Nasser, Israel, and the Six Day War

Zed — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 01:32:10 -0500

I found some interesting quotes written to the Globe and Mail (http://izayid.tripod.com/TheGlobeAndMailDec11_01.htm), implying that Israel, and not Egypt or Israel was the aggressor in the Six Day War. This is somewhat contrary to the way it is usually explained, so I'm logging the quotes here.

Quoting Yitzhak Rabin:

"I do not think Nasser wanted war. The two divisions he sent to the Sinai would not have been sufficient to launch an offensive war. He knew it and we knew it." [Le Monde, Feb. 28, 1968].

Quoting Prime Minister Levi Eshkol:

"The Egyptian layout in the Sinai and the general military build up there testified to a military defensive Egyptian set-up." [reported in the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, Oct. 18, 1967].

Quoting Menachim Begin, while prime minister, addressing Israel's National Defence College on Aug. 8, 1982:

"In June 1967, we again had a choice. The Egyptian army concentrations in Sinai did not prove that Nasser was really about to attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him." [The New York Times, Aug. 21, 1982.]

A short debate on the history of Israel and Palestine

Zed — Fri, 18 Jun 2004 11:30:13 -0400

I once ended up in a discussion with a strongly pro-Israel LSU REU student named Uri Andrews who attempted to convince me of the absolute purity of the Israeli people. Since I felt we weren't getting anywhere without supporting materials, I asked him to write up his positions and view of history in E-mail, where I could take the leisure to examine matters more fully. He did so, and then seemed quite surprised when I made point-by-point responses based upon what I could find in my own research on the history of Israel, and declined to follow up on the discussion except verbally.

My reply is sadly lacking in references, and I wouldn't quote from it, but I've decided to make my reply (quoting his message) public, for those who might find it interesting.

Resonant Information - A short debate on the history of Israel and Palestine - Comments

Nasser, Israel, and the Six Day War

A short debate on the history of Israel and Palestine