True Facts About Jerusalem, Part 6: in 1967: The Six Day War

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            

    Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Libya, Algeria, Mauritania.  Many came to fight Israel in 1967 and they lost.  As a result, Israel became the governing authority in the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, and in the West Bank.  Under the Israeli rule from 1967 to 1992, the Palestinian population of the West bank experienced the highest standard of living of any Arab country with the exception of the oil states.                                                  

                                 Jerusalem 1940  winter

Jerusalem since 1948 was divided into 2 parts.  The Israel section included the whole of the West and Southern part of the "New City", including "Mount Zion" and an enclave on Mt. Scopus.  The city extended westward by the construction of the Knesset and Government quarter with the National Museum and University campus nearby.  The city was the administrative center of Israel as it always had been in ancient times.

 At the outset of the Six-Day War (June 5, 1967), Jordanian troops in the Old City and Jordanian sections of the city bombarded the New City.  The Israeli army reacted and 2 days later, the entire city came under Israel control.               

The Old City is a 0.9-square-kilometer (0.35 sq mi) walled area within the modern city of Jerusalem.  The Old City is home to several sites of key religious importance: the Temple Mount and Western Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site List in 1981.                                                                     

                       Seeing the wall for the first time for these soldiers.  Jews were kept out of this eastern part of the divided Jerusalem by Jordan for 20 years.  Jordan lost this section by attacking and losing the battle.  

 One of the 1st reactions was mass visits to the Western Wall which had been prohibited to Jews for almost 20 years.  On June 29, 1967, the Israeli government formally united the 2 sections of the city and the barriers that had divided them were removed.  The population of the eastern portion of the city--including 139,600 Moslems and Christians--have been incorporated into the total population of 493,500 by 1990.  

 Prime Minister Levi Eshkol from 22 Dec 1964 to 26 February 1969

Background: The special relationship Levi Eshkol  developed with President Lyndon Johnson of USA would prove pivotal in securing US political and military support for Israel during the "Waiting period" preceding the Six-Day War of June 1967.  Levi Eshkol was at the time also Israel's Minister of Defense. 

    1966 Pres.Johnson from Texas, a Democrat;  and First Lady with Israel Pres. Zalman Shazar, also Russian born like Eshkol. In 1963 he became president.   Both Israel's President and PM  were with the Mapai parties.  

According to Michael Oren, an American-born Israeli historian, author, politician, former ambassador to the United States, and former member of the Knesset for the Kulanu party and a former Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, .Eshkol's intransigence ( refusal to change one's views or to agree about something). in the face of military pressure to launch an Israeli attack is considered to have been instrumental in increasing Israel's strategic advantage as well as obtaining international legitimacy, yet at the time he was perceived as hesitant, an image cemented following a stuttered radio speech on 28 May. The Egyptian President Nasser's ever more overt provocations, created diplomatic support for Israel. Eshkol eventually established a National Unity Government together with Menachem Begin's Herut party, conceding the Defense portfolio to Moshe Dayan.                                                

        President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt from 23 June 1956-26 September 1970

An example of Nasser's provocations;  speech on 26 May 1967;  "The Arab people want to fight.  We have been waiting for the right day when we would be fully prepared.  Recently, we have felt strong enough to triumph, with God's help, if we enter into battle with Israel.  On that basis, we have decided to take the actual measures, taking this step makes it imperative that we be ready to embark on a total war with Israel.  

The question is, what caused the 6 Day War?  The previous war was in 1956, The Sinai War that lasted from 29 October to 5 November 1956, a 7 day war when the threat was removed and the blockade against Israel was broken.  Egypt again had played a critical role.  The USSR had been smuggling in  military equipment to Egypt and Syria.  The UN emergency Force in Sinai and Gaza Strip was established in order to separate Egypt and Israel.  For 10 years, they remained in its positions between the two.  The frontier with Egypt was the quietest.  The Gulf of Eilat was open in the movement of ships to and from Israel.  

My facts are that in February of 1966, a revolution took place in Syria, the 9th one since 1949.  The left wing of the Ba'ath Party had the backing of the USSR had seized power.  This new government's policy was of hostility and hatred towards Israel.  By the first months of 1967, tension grew between Syria and Israel. "The Tension was largely due to over 2 years of sabotage activities inside Israel and border incidents, mostly undertaken by the Syrians, who were interested in involving the other Arab states in a further war with Israel.  Fearing Israel retaliation against Syria and in an effort to deflect it,  Egypt began moving its army into the Sinai peninsula on May 15, 1967.   In the middle of May, the tension was exploited by the USSR.  Egypt and Syria led the way to the Six Day War.

