Six Day War

The conflict between Egypt and Israel was brewing long before the events of June 1967. It was this time that became a turning point in the history of Israel. The six-day war lasted from June 5 to 10 and brought unexpected results to both sides.

Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser prepared for military action in advance. On May 22, he issued a decree on the closure of all sea routes for Israeli ships, thus violating not one international agreement. In response to such steps under international law, Israel could start military operations, but did not do so. This silence was perceived by Egypt as a manifestation of weakness and strengthened its faith in its own superiority. The ensuing six-day war was inevitable.

Since that moment, statements by President Gamal Abdelam Nasser have sounded threats against the Israelis and promises to erase their state from the map of the world. The threats were reinforced by the signing of an alliance with the states bordering Israel. On the territory of Jordan, an army was being formed.

The atmosphere was heated and sowed panic among the civilian population of Israel. The government, represented by Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, could not reassure and inspire people. All men from 18 to 55 were drafted into military service. The war in Israel promised to be short.

The Israeli government did not wait for direct military action on the part of the Arabs and was the first to strike the enemy. On June 5, 1967, the Israeli air force destroyed all of Egypt's military aircraft and caused serious damage to Syrian aircraft. At the request of the Israeli Prime Minister, UN representatives appealed to the King of Jordan not to enter the war and were refused.

Full-scale military operations began. The loss of the air force caused Nasser a great blow to his vanity. Israeli intelligence services succeeded in recording Nasser's conversation with King Hussein, in which they discussed what should be told to the public that American and British troops participated in the hostilities with Israeli aircraft. After such a statement, all Arab countries broke diplomatic relations with the United States. A week later, King Hussein apologized for lying. Probably, this is due to the fact that the record of the conversation was made public.

The Israeli troops acted swiftly. They quickly seized the Sinai Peninsula, Judea and Samaria. The most difficult was the battle for the Golan Heights. However, by June 10, Israel had seized them.

Six-day war claimed the lives of 679 Jews. For a small country, the losses were huge. Despite this, the whole Jewish world rejoiced.

New borders were marked, which increased the territory of Israel by almost four times. Despite the deafening victory, the main task of Israel was to establish peace. He was ready to return part of the conquered territories in exchange for signing a peace agreement so that the war soon ended. Israel was attuned to peace.

Nevertheless, the Arab countries did not do this and the relations between the countries only worsened. A few months later, the heads of Arab countries met and proclaimed categorically no peace with the Jews and a refusal to recognize their state.

The six-day war affected not only the life of the Jewish state itself, but also the representatives of this people living in other countries. The heroism and courage of soldiers manifested during the war filled the hearts of all Jews with pride and joy. American Jews sent huge sums of money before, during and after the war to maintain the army and civilians. Citizens of different countries began to join the ranks of participants of the Jewish organization "United Jewish Appeal". Especially the number of young participants increased.

The descendants of the Jews, who have already begun to forget about their roots, have increasingly come to Israel.