Arabs insisted on returning to the "Pre-1948 Situation" of no Israel at all. Before Israel had any "occupied territories" hostility among the Arabs was already virulent.
(2) "Those Were the Years" by Nissim Mishal, page 138.
(3) "Coup D'Etat" by Edward Luttwak.
(4) Since 1968, the candidates clearly more favorable to Israel (Nixon in 1972, Reagan in 1980, Clinton in 1992, and George W Bush in 2004) all won. In the other presidential elections since 1968, either both major party nominees were both about equally pro-Israel, or Middle-East policy was not an issue.
Esther, 9:1
As June 5 approaches, we are reminded of the June 5 that changed the map of the Middle East, and so the world, forever. The Arabs, eyes always fixed on the rear-view mirror of history, still demand that Israel return to the borders of June 5, 1967 (1). Let us take a look at why the Six-Day War was fought, and how it continues to affect our world today.
The Crisis
When Syrian armed forces fired on Israeli farms near the Golan Heights in April, 1967, the Israeli Air Force attacked Syrian artillery positions. Six Soviet-made MIG's were destroyed in subsequent air-battles. Syria, then under the reckless leadership of President Noureddin al-Atasi and Premier Salah Jedid, invoked its defense pact with Egypt, and demanded that President Gamal Abdul Nasser join the fight against Israel.
Nasser, then seeking leadership of the entire Arab World, evicted UN peacekeeping troops from Gaza and Sinai and massed his army on the southern border of Israel. After forgin a military alliance with Jordan, Nasser declared the Straits of Tiran (just south of Eilat) closed to Israeli shipping, despite the international status of the waterway. He whipped-up an intense war-hysteria in Cairo, declaring that the time had come for the Arab nations to unite and destroy Israel. (2)
While Israel formed a national unity government under Prime Minister Levi Eshkol and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, President Lyndon Johnson called for restraint by all parties. The Soviet Union promised full support to Egypt. The UN Security Council met and did nothing to resolve the crisis.
Jews all over the world gathered to raise funds and say Tehillim (Psalms) for Israel. Meanwhile, Israel mobilized the reserves and prepared thousands of military graves. The world watched and waited for Egypt to strike.
The Six-Day War
As dawn broke in the Middle East on June 5, 1967, Israeli Mirage jets streaked through the skies over Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Within a few hours, they devastated the air forces of all three countries; most enemy planes were destroyed on the ground.
Assured of total air control, Israeli armored forces swept across the Sinai desert, scaled the Syrian Golan Heights, and surrounded Jerusalem. By sunset on June 11, when all parties to the conflict had accepted a UN cease-fire resolution, Israel ruled from the Suez Canal to the Golan to the Jordan River.
The remarkable events of that week left indelible marks on every nation involved in the conflict, and the consequences remain with us today. Let's consider the lasting effects on each country and people.
Egypt
Fearing the wrath of President Nasser, army chief Amir told the President that Egyptian forces were winning the war. When Nasser learned the truth, Amir committed suicide. Nasser claimed that American and British warplanes had joined in the Israeli attack, perhaps to lessen the humiliation of defeat by Israel alone. He resigned the Presidency of Egypt, but rescinded his action in the wake of massive street-demonstrations.
After the war Nasser continued his conflict with Israel with skirmishes along the Suez Canal until his death in 1970.
The next President, Anwar Sadat, continued the skirmishes for three years, then launched the Yom Kippur War on October 6, 1973, along with Syria.
Israel was not prepared for the surprise attacks, and both Arab armies made major gains in the first few days of the War. Once fully mobilized, Israeli forces counter-attacked and defeated both enemies.
Sadat appears to have undergone a genuine change of heart as a result of the Yom Kippur War, in which his brother was killed. He expelled Soviet military advisors and sought American mediation of the conflict with Israel. After visiting the Knesset in 1977, Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin negotiated a peace treaty at Camp David, Maryland, with the assistance of President Jimmy Carter. In return, Egypt regained the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt refused to accept the Gaza Strip, which it had controlled between the 1948 War and June 5, 1967.
