SOME MEMORIES NEVER FADE!
OLD MEMORIES OF 1967 TANK COMMANDER CHATTER
April 22, 2007
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
As I read the following account of the 1967 six day War, it brought back memories of the Israeli tank commander chatter intercept, as well as the Egyptian. If you want a brief, well-written, account of the events just before, during, and after the six days of battle, I recommend this account by the Israel HighWay Magazine Staff.
Yom Ha’atzmaut 2007
Almost 40 Years Since the Six Day War
by Israel HighWay Staff
In the spring of 1967, the national mood in Israel was one of tension and fear. Amidst the beating of the drums of war and saber rattling throughout the Arab world, the 19-year-old state of Israel was preparing for the worst.
Tens of thousands of body bags were ordered, mass graves were secretly prepared and the army was fully mobilized and preparing for what some feared would be its last battle.
In the May 1967 Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day) celebr ations in Isr
ael, the annual song festival contest had a new winner, a sad lamenting song about Jerusalem.
The song bemoaned the empty market places, the deserted road to Jericho, and a desolate Wall in the heart of the Old City’s ruins. The songwriter, Naomi Shemer, expressed her vision of 2000 years
of destruction in her song, Jerusalem of Gold. [The music was based on a Basque lullaby.]
Within days of Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel was under siege. Arab armies were massing along its narrow borders, then only 9 miles at the narrowest point. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser had ordered the withdrawal of the UN Emergency Force in the Sinai and had closed the Straits of Tiran.
In so doing, he sealed Israel’s maritime access to Asia and stopped Israel’s access to Iranian oil, then the country’s largest supplier. Syria, with its troops sitt ing atop the Golan Heights, escalated its shell
ing of Israeli kibbutzim and moshavim in the Hulah Valley, making life in northeastern Galilee unbearable. Arab leaders were repeating their long-held pledge of throwing Israel’s Jews into the sea. On May 20, Hafez Assad, then the Syrian Defense Minister, and later the President of Syria, announced:
“Our forces are now entirely ready not only to repulse the aggression, but to initiate the act of liberation itself, and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland. The Syrian army, with its finger on the trigger, is united….I, as a military man, believe that the time has come to enter into a battle of annihilation.”
Inside Israel, and around the world, the end of the young Jewish state as a legitimate concern.
Fearing for the worst, Prime Minister Levi Eshkol and the military leadership decided that they must use the element of surprise in order to survive. They knew that if the almost half million Arab soldiers and 2800 tanks massed on Israel’s borders were allowed to dictate the battle. The IDF would face a war it could not win.
On June 5, the Israeli air force and army broke the siege. In six days, Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt; the West Bank and the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordan; and the Golan Heights from Syria. In the process, Israel more than tripled its total land area from approximately 8,000 square miles to over 26,000 square miles. Naomi Shemer had to add a stanza to her song, this one about the return to the Old City and the Wall in its midst. Jerusalem of Gold became a new, inspiring anthem.
Return to Zion
When Israel was born in 1948, its citizens and armed forces were unable to defend the Old City, and it fell to Jordanian Legionnaires.
After 19 years, the dream had come true. The city was reunited.
With the Old City and east Jerusalem under Israeli control, Israelis from all over the country soon began arriving in Jerusalem to visit the Kotel (the Western Wall) and to celebrate their young country’s miraculous victory. Additionally, the holy sites of the world’s three great monotheistic faiths were opened to all, as they had never been under centuries of Muslim rule.
Since those fateful days in 1967, Israel has undergone a major transformation. Despite difficult and painful wars in 1973, 1982 and 2006 and two violent Palestinian uprisings (Intifada) as well, Israel today is seen as a powerhouse in the world economy. Israel’s technological advancements lead the world in the military sphere, as well as in science, medicine, agriculture and hi-tech. Its population has grown both through natural growth and with the aliya of Jews from the former Soviet Union and the Jews of Ethiopia. In 1967, Israel’s population was approximately 2.7 million people. Today, only 40 years later, the population tops 7 million and boasts one of the highest birthrates in the Western world.
Bayamim ha’heim bazman ha’ze — In those days at this time
Israel will be celebrating its 59th anniversary on Yom Ha’atzmaut (this year celebrated on April 24). Its real maturation came in the 40 years between 1967 and 2007. In 1967 Israel was not yet the technological power it has become. Few had cars or telephones; disposable income was extremely limited; and agriculture was still the dominant force in
the economy.
On the brink of war in 1967, Israelis had a real fear for their future.
While the specter of war and regional hostilities still hovers on the horizon, the people of Israel have persevered to build a thriving, diverse and technologically advanced society one that forms the foundation of a strong economy with a bright future. Today, there are more Israeli companies listed on
the NASDAQ stock exchange than any other country in the world with the exception of America. Israelis lead the world in internet use and computer ownership, and have more cell phones than citizens! As Israel celebrates 59 years of growth, Israelis and Jews the world over can look ahead to the 60th Anniversary celebrations and feel a sense of pride in the country’s accomplishments as we all look forward to the next 60 years – ad mea v’esrim (until 120) and beyond! (Israel HighWay – A Magazine for High Schools)
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