Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East

Rating:
Summary: Truth about tired old formulas
Review: When I first got hold of Oren's stellar Six Days of War in April, 2002, I tore through the advanced readers' copy and swiftly predicted it would be a runaway best-seller. I was not wrong. As history books go, this one has had an extraordinary run, and it is must reading for anyone who wants to understand the true genesis of the current situation in the Middle East.

Oren rooted through boxes and boxes of declassified Presidential and U.S. State Department documents, as well as those of various Arab and Israeli government offices. What he found puts new historians like Avi Shlaim and Benny Morris to shame.

We knew, of course, that the Soviets in the 1950s and 1960s copiously supplied arms to Egypt, Syria, Jordan and others of the Arab nations. But Oren also shows that the Soviet government in 1966 and 1967 meddled more dangerously. For example, top Soviet officials spread false "intelligence" to Arab governments about alleged Israeli plans for a massive onslaught. Oren shows that Israeli restraint before the war actually encouraged the cataclysmic Arab aggression which followed.

Sound familiar? We can draw lessons from Oren's impressive history. Appeasing tyrants and offering more land to people who do not want peace is not the solution. I don't know what is. But this fantastic piece of historical investigation shows that recycling the same tired old formulas simply will not work.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

Rating:
Summary: Here's the actual story
Review: So much attention has been paid to such a short event, yet the Six Day War did indeed lead strongly in the making of the modern Middle East. Hence the subtitle to Six Days of War, Michael Oren's comprehensive account of the events leading into and through that conflict.

This is a comprehensive survey. Thus, the reader may expect not only military matters, but also extensive coverage of national and international politics. We see how Israel and the involved Arab states dealt with the other major powers of the world, most prominently the US and the Soviet Union. Drawing often on newly available sources, Oren paints a detailed picture of the world situation leading into the war and how it was carried out. So far as politics are concerned, the tone is strictly analytical. Six Days of War is not a cheerleading polemic, and neither Israel nor the Arab states get favored treatment. While this allows the reader to absorb the facts and the events, it does make for a somewhat colorless account. I don't care how many people say otherwise, this is not, in the end, an exciting book. In a sense this is puzzling, because the Six Day War is certainly one of the most dramatic single events of the last century. For excitement, the interested reader is directed to the content, not to the style.

But what content there is! Oren may not editorialize, but I can, and Israel's handling of Arab aggression is nothing short of remarkable. Despite overwhelming numbers lined up against it, and even with its own internally fractured politics, Israel managed to survive and beat back decisively the leviathan of the Arab world's military might. If you really want to know how the current political geography of the Middle East came about, here is the place to be.


Rating:
Summary: New understanding of the Six- day war
Review: Oren did a tremendous amount of research for this book , and discovered much new material. He was especially resourceful in deepening the understanding of the Russian position and role. He also found much new material in regard to Egypt's plan and strategy. Oren too reveals how ' near a thing' the Six-
Day War was to opening in a completely different way, with an Egyptian attack. Perhaps even more importantly Oren shows how threatened Israel felt by the closing of the Canal, by Nasser's threats, how Israel's lightning strike of June 5 was taken not to conquer territory but to defend the existence of the state. Oren shows how much hesitation and infighting were involved in the decisions around this.
What is interesting is Oren also dwells a great deal on the Arab side telling their story in a fuller and more reliable way than
had been done previously.
This is a well- researched balanced and credible account of the war.

Rating:
Summary: Get a Map of Israel/Sinai Before Reading This Book
Review: I am not as wild about this book as a lot of other reviewers. One problem is that the book needs more maps to accompany its narratives of the wartime battles. It has a few tiny maps, but I could not place most of the book's geographic references. Its hard to understand what's going on in a battle when you have no idea where it is. Secondly, the prose is repetitive and in need of editing. On the positive side, the book's coverage of the war's military and diplimatic events was first rate.

Rating:
Summary: Reads like a suspense novel! Excellent!
Review: There are already many good reviews of this book, so I'll keep it short. You will love this book. The introduction and setup of the conflict is perfectly informative, and the chapter on the first day is alone worth the price of the book. I was reading this thinking I can't believe a country actually risked everything, sending out virtually every fighter plane in their air force, in order to save themselves from annihilation from all sides. Amazing. If you're interested in this subject, this book is going to grip you like flypaper (hey, I think I just made up a metaphor). This is the kind of book you want to own hardback and signed by the author. Not sure how to do that.
The last thing I would say is that you're going to need one of those bedside dictionaries - this Ivy Leaguer uses some florid language!

