Throughout the war the Egyptian media under President Gamal Abdel Nasser had been falsely reporting military victories against Israel. But on June 9th, Nasser could no longer hide the truth. He appeared on national television, and while primarily blaming the US and Britain for providing Israel with massive military support – which was a false accusation – he admitted the defeat of the Egyptian army, and resigned his office. But, after receiving an outpouring of Egyptian publi
In just three days, Israel successfully neutralized the threat from Egypt in the South and Jordan in the East, with Arab forces in retreat in the West Bank. But on June 8th, an Israeli plane mistakenly attacked the USS Liberty, an American electronic surveillance ship sailing offshore. Though the attack was called off when the mistake was discovered, 34 American sailors were tragically killed. Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol conveyed his “profound condolences” to the Unite
Looking down on the Old City of Jerusalem from its strategic vantage point on Mount Scopus, the Israeli Defense Force was preparing to strike the Jordanians. For the last 19 years Jerusalem had been divided. In the 1948 War of Independence, Jordan had captured the eastern part of the city, including the Old City and the Temple Mount, the location of the ancient Jewish Temples and Judaism’s holiest site. Under Jordanian rule, Jews were evicted from the Jewish Quarter, synagogu
Israel had succeeded in destroying two thirds of the Egyptian air force just the day before. Now, on June 6, the Israeli Defense Force engaged Egyptian tanks and troops in the Sinai. In another remarkable feat, Israel defeated Egypt in the desert, despite being outnumbered three-to-one. Egypt, seeing the extent of their loss, retreated, leaving the Sinai Peninsula in Israel’s hands. By noon the next day, Israel would control the port at Sharm El-Sheikh, reopening the sea lane
By late May, Egyptian President Nasser’s deployment of tens of thousands of troops in the buffer zone along Israel’s border was an unambiguous threat to Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol responded cautiously that Israel would not initiate hostilities as long as Egypt refrained from closing the international waterway leading to Israel’s southern port - the Straits of Tiran. Such an act would cut off Israel’s supply of oil and other vital resources, by blocking Israeli
In mid-May 1967, Arab hostility toward Israel was about to take a dramatic turn for the worse. On May 14, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser began moving troops and military equipment into the demilitarized zone in the Sinai Peninsula between Israel and Egypt. Nasser’s move was fueled, in part, by misinformation he had received from the Soviet Union - Egypt’s ally and sponsor - claiming that Israel was on the verge of invading Syria. However, though Nasser learned these re
In May of 1967, the state of Israel was only 19 years old. At its inception in 1948, five Arab armies had coordinated a military invasion to prevent the creation of the small Jewish country. But Israel’s War of Independence succeeded in repelling the forces bent on Israel’s destruction. Israel reclaimed sovereignty over the ancient Jewish homeland, making way for the establishment of a Jewish country after 2,000 years of statelessness and periods of persecution. Yet despite I
I WILL RAISE MY HEAD I walk now in the path of the present
like a child walking into oblivion
my hands are extended
asking for help to continue the journey with you
and on the sides the flowers as though they lost their identity
searching for a ray of light that would help
another small gulp of water
from the wells of wisdom
that will bring them the hope
I will raise my head,
I'll lift my eyes to the mountains in the distance
and my voice will be heard as a scream