Israel:
70 Years Later (Part 2)
This is a real life checkpoint in the West Bank. This picture
says it all. There is absolutely no justification for an
oppressive occupation. That’s common sense.
It is certainly time to show the truth. Warfare,
controversies, the shedding of blood, and the
goal of peace encompass the areas of the
Middle East. Israel is no exception. This
second part of this series shows the early
development of the newly formed nation of
Israel. Its policies are in full display here
along with the actions of some of its most
famous Prime Ministers. From 1948 to 1980,
Israel started from a small nation to an
international power. The Six Day War, Yom
Kippur, and the Camp David Talks rapidly
changed the political landscape of Israel
forever. Also, we recognize the humanity of
the Palestinian people (who experience
occupation and oppression in general to this
very day) as their humanity deserves to be
honored as well. When we look at the eyes of
the people of the Middle Eastern region, we
see the eyes of folks who deserve tranquility.

From 1948 to 2018, massive
developments have existed in
Israel. There have been wars,
continued occupations (in
Gaza and the West Bank),
and constant debates. By
2018, alliances have been
formed. Many in Israel have
allied with Saudi Arabia in
being against Iran. Some
Palestinian activists are allied
with liberal activists including
some members of the Black
Lives Matter movement.
Some evangelicals and far
right Republicans have allied
with some of the farthest right
Zionists in the world like
Benjamin Netanyahu. I reject
the 2 extreme views of every
Israeli being a terrorist and
every Palestinian being a
terrorist (which are both
slanderous lies). From 1948,
the Israeli/Arabic war
Peace and justice is the aim that we desire.
PROLOGUE
commenced. Many
Palestinians were displaced
from their lands and
individuals among both sides
were killed during that 1948
conflict. Israel continued to
grow. Afterwards, there were
events of the Suez Canal crisis,
the Six Day War, the Yom
Kippur War, the peace
agreement with Egypt (whose
leader back then was Sadat),
the events of the 1980’s, Oslo,
etc. These historical
occurrences define the early
Israeli historical era. Also, the
intifada transpired (or an
uprising among Palestinians in
which they desired their
human rights and liberation).
To this very day, many
Palestinians live in occupation,
poverty, and blatant
oppression. Peace groups
among Israelis and
Palestinians desire solutions,
but circumstances and policies
have made peace extremely
distant. Israeli policies have
been loved, hated, and
debated to this very day.
Today, we have Donald
Trump allowed Jerusalem to
be the U.S. embassy capital of
Israel. This act has created
more tensions in the region,
even among Trump allied-
nations like Saudi Arabia. In
order to get the events of
Israel correct or accurate, it is
imperative for us to look at the
situation from a chronological
standpoint. In that fashion, we
can witness the truth without
bias. We should always be fair
and compassionate to
humanity too. After 70 years,
human beings globally still
have their eyes fixed on Israel.
The Israel/ Arabic War
Immediately after the declaration of the new state of Israel, changes happened. The leading superpower
leaders of U.S. President Harry S. Truman and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin recognized Israel. At the same time,
the Arab League members of Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq refused to accept the UN partition
plan. They believed in the right of self-determination of the Arabic people throughout Palestine. The Arabic
states marched their forces into what had until the previous day was the British Mandate for Palestine. In that
way, the first Arabic-Israel War started in 1948. The Arabic states had mighty military equipment. They
initiated the offensive. The Jewish forces were not a state before May 15th and they could not buy heavy
arms. By May 29, 1948, the British initiated United Nations Security Council Resolution 50. This called an
arms embargo on the region. Czechoslovakia violated the resolution by supplying the Jewish state with
critical military hardware to match the mainly British heavy equipment and planes already owned by the
Arabic states. By June 11, a month long UN truce was put into effect. After independence, the Haganah
became the IDF or the Israel Defense Forces. The Plmach, Etzel, and Lehi were required to stop independent
operations and join the IDF.

During the ceasefire, the Etzel tried to bring the private arms shipment abroad a ship called “Altalena.” When
they refused to hand the arms to the government, Ben-Gurion ordered that the ship be sunk. Several Etzel
members were killed during the fighting. A large number of Jewish immigrants (many of them were World
War II veterans and Holocaust survivors) began to arrive in the new state of Israel. Many of them joined
the IDF. At first during the Arabic-Israel war, there was a loss of territory by the Jewish State. It was occupied
by Arabic armies. From July, the tide gradually turned in the Israelis’ favor and they pushed the Arabic armies
out. They conquered some of the territory that had been included in the proposed Arabic state. By the end
of November, tenuous local ceasefires were arranged between the Israelis, Syrians and Lebanese. On
December 1, 1948, King Abdullah announced the union of Transjordan with Arab Palestine west of the
Jordan; only Britain recognized the annexation.

