In the ’50s, Europe and Israel were friends. Britain supplied main battle tanks and the French sold light tanks and fighter bombers. They saw in Israel an embattled outpost of Western ideals in a blighted, backward Middle East.

Then, in the ’60s, before the Six Day War, the French reneged on their promises to deliver already-paid-for fighters and missile boats. The UK became reluctant to sell their latest tank.

America stepped in to fill the gap, but they too suffered a collapse in enthusiasm for the plucky Jewish state. No one should ever forget the treachery of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, withholding promised supplies during the worst of the Yom Kippur War. (Nixon eventually overruled Kissinger and provided the desperately needed supplies via strategic airlift.)

Why?

Why did the West tilt away from Israel and towards Arab countries?

I’m feeling lazy on this blistering hot Monday in the middle of August, in Taipei, so let me jump straight to results and conclusions.

This embrace of all things Arab clouded the vision of the West. It demonized Israel and raised the ‘oppressed Arab’ to the level of ‘noble savage’. Arabs became the cuddle toy of the liberal elite, and Islam gained entry into North American and European societies.

If the West had done it differently and embraced Israel, we would not be facing the great societal struggle with Islam that we face today. We would not be seeing an eminent takeover of Europe by Islam. America wouldn’t be seeing the massive growth of mosques throughout the country. Mohammed would not be the most popular baby name in Sweden.

Now, my antipathy towards Islam does not – and should not – be directed at Muslims. Muslims are people like you and me. They are a people shaped by a religion of hatred. They are a product of societies warped by Islamic racism and misogyny.

So, even while we fear Islam, we should be careful to reach out to the Muslim and be a blessing to them.

Here’s another video by Erick Stakelbeck, and he’s titled it Islam’s Assault on the West. Enjoy.

I thought that the segment on Winston Churchill, at the end, was particularly insightful.

In response, a humiliated Arab world expelled their Jewish citizenry, and Egypt, the USSR, and the PLO redoubled their efforts against Israel. Egyptian artillery dueled with Israeli artillery. Israeli and Egyptian pilots fought for control of the skies of the Sinai. The PLO sent waves of terrorists across the border. By the time a new cease fire was agreed upon, this War of Attrition would produce almost as many casualties as the Six Day War.

At the same time, Israel struggled to integrate hundreds of thousands of Jews that had been expelled from Arab countries with little more than the clothes on their back. It was a reenactment of a previous generation. Just twenty years before, Israel had been forced to integrate another massive wave of refugees.

There also ensued a massive propaganda war, and Arab spin doctors found a willing audience in the leadership of Europe and much of the US. However, Israel found itself supported by an unexpected ally: Evangelical Christians. Christians flocked to the holy places of Israel and demanded that their political representatives support Israel.

The United States government also slowly woke up to this new situation on the ground in the Middle East. Not only were Evangelicals demanding that the government support Israel, but Cold War strategists were beginning to see Israel as a new ally in the undeclared ‘war’ with the USSR.

But to Israel, the most important situation of all was the realization that she was alive and kicking. 

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For a detailed account of the Six Day War and events leading up to, and following, go here:

www.sixdaywar.org

Six Day War Timeline

Pressure was building to finish the conflict, from the outside and from the inside. The Soviets were worried that a total collapse of the Syrian army would irreparably damage their influence in the region. The Arab countries were screaming bloody murder about Israeli aggression. The Europeans were disconcerted by the quickness of Israel’s victories. And, the Arabists in the U.S. State Department were moaning about the damage to relations with the oil producing countries of the Persian Gulf.

Israel, on the other hand, had a far more serious concern. Strategic stockpiles of munitions were running out. There was a limit to how long they could maintain the incredible pace of their victories without having to start rationing.

However, the worst of the war was over. Jordan and Egypt had been taken off the board, and the hardest battles on the Golan Heights were over. There were still tough fighting left, but Israeli commanders could see that the end was clearly in sight.