They and the Soviet Union spread false reports that Israeli forces were on the Syrian frontier.  At the same time, the UN on the spot reports were saying that no such concentration existed, but these were ignored.  Egypt had its army in Sinai--90,000 men and 900 tanks.  Egypt demanded that the UN emergency Force withdraw and they did.  There went the barrier between Egypt and Israel.  Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to all destined for Israel and called for war. The Arab States, led by Egypt, formed a war pact against Israel.  The armies of Jordan, Iraq and Syria concentrated their forces along the frontiers with Israel.  They said publicly that their intention was to destroy Israel.  

Israel waited for 3 weeks from 15th May for international action to stop the escalation and remove the threat from its frontiers.  But, the Great Powers and the United Nations were incapable of effecting any change in the situation.  On 5th June,, war broke out.  

                                                                    

Israel destroyed the armies that had massed along its frontiers

 and menaced its vital centers.  Cease-fire lines were established along the Suez Canal,  the Jordan River and the Golan Heights.  The Straits of Tiran were once again open to navigation.  Jerusalem was reunified.  

"In a tense Oval Office statement, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu told President  Barack Obama  that Israel would not withdraw to 1967 borders to aid a peace deal with the Palestinians.  "We can't go back!"  PM Netanyahu had rejected the 1967 border proposal.  Obama and Netanyahu, meanwhile, appear to have reached an impasse after two and a half years of rocky relations. The Obama White House was angered when Netanyahu refused a U.S. demand to halt building Jewish settlements in the West Bank."  The "West Bank" in reality is Judea and Samaria, the original land holdings of the Jewish people.  This is a very touchy subject.  It's similar, G-d forbid, of giving Washington DC to the Russians sometime in the not too distant future after losing it to the Chinese.  

Judea and Samaria are the very heart of the Jewish people.  Judea was Judah, our tribe's home, designated by Joshua as our home, from a message from G-d as told by Moses.  A give-away was not in the original plans for the Jewish Homeland.  That was not what Chaim Weizmann had signed onto with the Balfour Doctrine.  Between Britain and Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the Jewish Homeland had been chipped away so much that the Jews were left  with 20% that was being chiseled down to 10% of the Promised Jewish Homeland.  ENOUGH!  The 1967 War was the bloody miracle that gave back the Jewish homeland that had been secretly double-promised to Abdullah  that wanted land because his brother, Emir Faisal,  had been given land.  They lost it in the war.  It means far more to the Jews than it did to Abdullah.  They still held onto the Jews' 80% now called Jordan. 

Arabs are taking a good look at history and why they have been fighting against the Jews' return to their original land.  The Abraham Accords are happening.  Israel is being accepted for the first time since 1948.  Conditions are such that Israel makes a better ally than it does an enemy when both Israel and the Arabs are facing the same enemy, and that is Iran.  The meeting that they had all attended in Khartoum, Sudan, Africa right after the 1967 war where they voiced their 3 NOs  in recognizing or making peace  or having any negotiations with Israel  is a past happening with those facing reality.  

The Abraham Accords are a series of treaties normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, facilitated by the U.S. Administration[1] between August and December, 2020. In the span of five short months, these four Arab states joined Egypt and Jordan in making peace with Israel. The agreements were called “The Abraham Accords” in honor of Abraham - the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam[2].  

 

  

Resource: 

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

Facts About Israel, division of information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem, 1973

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Eshkol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_City_(Jerusalem)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamal_Abdel_Nasser

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna43106082

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khartoum_Resolution

https://www.jns.org/topic/abraham-accords/?gclid=CjwKCAjw64eJBhAGEiwABr9o2JqZBsRxnM10l4XPfQdaoSaswLqtMbE91wwDQjBhFAYY1w1PPnOj_hoC3HYQAvD_BwE

BIG LIES:  by David Meir-Levi from David Horowitz Freedom Center

CNN

Tonight is the 6th presentation of Jerusalem by CNN. I'll watch it and will present my comments if it differs from my report.  

Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury, produced by Blackfin, is a six-part series that tells the story of one of the most controversial cities in history, through six epic conflicts that shaped and defined it. Narrated by Golden Globe-winning actor Ewan McGregor, the docuseries explores how a small arid town with no natural resources became a place of pilgrimage for three of the most prominent world religions, while investigating how three thousand years of conflicts have led directly to the struggles of today. Spanning from Biblical times to the Roman Empire to the Cold War, and examining the stories of King David, Cleopatra, Saladin, T.E. Lawrence, and more, the series brings the “City of God” to life as never before. 

The premiere episode, “The Kingdom,” tracks how King David conquered and claimed Jerusalem from the Jebusites as the capital for the United Kingdom of Israel, setting the stage for centuries of conflict to come. (This was part I.)

Executive producers for Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury are Geno McDermott, Jordan Rosenblum and Shan Nicholson for Blackfin, Amy Entelis and Lyle Gamm for CNN Original Series. The series will regularly air on Sunday nights at 10pm ET/PT on CNN.