Many Palestinians were displaced by the war and many Palestinians were uprooted from their homes, which
has been called by them as the Nabka or “the catastrophe” in Arabic. Israel signed armistices with Egypt on
February 24, 1949, Lebanon on March 23, 1949, with Jordan on April 3, 1949, and with Syria on July 20, 1949.
There was no actual peace agreement signed. This permanent ceasefire came into effect. Israel’s new borders
were born being called the 1949 Green Line. These borders were not recognized by the Arabic states as
internationally-established boundaries. The IDF overran Galilee, Jezreel Valley, West Jerusalem, the coastal
plain, and the Negev. The Syrians remained in control of a strip of territory along the Sea of Galilee originally
allocated to the Jewish state. The Lebanese occupied a tiny area at Rosh Hanikra. The Egyptians retained the
Gaza Strip. They had forces surrounded inside Israeli territory. Jordanian forces remained in the West Bank
where the British had stationed them before the war. Jordan annexed areas it occupied while Egypt kept
Gaza as an occupied zone. After the ceasefire declaration, Britain released over 2,000 Jewish detainees it was
still holding in Cyprus and recognized the state of Israel.

By May 11, 1949, Israel was admitted as a member of the United Nations. Out of an Israeli population of
650,000, some 6,000 men and women were killed in the fighting, including 4,000 soldiers in the IDF.
According to United Nations figures, 726,000 Palestinians had fled or were evicted by the Israelis between
1947 and 1949. Except in Jordan, the Palestinian refugees were settled in large refugee camps in poor,
overcrowded conditions. That is a tragedy. In December 1949, the UN (in response to a British proposal)
established an agency (UNRWA) to provide aid to the Palestinian refugees. It became the largest single UN
agency and is the only UN agency that serves a single people.

The Knesset or the 120 Israeli Parliament met first in Tel Aviv and moved into Jerusalem after the 1949
ceasefire. On January of 1949, Israel held its first elections. The Socialist-Zionist parties Mapai and Mapam
won the most seats (in 46 and 19 respectively). David Ben-Gurion was Mapai’s leader. He was appointed
Prime Minister. He formed a coalition which didn’t include Mapam, who were Stalinist and loyal to the USSR
(another Stalinist party non-Zionist Maki won 4 seats). The Knesset elected Chaim Weizmann as the first
(largely ceremonial) President of Israel. Hebrew and Arabic were made the official languages of the new
state. Coalitions existed in the government. No majority won a majority in the Knesset. From 1948 to 1977,
all governments were led by Mapai and the Alignment, predecessors of the Labor Party. In those years, Labor
Zionists (led initially by David Ben-Gurion) dominated Israeli politics and the economy was run on primarily
socialist lines. From 1948 to 1951, immigration doubled the Jewish population. It left an impact in Israeli
society. During this period, about 700,000 Jewish people settled in the land. About 300,000 arrived from
Asian and North African nations as part of the Jewish exodus from Arabic and Muslim countries.

The largest group from this exodus (in over 100,000) was from Iraq. The rest of the immigrants were from
Europe, including more than 270,000 people who came from Eastern Europe. They mainly came from
Romania and Poland (over 100,000 each). Nearly all the Jewish immigrants could be described as refugees.
However, only 136,000 people, who immigrated to Israel, came from Central Europe. They had international
certification because they belonged to the 250,000 Jewish people registered by the Allies as displaced after
World War II (and living in Displaced persons camps in Germany, Austria, and Italy). The Law of Return was
passed in 1950 by the Knesset. That granted to all Jewish people and those of Jewish ancestry (plus their
spouses) the right to settle in Israel and gain citizenship. Israel in essence is an ethnocentric state.
The 1950's
By 1950, 50,000 Yemenite Jewish people (99% of them worldwide) were secretly flown to Israel. Iraqi Jewish
people in 1951 were granted temporary permission to leave the country and 120,000 of them (over 90%)
opted to move into Israel. Jewish people fled from Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt too. By the late 1960’s, about
500,000 Jewish people left Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. Over the course of 20 years, about 850,000 Jewish
people left from Arabic countries (99% of them) relocated to Israel (in about 680,000 people), France, and
the Americas. The land and the property left behind by the Jewish people (much of it in Arabic city centers) is
still a matter of some dispute. Today, there are about 9,000 Jewish people living in Arabic states, of whom
75% live in Morocco and 15% in Tunisia. Between 1948 and 1958, the population of Israel rose from 800,000
to 2 million people. During that era, food, clothes, and furniture were rationed. It was called the Austerity
Period (Tkufat haTesena). Immigrants were mostly refugees. They had no money or possessions.

