Clarion Defender_1967-08-03

Tiny ~srael, ~ardly. more .than a speck of sand in our vast universe, proJected Itself mto h1story once again in 1967 - just as the Israelis have been doing for centuries. This half-desert, half-fertile country, smaller than the state of Vermont, rallied its two-and-a-half million people together for a battle of survival, winning a fantastic war over 100 million hostile Arabs in less than one week. The Arabs had vowed to push the Israelis into the sea and thus destroy them as a nation once and for all. In Arab eyes, Israel will always remain an alien cancer cell, implanted by the West, that must be removed. Although Israel won this latest major conflict in record time, the long-range threat of annihilation of Israel has not been lifted. The Arabs have now lost three wars, but they can keep on liv– ing and growing. Israel, if it lost just one war, could be exterminated. It seems, perhaps, as if the war had been decided by God, rather than the Israelis themselves - for it is written in the Holy Book that God's chosen people shall return to their homeland. It was Abraham who, two thousand years ,before the birth of Christ, led a tribe of nomadic shepherds from Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan on the west side of the Jordan. It was with Abraham that God first made a covenant, promising him and his descendants "all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession," in return for their obedience to Him. Moses was the Israelites' greatest spiri– tual leader, leading them back from their bondage in Egypt in the Thirteenth Century B.C. Three hundred years later, the Israelites reached the peak of their national power under three remarkable kings - Saul, David and Solomon. Then came the decline. But in all of history, no nation or na– tions have been able to enslave the Hebrew people successfully or exterminate them. From the Bible: "I say then, hath God cast away his people? God forbid. P.or I also.am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew ... And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written ... For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be Glory for ever." War is nothing Rew along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean where this narrow strip of land has served as the bridge linking the civilizations of Asia, North Africa and Europe. Its history has been a restless one as armies surged across the land first from one direction, then another. The soldiers of Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome tramped its sandy soil. And later still, Arab horsemen, Turks and Crusaders battled here. Napoleon, attempting to extend his .em– pire eastward, was defeated on the age-old battle ground of Ann– ageddon. And in 1918, the British were victorious over the Turks on that same bloody plain. The value of this small territory is not in the· land itself, but in its strategic position as a bridge to richer empires beyond. And this war-torn Holy Land today is sacred to members of three great religions - Judaism, Christianity and Mohammedanism. Arabs and Israelis have fought three wars in the past 19 years, since the area formerly known as Palestine was divided in 1948 between the new state of Israel and the Hashimite Kingdom of Jor– dan. The boundary dividing the Holy Land between Jordan and Israel cut right through the city of Jerusalem, leaving many of the most sacred shrines behind the barbed-wire barrier in the Arab sec– tion. No wonder a wave of emotion swept through the troops when word came that the Israelis had captured the Old City of Jerusalem in Jordan. The city is the site of Solomon's Temple, where the W~il­ ing Wall is one of the most revered places for those of Jewish faith. Prime Minister Levi Eshkol and two chief rabbis hurried to the old temple wall to pray. The Prime Minister was the first leader of the Israeli government to visit the shrine, which was taken from the Jews, 1,897 years ago. "The Israelis used what any well-led heavy armor units >hould use - surprise, firepower, shock action " said one :Jfficer. "They applied the German blitzkrieg military tactic to desert warfare. It was a textbook war, in a sense." lsra~li tanks were sent rolling furiously along two main fronts w1th other tank and infantry units being used to mop up remnants of the Egyptian atrny scattered behind the lines. American. ~~perts applauded also the use of paratroopers to make 1mhal contact at the key Egyptian fortress of Sham el Sheikh on the Gulf of Aqaba. . . The intangible asset of leadership never was more gra– phtcally demonstrated than in this war, which pitted Israel's 70,000 standing troops and 230,000 reservists against 400,000 army regulars in the Arab states surrounding it. It was no accident the Israelis were ready. For years General Dayart has drummed these facts of military life into his men: (1) You are fighting both for your personal and national survival. (2) Your country is so small that it can afford nothing short of total victory. (3) Victory can be achieved only by hitting faster and harder than the enemy. It was ~.classic warfare, won by skill and daring strate– gy. The dec1s1on made was to fight with no holds barred. The element of surprise was achieved to its greatest degree against an enemy supposedly on full war alert. . The Israelis moved swiftly on the ground _ taking the guns and shoes of Arab warriors and sending them back to– ward home. A man is reluctant ~o fight without shoes or guns. Truce found the Israelis in control of a vast sweep of Arab territory from the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the west bank of the River Jordan. All Jerusalem was in Israeli hands. The blockade of the Gulf of Aqaba was lifted. . Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq were.humiliated in battle. E1ght ot~•;r Arab nations, vowing to fight, never got a chance. Russ1a may have be'en the big loser of the war. Disaster for the Arabs spelled a major defeat for Russia's strategy of attacks that never reached Israel. It seemed as if every Jew had a precise job to do and he did it. Each man and each woman knew where to go and what to do. Women left their homes to drive men to the front. Autos were taken by the government, with ownel'9 being issued receipts for the return of the car after the war. Children filled sandbags. The Israelis struck back swiftly and deadly. When the men left to serve, the children pitched in and began making mail and milk deliveries. Women, too, went to the front _ they serve in the army just as men do. "I drove my daughter to the front today," a proud mother was heard to say. Neigh~ors would call to say: "111 be by to pick you u in m car and we ll go to the front." p y With such spirit, how could they lose? But it was more than spirit. .The Israelis won their powering victory by simply following their battle plan of over- 1956, CLARION DEFENDER Tiny Israel whips whole Arab world. After 1.,897 years., Israel has successfully regained its land ••··•••••·································································· : ·····•••••••··········••• . . THE WINNER WITH THE ISRAEtiS :J Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban gives victory smile after attending U.N. Security Council meetings in New York City. He was enroute home. Every man., woman and child had a precise job to do and they struck swiftly and deadly It was no accident that Israelis were ready for battle. Defense Min– ister, Moshe Dayan, drummed military facts into his men for years. ;·····················································································~·-····· ····· merely updating it gradually over the years. It was a good plan ,to start with, and the Egyptians demonstrated that they hadn t learned a thing in the past 10 years about fighting a war. Israel was able to call up 120,000 reserves and have them ready for combat in a matter of days. Israelis are well-trained, well-disciplined, highly dedicated fighting men, led by real professionals. · The Arabs, on the other hand, are emotional and excit– abl~, a~d they do not take to training or discipline; do not. mamtam their weapons and equipment; have never made good soldiers. The key to Israel's lightning victory was the audacious use. of air power and surprise. In a single, thoroughly co– o~dmated attack at dawn against Egyptian airfields, the Israeli Arr Force destroyed or immobilized nfore than haH of the enemy air force. It was a surprisingly brief war. History may record it as a t~ee.~day, f?~~-~~y or five-day conflict - depending upon whJC~ ceasefrre h1st~~ians prefer to select. It was a unique war m these days of continual conflicts" which go on year after year. . Perhaps the Arabs were anticipating a lengthy war, count· mg on Russia for long-range support. When Russia backed away,choosing to void deep world crises, the rug was pulled from under Nasser and the Arabs. . The entire Sinai desert now separates populated terri– tories of Isr.ael from Egypt. Jews in Jerusalem no longer look down the rifle barrels of Arab Legionnaires stationed in the Old City. T~e nearest Jordanian soldier now is miles away acr~ss the R1ver Jordan, which provides a natural barrier. Is– rael s northern valleys, were fields before the war were plowed with armored tractors, are now well out of .range of Syrian guns. But Israel's otd problems have been exchanged for a new set. Now Israel probably has over a million Arabs under its jur~sdiction .in the lands it has occupied. So, the Arab popu– lation now ts about half that of the Israeli. Like we said, it's harder to make peace than war. \ Egypt's Nasser offt>rcd his resignation as Head of State after his warriors were whipped before they even got started good. 'Nobody Wants Us' Egyptian fighter planes failed to get off the ground in sufficient number to present a challenge to the Israeli raiders. Egypt also had 20 batteries of highly sophisticated, Russian– made SA-2 surface-to-air missiles - they failed to open fire. Actually, the .