Class+Notes+01-25-10

__Timeline for events leading up to the 1967 War__ April 7: Pitched battle between Israel and Syria, in the Golan Heights and air above Damascus April 29: Anwar Sadat travels to the USSR May 12: Levi Eshkol makes an aggressive statement May 15: This is Israel's Independence Day May 16: Nasser makes a commitment to protect Syria when the supposed attack happens May 20: Assad (of Syria) says that Syria is ready to "annihilate" Israel May 22: UNEF troops are removed May 23: Straits of Tiran are closed May 25: Abba Eban goes to the US to ask for support for Israel May 30: King Hussein (Jordan) flys to Ciaro to pledge his help May 31: Iraqi President says they will erase Israel from the map June 1: Moshe Dayan becomes the Minister of Defense of Israel June 5: The War begins. Israeli planes bombed all 19 Egyptian airfields and wrecked 300 planes. Israeli troops advanced into the Gaza Strip and Sinai desert. The Israelis destroyed the Jordanian air force. Jordanian troops attacked west Jerusalem. Israeli planes crippled the Syrian air force. June 6: The Israels raced the Egyptian forces to the Suez Canal. The Israeli air force destroyed many tanks and other vehicles while Israeli ground forces destroyed or captured the rest. Heavy fighting for control of Jerusalem and the West Bank of the River Jordan. June 7: The Israelis won complete control of Sinai and accepted the UN call for a ceasefire with Egypt. The Israels captured all of Jerusalem. Jordan accepted the UN demand for a ceasefire. June 8: Egypt accepted the ceasefire call. Israel won control of all the West Bank of the River Jordan. June 9: Israeli troops attacked the Golan Heights. June 10: Israelis took control of the Golan Heights. Syria accepted the UN call for a ceasefire.
 * Israel provokes this by plowing land in zones demilitarized by the UN
 * Syria responds to this with violence
 * Syria is embarrassed by the Israeli air force
 * USSR says that the Israelis are about to attack Syrians (at some point between May 16 and 22)
 * Levi is the Prime Minister of Israel (suceeeding Ben-Gurion). He is not very dynamic.
 * Typically there is a big parade displaying Israel's military might, however this time it only lasts 26 minutes
 * The lack of military display heightens Egypt's fear that Israel's forces are mobilized
 * 200,000 attend the parade
 * Eshkol makes the decision for less grandeur because he doesn't want to seem provocative or instigate any conflicts
 * Nasser asks the UN to remove UNEF forces from the Sinai, and he has every right to do that
 * They offered to help Israel, but they declined this aid as well
 * This makes importing and exporting to the East extremely costly and difficult for Israel (One of these products is oil)
 * US's McNamara declines to help, especially if Israel chooses to make an offensive preemptive attack
 * Otherwise, the US will provide some kind of aid in the event of an attack on Israel
 * McNamara says that the Israelis will win, it is just a matter of how long it takes
 * This interaction is very bad for US-Israel relations
 * This is a very big deal, the Jordanians do not usually fit into the Arab scene like this, they're oddballs

Quick observations about the war:
 * 1) The Israeli's won very quickly and were very efficient.
 * 2) They had a superior plan of action. The Israeli's were always on the offense and struck unexpectedly.
 * 3) The war was fought in the air or was fought by attacking air force bases.
 * 4) Division in the Arab world were obvious, while Israel remain united. This gave the Israeli's a great advantage.

Notes on Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser: Speech at UAR Advanced Air Headquarters (May 25, 1967)
 * UN gives preferential treatment to Israel, ignoring their offenses
 * Quotes on Nasser's attitude and rhetoric:
 * "these people [Israelis] are so boastful and deceitful"
 * "we felt that attempts were being made to turn the UNEF into a force serving neo-imperialism"
 * "But does peace mean ignorng the rights of the Palestinian people because of the passage of time?"
 * "Talk of peace is heard only when Israel is in danger. But when Arab rights and the rights of the Palestinian people are lost, no one speaks about peace, rights, or anything like this...."
 * "The Jews threaten war. We tell them you are welcome, we are ready for war."