This is a good time to also insert a mention of one of the largest factors contributing to Israel’s success against the Syrians: the Israeli spy, Eli Cohen. Just before he was caught in May of 1965, he had penetrated the upper levels of Syrian society and government. He had even been considered for the position of Assistant Defense Minister. One important success had been his recommendation that Syrian bunkers in the Golan be shaded by Eucalyptus trees – providing excellent targeting information to Israeli pilots.

When you go up to the Golan, you can still see those trees.

But, let’s get back to Operation Hammer, as the operation on the Golan was called.

On June 10th, Syrian resistance was faltering. The static line defense strategy that the Syrians had picked up from the Soviets was crashing down around their ears. Fresh Israeli units were pouring through the breaches in the Syrian defenses that had been opened the evening before.

Israeli forces quickly took the Banias and then turned south to assault Mas’ada. Israeli mechanized units also began positioning to take the last bastion of a Syrian presence on the Golan, Quneitra (also spelled Kuneitra).

Then, the Syrians did something interesting. At 8:45, Damascus radio announced that Quneitra had fallen (when most Israeli units were still 10 kilometers from the town). The Syrian government had hoped to obtain Soviet intervention to pressure Israel to stop advancing further into Syrian territory.

The idea backfired. Syrian soldiers also listen to the radio, and upon hearing that Quneitra had fallen, began to panic and flee their positions. Resistance on the Golan began to collapse. Quneitra fell in the early afternoon, and Mas’ada followed a few hours later. Fighting had ended on the Golan by 6:15 p.m.

The Six Day War was over.  

Syria.

For years Syria had been shelling communities in the north, confident that her impregnable positions on the Golan would deter any counter attack by Israeli forces. Artillery barrages were a fact of life for those living within range of Syrian guns.

Furthermore, Syria had become a Soviet client and was being used by the USSR to destabilize the region. The month before, the Soviets sent fabricated intelligence to the Assad regime, claiming that Israel was planning to invade Syria. The result was the mobilization of the armies of Syria, Jordan, and Egypt – and tensions that eventually led to the Six Day War.

Just a few years later, in 1972, Syria would start the process of invading Jordan, and it would be Israel’s threat to attack Syria that would keep her from conquering her Arab neighbor to the south.

The point is that you didn’t need to look far to see that Syria was a problem, and a problem like Syria that held the Golan Heights was a serious problem.   

That’s why, on Day Four, Moshe Dayan had okayed Operation Hammer, which was Israel’s operational plan to sweep the Syrians away from the ridge and deny the Syrians the ability to bombard Israeli towns and villages. Once the plan had been okayed, Israeli aircraft immediately began attacking Syrian fortifications. Moshe Dayan would eventually cancel the operation, hours after it had been okayed. 

However, Israeli forces would continue to race to the north to prepare for the possibility of action with Syria.

The tipping point came when the United States communicated a carefully worded message suggesting that it was a shame that the chief instigator of the war was getting away unscathed. And, at the same time, Israeli Intelligence intercepted a communique by Nasser indicating that Arab forces were near collapse.

Moshe Dayan immediately put Operation Hammer back in motion, and Israeli jets once again began pounding Syrian targets early in the morning of Day Five.

By 11:30 a.m., the 8th Armored Brigade was in motion, advancing on Syrian positions in the north of the Golan, near Q’ala. The Syrians had been counting on the difficult terrain to blunt any Israeli attack, and had concentrated on defending the southern areas of the Golan – which is precisely why Israel chose the north as the initial invasion route.

However, as inventive as the plan had been, the 8th Armored would still lose most of its bulldozers and tanks and suffer heavy casualties.

At the same time, an infantry brigade advanced on Tel Fakhir, a few kilometers south of Q’ala. For seven hours, Israeli infantry fought to dislodge the Syrian defenders. At the end, the battle was won, but at a terrible cost.

