The Six Day War (June 5-10, 1967)

Recently my former classmate Michael B, now a university professor in NASCARolina, contributed to a discussion of national socialism, prompted by my Facebook post suggesting that we set up parade grounds similar to Nuremburg’s to safely accommodate the free expression of unpopular political ideas such as the ones at issue down in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Of course, that reminded me of our days back at Marymount in Paris, the school we went to up to eighth grade, graduating in 1982.

Aside from Robert S, the elusive fourth male member of our 1982 graduating class, who disappeared immediately thereafter and remains whereabouts unknown (alien abduction, perhaps), the remaining three of us have kept in contact.  We even had nicknames for each other back then (no longer in use today).   With my fascination with WWII in general and Nazi Germany in particular, mine was Erwin, obviously re:  the Desert Fox, Erwin Rommel.   John B. (now working in the south of France, as of 2021, to the best of my knowledge), was equally fascinated by science fiction, so his was Isaac, as in Isaac Asimov.  [His parents were French and New Yorker:  he initially grew up in Paris, speaking fluent French, then moved to New York, and forgot all his French, to the point where he was in my same French class learning with me.]   And Michael B., a big fan of the Jewish state, was named after the eyepatched hero of the Six Day War, Moshe Dayan.

Which brings me to this week’s topic, the fiftieth anniversary of which appears to have gone completely unnoticed – at least here in the US. 

Israel came into being after World War Two, and immediately faced a war in 1948 to protect its existence.   Obviously it was successful.  Ironically, much of its weaponry was surplus WWII German:  K98 rifles and BF109 planes.  Soon after, the Suez Canal was a topic for dispute in 1956, which had Britain and France supporting Israel but Eisenhower and Krushchev coming together to persuade the Israelis to back off. 

In 1967, Israel remained in danger, facing enemies from Jordan, Syria, and most notably Egypt, led by Nasser.   Sensing that the manure was going to strike the oscillating cooling device, the Israelis pre-empted Nasser with a successful air strike, destroying the Egyptian air force and ensuring their air superiority.  Nasser persuaded the Jordanians and Syrians to intervene, much to both countries’ detriment:  Israel easily defeated each of them and wound up in a better position after six days of lopsided conflict.   The charismatic general, Moshe Dayan, distinguished by his eye patch (formerly reserved for pirates) can take some of the credit at least.  He lost his eye during WWII fighting the Vichy French.

As expected, the Arabs were mainly Soviet-supplied with AK47s, MiGs, and Soviet tanks.  The Syrians actually picked up surplus German WWII Panzer IVs and Stg III assault guns, from Spain, France, and the Czechs - all of which were taken out by the Israelis with no losses of their own.  The Israeli air force used Dassault (French jets), US tanks, and Uzis/FN FALs. 

What did the Israelis get?  

1) the entire Sinai Peninsula, since returned to Egypt.  

2) The Gaza Strip, currently home to Hamas and its rocket launchers; 

3) the West Bank, which we know is still occupied by Israel and being aggressively settled thereby; 

and 4) The Golan Heights.  Syria retook some of it during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, but Israel quickly got it back.  As of today most of it remains in Israeli hands, and with Assad reigning in Damascus, the Israelis are unlikely to agree to relinquish it anytime soon.