As Jews worldwide celebrate Jerusalem Day, you will hear tales about the miraculous reunification of Jerusalem and joyful retellings of the miracle of the Six Day War in which Israel’s small but mighty army defeated a massive Arab onslaught.
There is another part of the story that must be told, especially as Israeli soldiers confront enemies in Gaza and much of the world turns against the Jewish state. The story of the dreadful weeks and days leading up to the Six Day War is just as important. It is a story that repeats throughout Israel’s history and bears important lessons for the Jewish people’s future.
Fifty-eight years ago, Israel entered the spring of 1967 with a dark cloud overhead. Guerrilla raids from Syria and Jordan, many led by a young Yasser Arafat, the leader of Fatah, were a regular occurrence. Syrian forces clashed with the IDF, and Egypt amassed thousands of troops on its border with Israel.
Israel prepared for war – and the worst. Basements were turned into shelters, hospitals were prepped, and graves were dug. Only some 20 years after the Holocaust, a country filled with survivors wondered if their survival had come to the end of the line. After promising “never again,” “again” knocked on their door – from all sides.
On May 16, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered UN peacekeeping forces to leave the Sinai Peninsula, where they were supposed to act as a buffer following the Suez Crisis of 1956. Instead, they folded like a cheap Arab tent. On May 23, Nasser closed the Strait of Tiran to Israeli shipping.
Launching a war
Israel’s leaders were viciously divided between those desperate to avoid war and those desperate to avoid losing a war. Indecision was fueled by America’s urging not to take the first shot. “Israel will not be alone unless it decides to go it alone,” then-president Lyndon Johnson said.
On June 4, the Israeli cabinet voted to launch a war against its Arab neighbors: Egypt to the south, Syria to the north, and, eventually, Jordan to the west when it joined the war on Egypt’s side. At 7:45 a.m. on Monday, June 5, Israeli fighter planes took off for Egyptian airspace. By 8:15 a.m., half of Egypt’s air force was in ruins.
As the day progressed, the Jordanian Air Force was wiped out along with half of Syria’s. The war lasted five more days. By June 10, Israel had captured the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Old City from Jordan.
The panic of May gave way to national joy. Israelis made their way to the Western Wall, the only remaining structure of the Second Temple, which had been destroyed nearly 2000 years earlier by the Romans. The holy site had been barred to Jews (and Christians) since 1948.
Half a century of wars
Speaking in the United States a few days later, Golda Meir said, “Once again, we have won a war – the third in a very brief history of independence. We don’t want wars. We want peace more than all else.”
She continued with a warning: “Those that perished in Hitler’s gas chambers were the last Jews to die without standing up to defend themselves… Is there anybody who has the boldness to say to the Israelis: ‘Go home! Begin preparing your nine- and ten-year-olds for the next war, perhaps in 10 years?’”
Unfortunately, Meir did not get her wish. Six years later, Israel’s victory in the Six Day War gave way to mass casualties in the Yom Kippur War. The next half a century would bring war with Lebanon, two intifadas, and another war with Hezbollah.
These wars were bookended by various efforts to chase down the elusive two-state solution or, at the very least, a modicum of stability: The Oslo Accords, the Camp David Accords, and Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza.
All of these efforts culminated in the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages. This attack stuck a dagger in the dream of a two-state solution like no other moment in Israel’s history.
The lessons of the Six Day War are more important than ever. The UN is as feckless as it was 50 years ago. Israel’s allies prioritize “peace” and “ceasefire” over Israel’s survival. And Israel is more determined than ever to make sure this is the last time we say “never again.”
The Jewish state was born out of sweat, blood, and tears. It was created on the backs of heroes who refused to give up. And even so, nothing about this improbable story was inevitable. “The entire story of the creation of the State of Israel is one unlikely event after another,” historian Michael Oren said in a recent podcast.
There is no Jewish state without constant vigilance, defense, and offense. There is no Jewish future in a world where we must rely on the benevolence of non-Jews to guarantee our survival.
The repeated calls for a “ceasefire” must contend with these lessons. Even as we celebrate and march in the annual Israel Day Parade in New York, even as we thank God for the miracle of uniting the holiest of holy cities, the ghosts of past wars are the shadows we cannot shake. They bear testimony to everything we have gained and lost. They are a reminder that Israel cannot coexist with terrorists whose only goal is Israel’s destruction.
Israel’s detractors should take a break from their university protests and read a history book or two. The prelude to the Six Day War and Israel’s victory contain lessons for them, too. The Jewish people have been hunted and hated for thousands of years. Now, with a state and army of our own, the Jewish people will defend themselves and ultimately win.
The writer is executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center. @Ndiament