Of the 800 soldiers who began the battle, only 4 survived uninjured and alive.

The cost for both of these battles was high, but the end result was that the Syrian wall of steel and concrete had been breached.

The next day would mark the end. 

In the Sinai, some Egyptian units were still putting up a fight, and the Jordanians continued an organized retreat. But by 3:30 p.m., Egypt would accept a cease fire, and a few hours later the last major battle in the Sinai (at Kalat a-nahal) would wind down. Just after midnight, Israeli units would begin linking up and consolidating their victories on the eastern side of the Suez Canal.

By 8 a.m., on the Jordanian front, Israeli forces from all three command areas (Northern, Central, and Southern) were linked up. Israeli units would even move a short distance into Jordan itself, before returning back across the river. At 1 p.m., combat engineers blew up the bridges across the Jordan River to keep the Jordanians from making any counter attacks.

Day Four was turning out to be an incredible success.

However, there was one important failure.

At 5:55 a.m., Israeli reconnaissance aircraft spot a ship off the coast of Gaza. They later identify the ship as a US ship. US commanders instruct the ship, the USS Liberty, to move to a position 100 miles away from the Israeli and Egyptian coasts. The orders are not received.

At 9:00 a.m., reconnaissance aircraft again spot the USS Liberty 30 kilometers off the coast of the Sinai, near El Arish. Israeli command staff mark the ship’s location. The Israeli Chief of Staff, Yitzhak Rabin, contacts the Naval Attache of the US Embassy and asks the US to remove their ships from the battle zone. Rabin repeatedly asks the US to provide him with a Naval Liaison.

The United States refuses Rabin’s request.

At 11 a.m., the duty officer goes off shift, taking the marker for the USS Liberty off the board.

24 minutes later, ammunition dumps at El Arish explode, and Israeli commanders indicate that they had been shelled by Egyptian naval units. Rabin orders all unidentified ships attacked and sunk.  

At 1:41 p.m., Israeli torpedo boat squadron Pagoda sights a ship near El Arish and requests air support. Pagoda begins moving toward the ship. Reconnaissance aircraft sight the ship but cannot make a positive identification. The torpedo boats identify the ship as an Egyptian supply ship, the El Quesir.  

At 1:57 p.m., two Israeli Mirage fighter aircraft make strafing runs, and Israeli Mysteres fighters drop napalm bombs. The ship begins to burn. Israeli aircraft break off their attack when they see that the ship has been marked with characters from the Latin alphabet. The Israeli torpedo boat squadron is ordered to not attack the ship.

As torpedo boats approach the ship, crewmen on the ship open fire, and the torpedo boats launch five torpedoes in response. One torpedo strikes the ship.

The torpedo boats break off their attack when they identify the ship as American. They hold off at 500 yards and ask the ship, via Morse code (flashing light), if they require assistance.

The USS Liberty responds that they do not require assistance and begins to retreat from the area.

As a result of tragic miscommunication, 35 US crewmen were killed and 141 were wounded. Israel would immediately offer its apologies and give compensation to the families of the crewmen. 

In subsequent formal hearings, records supplied by the Israeli government and the sworn testimony of the US crewmen would exonerate Israel of malicious intent. However, some of the crewmen would later publish statements contradicting their testimony and accusing Israel of intentionally targeting the USS Liberty.*

The moral of the story? Do not enter the battle zones of other peoples’ conflicts. The Fog of War is deadly. 

However, the rest of Day Four was a great success.

It is an irony, that the instigators of the war had suffered little damage. The Syrians were getting off scot free**.

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*For a more detailed account of the USS Liberty tragedy, visit www.sixdaywar.org/uss-liberty.asp

** The word ‘scot’ in scot free comes from the Old Norse word for payment or contribution. The term scot free originates from Medieval times when a person who avoided his share of municipal taxes… Well, he was described as having gotten off scot free. For a more complete explanation, go here: www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-sco1.htm