On October 6, 1981, the eighth anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Sadat was assassinated by Muslim fanatics posing as soldiers during a military parade.
His successor, Hosni Mubarak, has maintained the peace treaty with Israel, but his regime has discouraged any contacts between Egyptians and Israelis.
Syria
As Israeli forces were storming the Golan Heights, Syrian Air Force Commander Hafez al-Assad demanded that Primier Salah Jedid send all troops in Damascus to the front.
"You fool!" Jedid replied, " Don't you know that if we send those troops away, we would be out of power by tomorrow morning?" (3)
Within a year, Assad overthrew Jedid and ruled Syria the rest of his life.
Alone among the Arab combatants in the Six Day War, Syria has made no progress toward peace with Israel. Surrounded by US allies, and under the quirky leadership of former London ophthalmologist Beshir al-Assad, MD, Syria backs the Shiite fanatic terrorists known as Hezbollah, esconced in Southern Lebanon. Worldwide pressure forced Syria to withdraw its army from Lebanon in April, after occupying the country for about twenty years.
Jordan
King Hussein lost the West Bank, but gained hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in 1967. Within three years the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), under Yasser Arafat, seized control of parts of Jordan and threatened the throne. In the month that became known as "Black September," 1970, the King crushed PLO, which then fled to Lebanon. Syrian forces crossed the border into Jordan to save PLO, but were withdrawn when Israel threatened to attack them.
Like Sadat, King Hussein appears to have changed from an enemy of Israel into a friend. Jordan kept the 1967 armistice till it was replaced by a peace treaty in 1994. Hussein's son and heir, King Abdullah II, has followed his policies.
Israel
The jewel in the crown of victory of the Six Day War was eastern Jerusalem, especially the Temple Mount. First soldiers, then Israeli civilians, then Jews from all over the world streamed to the Western Wall (Kotel Maaravi), in Jewish hands for the first time in two thousand years. Even the most secular of Israelis were moved by the blowing of the shofar at the Kotel on June 7.
Although the Jewish state has made peace with Egypt and Jordan in the decades following the War, the problem of ruling over a hostile Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank remains unresolved. In 1993, Israel agreed to the establishment of PLO-rule in Gaza and the West Bank, and even armed a Palestinian police force. After failed negotiations and years of relentless terrorism, Israel has decided to cede Gaza to the Palestine Authority after Tisha B'Av this year. A fence (walled in some areas) is under construction between Israel and the West Bank. In 2003 Israel approved the establishment of a Palestinian state in both Arab areas.
Jews
Jewish people around the world, even the most secular and assimilated, shared the fear that gripped Israel during the tense weeks that led up to June 5. This fear turned to elation as Israel smashed its enemies decisively in six days. No longer victims, Jews were winners! Suddenly, Jewish teenagers were wearing yarmulkes on the street and learning Hebrew. Everyone wanted to visit Israel and see the newly-acquired areas "before they give them back." In the Soviet Union, Jews who had been scared into silence for decades demanded the right to emigrate to Israel. In the US, Jews demanded that presidential candidates promise to back Israel, and most did (4).
For many of these Jews, the capture of the Temple Mount and re-unification of Jerusalem had a spiritual aspect---------some even saw in these events the hand of G-d, perhaps the harbinger of the Messianic Era. Teenagers and young adults turned to Orthodox Judaism in numbers unseen in generations.
The remarkable Six Day War not only changed the world, it also changed us.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Before the Six Day War, Arabs insisted on returning to the "Pre-1948 Situation" of no Israel at all. Before Israel had any "occupied territories" hostility among the Arabs was already virulent.
(2) "Those Were the Years" by Nissim Mishal, page 138.
(3) "Coup D'Etat" by Edward Luttwak.
(4) Since 1968, the candidates clearly more favorable to Israel (Nixon in 1972, Reagan in 1980, Clinton in 1992, and George W Bush in 2004) all won. In the other presidential elections since 1968, either both major party nominees were both about equally pro-Israel, or Middle-East policy was not an issue.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 8:51 AM
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