Forty years ago tomorrow, Israel’s air force soared in the skies of Egypt, destroying its 11 air bases. It was the opening of the Six-Day War, in which the Jewish state pre-empted the plans of its Arab enemies for its destruction.
Israeli planes attacked Egypt between 7:45 and 8:15 A.M. A few hours later, they zeroed in on bases in Syria, Jordan and Iraq.
Within six days, Israeli troops crossed the Sinai Desert, then part of Egypt, and reached the Suez Canal. They defeated Jordan, which had occupied what today is known as the West Bank and arrived at the Jordan River. They reunited Jerusalem, the historical part of which had been in the hands of the Jordanians, thus preventing the Israelis and Jews across the world from praying at the Western Wall. In the north, the Israelis defeated the Syrians, occupied the Golan Heights and arrived at some 20 miles outside Damascus.
The picture of three Israeli soldiers, their faces in awe as they stand before the holy wall of the Temple destroyed by the Romans, flashed around the world. Commemorative books appeared with titles like Swift Sword and Lightning Out Of Israel.
Throughout the month of May, Israel had sent its diplomats to the capitals of Europe and to Washington, as Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser mobilized for war. When these efforts failed and Nasser forced United Nations peacekeepers out of Sinai, replacing them with his own troops, Israel struck.
Over time, Israelis have been accused of being “occupiers” of Palestinian lands. Three more wars with its Arab neighbors and several “rebellions” by Palestinians have followed. But the fact of the matter is that Israel in short order expressed willingness to trade land for peace. There was no advantage for the Jewish state to include hundreds of thousands of Arabs within its population. The war was one of defense, not offense.
Israel’s offers fell on deaf ears. The Arab League, the political union of Arab states, announced the “Three Nos.” At a meeting in Khartoum, capital of the Sudan, the League said there would be no recognition of Israel, no negotiation with Israel, and no peace with Israel.
In the passing years, only two Arab countries have reversed their position - Egypt and Jordan. Both made peace with Israel. Anwar Sadat, president of Egypt, even addressed the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem. The Jewish state was thus forced into the position of administrating and policing Palestinian lands. Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin and his colleague Shimon Peres brought Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from exile in Tunis with the hope of negotiating a settlement with the Palestinians. Despite peace agreements in Oslo, which brought all three participants the Nobel Peace Prize, the effort failed. Arafat’s ideological heirs now war among themselves, as well as with Israel.
Over time, thousands of Israelis, following their vision of a Greater Israel along Biblical borders, settled in various parts of the West Bank and Gaza, further complicating the situation. These Religious Zionists believe that returning parts of Biblical Israel to the Arabs would delay the coming of the Messiah. For a time, as peace became more elusive, Israeli governments built settlements as strategic outposts.
Last month Israel observed its 59th year of existence. It has fought six wars to defend itself. A seventh may be just around the corner. Israel’s critics today appear to forget how the war began. They seem to forget that Israel had no alternative if it was to survive. Surrounded by enemies bent on its annihilation, Israel had to strike first. It did. And it won.
At the end of the Six-Day War, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan said, “The war is over. Now the trouble begins.”