~ab nations combined had a three-to-one ad– vantage in the air over Israel - including 500 Russian-made planes in the Egyptian Air Force. Surprise was the big advantage, although the war crisis had been building up for two weeks. With control of the air, Israel's Anny was able to achieve quick victories on the ground against the Egyptians and Jordanians. Estimates put Arab war losses at more than 115,000 killed, wounded and captured. Israeli casualties were listed as 3,342 dead and wounded. "Those who sought to destroy us are defeated but have not accepted us," Dayan said in a victory celebration at the Wailing Wall. "Put your swords back in the scabbards, but keep them shal"f- ~nd ready.H The Jews never have been accepted, anywhere. The ones living in poverty are described as bums. The rich ones draw only hatred from other people. "Nobody wants us," said one man of the Jewish faith. 'We work 16 hours a day to develop something, while others are content to work eight hours. Then they hate us for what we have." The big loser in this war was President Carnal ,A.bdel Nasser of Egypt. Nasser was defeated by Israel in both 1953 and 1967. This time he resigned - probably to save his neck from his own disenchanted followers. Russia was stunoed by the swiftness of defeat. Russia lost an investment running into billions of dollars and 10 y~ars in time when the Arabs folded their tents and ran back home in defeat. The Soviet Union had been the military back- ANOTHER LOSER Jordan's King Hussein ad– mitted that his country suffered tremendous loss– es and said it was dtie to Israel's superiority on land and also in the air. Russia's Premier Kosygin flew to the United States with his entourage to speak before the U.N. to try to recoup losses of Russia and the Arabs. er and supplier of the Egyptians and Syrians, so the Russians not only saw their side lose, but they also lost Arab good will by not providing more help. When things began going poorly, Russia threw all of its cunning into the United Nations picture in an attempt to confuse the world and salvage a little something from the hopeless situation. Russia began to demand that Israel go back to the bound– ary lines set up in 1949. Perhaps someone should call the Russian bluff and de– mand that the Soviet Union go back to its original boundaries - giving up all its satellite countries. Israel would be foolish to go back to its old lines. Prime Minister Eshkol declared that Israel would never retreat to her prewar frontiers and that Israel demanded the Arabs to make peace with her after 19 years of war. Israel wants to keep all of Jerusalem, much of the west bank of the river Jordan, a piece of the Gaza Strip, a realign– ment of her border with Syria, and free passage through the Strait of Tiran to the Red Sea. Of course, international borders in the Near East must be fixed, agreed on, guaranteed and lived up to, and Israel must not annex automatically all the Arab territory it has just taken by conquest. I 'Best Army in the World' Jerusalem might well be made an international city and Israel must have assured passage in and out of the Gulf of Aqaba, its southern lifeline. There is no reason why the Suez Canal, also an international waterway, should continue to be denied Israel. However, as everyone has seen in the last 50 years, it is more difficult making peace than making war. 1 Although they won this war, the Israelis cannot feel safely independent while they live in fear that someday the Arabs finally will acquire the arms and the skill to finish them off. The Arabs are doomed to live in frustration, with hatred consuming their time as they plot the destruction of a nation determined to stay alive. Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban put it this way: "There never will be a Middle East without an independent and sovereign state of Israel in its midst." Indeed, much of the world today looks upon Israel in a different light. Israelis proved to the world that they are not afraid to live, and certainly not afraid to die. And they be- · lieve God is with them. And don't forget spirit. While the Arabs were running around in their usual aimless circle, Jews all over the world were joining hands in a united effort. Millions of dollars poured into Israel from everywhere. The Israeli army is being called the 'best in the world: It doubtless is the best desert fighting group ever assembled. The Israelismade mincemeat of the Arabs. They captured Arab (Russian built) tanks, turned them around, painted the Star of David on the side, and used the tanks against the Arabs. Both reserve and regular Israeli officers serve three to five-year terms with rigorous selection and highly competi– tive promotion. One recent U.S. Anny study of the Israeli fighting troops noted significantly that "There is little evi– dence of development of a military caste or of differentiation of status between reserve and professional officers." Pentagon officers, asked what factors they believe led to the quick Israeli victory, repeatedly turned to the army's unity and its superior officer corps. It was noted that in most Arabian armies an officer's lot is regarded as a privileged one and loyalty and spirit are rarely encountered among the foot soldiers. -Sepia