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive Work
Review: This definitely is the most comprehensive work to date on the Six Day War. The author has consulted vastly documents, newspapers, books and interviews with important players.
Michael Oren interviewed such figures as former Jordanian Brigade Commander Ata Ali, Egyptian historian Issam Darraz former Syrian Ambassador to the UN, George Tomeh, former MOSSAD chief, Meir Amit, former Israeli Foreign Minister, Abba Eban, widow of PM Levi Eshkol, Miriam Eshkol, former IDF Chief of Operations and later President, Ezer Weizmann and former Deputy IDF Chief of Staff and later Tourism Minister, Rechavam Ze'evi, interviewed a month before his brutal murder by terrorists of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine , in the corridor of a Jerusalem hotel , former members of the Supreme Soviet and Soviet military advisors to the Egyptians and Syrians and former Le Monde correspondent , Eric Rouleau , just to name a few of the Syrians , Egyptians , Jordanians , Israelis , French , British and Russians that Oren interviewed.

The novel is written in real time , as we trace events as they happened-it is really like watching the Six Day War , and the preceding and subsequent events unfold. He does not write to prove political points or to fit in with what it is currently fashionable to believe, like the malignant anti-Zionist `new historians' do.

Ultimately it is a history book about Israel's fight for survival, as we read of the bellicose threats of the Arabs and their Soviet backers, to destroy Israel and drive the Jews into the sea. Hence reading some of the Arab promises of genocide, much like they had threatened in 1948, and much as they threaten today, one can only gain a greater understanding of what Israel faces if it is ever - G-D forbid- defeated.
Here are some of the chilling promises of a second holocaust thundered by Arab leaders , and their evil Soviet instigators , before and during the Six Day War.

Ahmed Shuqayri, the first leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said: "We shall destroy Israel and its inhabitants."


"Leading to the purification of Arab land from reaction, imperialism and Zionism."
Damascus Radio, April 10 1967.

"If war comes it will be total, and the objective will be Israel's destruction...this is Arab power."
Egyptian President Gamel Abdel Nasser

"We have decided that this battle will be one for the final liberation from imperialism and Zionism...We shall meet in Tel Aviv.
Syrian President Attasi.

"The United Sates, oh Arabs, is the enemy of all peoples, the killer of life, the shedder of blood,, that is preventing you from liquidating Israel"
President Nasser

"If Israelis become drunk with success, and pursue their aggression further , the future of this little country will be a very sad one indeed"
Soviet Ambassador to Israel, Sergei Chuvakhin

"The cream of our troops stands at the front. Strike the enemy settlements, turn them into dust, pave the Arab roads with the skulls of Jews. Strike them without mercy.
Syrian Air Force Commander Hafez al Assad.

Essentially a reading of the book demonstrates how a combination of bellicose Arab rhetoric, threatening behaviour and, ultimately, an act of war left Israel no choice but pre-emptive action.

It is instructive to read the words of Israel's Prime Minister at the time Levi Eshkol who reminded the world:" We cannot afford to lose. This may be our last stand in history. The Jewish people have something to give to the world. I believe that if you look at our history and at all the difficulties that we have survived, it means that history wants us to continue. We cannot survive if we experience again what happened to us under Hitler...I believe that you should understand us."

Reading about the worlds equanimity over Arab plans to destroy Israel, and over Syrian shelling into Israel and PLO terror attacks into Israel, before the war, compared to the strident outcry against Israel when it hit back, gives one a chilling sense of de ja vu today.

I felt a cold anger at the Soviet Union condemmning Israel for ` aggression' and `imperialism', while half the world groaned under the Communist jackboot.
The same type of rhetoric is even more prevalent today in leftist academia, the UN, the international media , the so-called Non Aligned Movement , much of the European Union etc .

The malignant high priest of leftist totalitarian ideology Noam `Wormtongue' Chomsky simply perfected Soviet/Red Chinese and Arab rhetoric , and sold it to millions.

Sadly there was more understanding for Israel's plight in much of the world in 1967 than there is today. The fact that today the world has turned so viciously on Israel, as that tiny country still struggles to survive, is an indictment of a world that is clearly more evil today in 2004 than it was in 1967.

It is also worth noting that the Arabs are not very good fighters against soldiers, but like the Amalekites of old , are very good at killing Jewish women and children.


Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive!
Review: Michael B. Oren's "Six Days of War" is not only the definitive book on the 1967 Israeli-Arab conflict, but it is also a perfect primer in how to conduct historical research. Oren is meticulous and thorough in reviewing all of the available research to date -- books, newspapers, autobiographies, declassified government documents, oral interviews -- and synthesizing them into an accurate reference work. "Six Days of War" shows how to conduct fair and balanced research into an emotional issue. Nobody -- not anybody from the Israeli or Arab side -- could take issue with the book since Oren lets the facts and the main actors do the talking, and keeps his personal biases and beliefs to a minimum.

Oren does a great job in presenting the viewpoints of both the Arab and Israeli sides. Some of the anecdotes from the Arab side -- such as the comment "We shall meet in Tel Aviv" when the Arab armies were on the run, or the plea from Nasser's chief aid Amer that his plane not be shot at by Egyptian forces during the 1st day of the war -- are as illuminating of the chaos and lies during the "fog of war" as they are funny.

Some people claim that Oren is biased towards the Israeli side. This confuses two words -- bias and objectivity -- that are often used interchangeably, but have different meanings. If Oren were of Arab descent or if any Arab historian were to write an account of the 1967 conflict, it would have to follow the same path as Oren took. Bias deals with predisposition to favor one side or another; whether Oren does or doesn't is irrelevant. One can be biased towards one side or the other and still be objective. Of course, most instances concerning lack of objectivity concern individuals who allow their biases to color their judgment. Since Oren deals strictly with the facts of the 1967 conflict and the events leading up to it, there really isn't an opportunity for him to show "bias" by justifying the Israeli positions. Mind you, Oren does show Israel's position on the War -- just as he presents the Arab position with regard to the War and also the creation of the state of Israel (the real reason for the War and the 20 years of conflict up to that time). Anybody saying this book is "biased" either doesn't know the definition of the word biased, is confusing it with being objective (the two are not mutually exclusive), or hasn't read the book.

My only quibbles with this book are that like many history books, it goes into great detail on the events leading up to the conflict, and the early days of the conflict, but then it seems to "rush" a bit at the end. This is especially noteworthy in the chapter "Aftershocks" where I felt that a bit more detail on the events post-1967 could have been written. I also would have preferred additional commentary on the "where are they now?" discussions of the major Middle East players. Oren does spend some time talking about the major figures -- Sharon, King Hussein, Nasser, Arafat, Dayan -- but I would not have minded hearing his thoughts on the 1970's peace initiatives with Sadat and Egypt as well as Begin's tenure, the Oslo accords, etc. Of course, this has little to do with the 1967 conflict per se, but it would have been a nice "what has it led to?" ending to the story.

Of particular interest, the controversy regarding Security Council Resolution 242 is treated rather quickly. Given the focus today on land-for-peace the question of whether 242 refers to "territories" or "the territories" (the former implying Israel can hold on to some land, the latter demanding a return to the 1967 Green Line) is of paramount importance. Oren states that the official English translation refers to "territories" while the French and Arabic versions translate as "the territories." This may seem like a minor issue, but given the importance today, it deserved a few extra paragraphs at least, especially on how 242 was interpreted in the respective countries immediately after it was passed. It is possible that the two sides have been reading their own (correct) interpretations into the resolution since mid-1967, which goes along way to explaining the difficulties in achieving a peace agreement even today.

The meticulousness of the research is shown by the nearly 100 pages (almost 20% of the book) that are devoted to the bibliography and footnotes. Note the large number of personal interviews with many key players and actors from that time; only current historical books (like Bob Woodward's) are noted for their voluminous 1st-contacts and interviews with individuals actually involved in events. Oren interviewed dozens of Israeli, Arab, Russian, and American sources to get specific information not available from the books and newspapers and government documents dealing with the 1967 War.

Take a look at the photo section. There are some very good photos of younger-looking names you might know and some you might not: Begin (deceased) and Sharon (the current prime minister) come to mind. The cartoons from the Israeli and Arab press are also very informative. Several of the Arab cartoons directed at Israel are very chilling in presenting the atmosphere that Israel was contending with at that time. They show why Israel could not afford to take chances and endanger their survival.

All in all, an outstanding research piece which not only dissects the events leading up to, during, and after the 1967 War, but also shows how one should conduct research on any topic of history, by hitting all the available research materials (printed, classified, oral testimony) and interpreting it in the context of the time in which the events occurred.