They were housed in temporary camps called the ma’abarot. In 1952, over 200,000 immigrants lived in tenets
or prefabricated shacks which were built by the government. America and other nations donated Israel aid.
Ben-Gurion signed a reparations agreement with West Germany to gain more finances. There were 5,000
demonstrators gathered during the Knesset debate (to protest such an agreement) and riot police had to
cordon the building. Israel received billions of marks in money in return to agree to have open diplomatic
relations with Germany. By the end of 1953, Ben-Gurion retired to Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev. By 1949,
all education was free and compulsory for all citizens until the age of 14. The state was funded by the party-
affiliated Zionist education system. This new body was created by the Haredi Agudat Israeli Party. The
remaining Palestinian-Arabic population was educated by a separate body. Many of the parties competed
for immigrants to join their educational systems. The government banned the existing educational bodies
from the transit camps and tried to mandate a unitary secular socialist education under the control of “Camp
managers.” These managers provided the immigrants with work, food, and housing.
Many in Israelis wanted to force orthodox Yemenite children to adopt a secular lifestyle by teachers. Many
Yemenite children had their side curls cut by the teachers. That is wrong and abhorrent. This led to the first
Israeli public inquiry called the Fromkin Inquiry. Later, the coalition ended and an election existed in 1951.
There was little change in results. By 1953, the party affiliated education system was scrapped and replaced
by a secular state education system. There was a state run Modern Orthodox system too. Agudat Israel was
allowed to maintain their existing school system. In Israel’s early years, Israel wanted to have a non-Aligned
position between the super powers. Later, in 1952, an anti-Semitic public trial was staged in Moscow. This
was when a group of Jewish doctors were accused of trying to poison Stalin. A similar trial existed in
Czechoslovakia (Slánský trial). This, and the failure of Israel to be included in the Bandung Conference (of
non-aligned states), effectively ended Israel's pursuit of non-alignment. On May 19, 1950, Egypt announced
that the Suez Canal was closed to Israeli ships and commerce. In 1952 a military coup in Egypt brought
Abdel Nasser to power. The United States pursued close relations with the new Arabic states, particularly the
Nasser-led Egyptian Free Officers Movement and Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia. Israel's solution to diplomatic
isolation was to establish good relations with newly independent states in Africa and with France, which was
engaged in the Algerian War. In the January 1955 elections, Mapai won 40 seats and the Labour Party won
10 seats. Moshe Sharett became prime minister of Israel at the head of a left-wing coalition.

Between 1953 and 1956, there were intermittent clashes along all of Israel's borders as Arabic terrorism and
breaches of the ceasefire resulted in Israeli counter-raids. Palestinian fedayeen attacks, often organized and
sponsored by the Egyptians, were made from (then-Egyptian occupied) Gaza. Fedayeen attacks led to a
growing cycle of violence as Israel launched reprisal attacks against Gaza. In 1954, the Uzi submachine gun
first entered use by the Israel Defense Forces. In 1955, the Egyptian government began recruiting former
Nazi rocket scientists for a missile program. Archaeologist and General Yigael Yadin purchased the Dead Sea
Scrolls on behalf of the State of Israel. The entire first batch to be discovered were now owned by Israel and
housed in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum. The Dead Sea Scrolls showed copies of the book of
Isaiah. Sharett's government was brought down by the Lavon Affair, a crude plan to disrupt US–Egyptian
relations, involving Israeli agents planting bombs at American sites in Egypt. The plan failed when eleven
agents were arrested. Defense Minister Lavon was blamed despite his denial of responsibility. The Lavon
affair led to Sharett's resignation and Ben-Gurion returned to the post of prime minister.

By 1956, President Nasser of Egypt became more pro-Soviet. He announced the nationalization of the Suez
Canal (which was French and British owned). The canal was Egypt's source of foreign policy. Egypt also
blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba which prevented Israel's access to the Red Sea. Israel made a secret agreement
with the French at Sevres to co-ordinate military operations against Egypt. Britain and France already started
to start secret preparations for military action. Some allege that the French also agreed to build a nuclear
plant for the Israelis and by 1968, this would produce nuclear weapons. Britain and France arranged for Israel
to give them a pretext for seizing the Suez Canal. Israel was to attack Egypt and then Britain plus France
would call on both sides to withdraw. When the Egyptian refused to back down, Anglo-French forces would
invade to take control of the Canal. Israeli forces were commanded by General Moshe Dayan. Dayan and his
forces attacked Egypt on October 29, 1956. On October 20, Britain and France made their pre-arranged call
for both sides to stop fighting and withdraw from the Canal area. They wanted them to take up positions at
key points of the Canal. Egypt refused and the allies used air strikes on October 31, 1956 in order to them to
neutralize the Egyptian air force.
On November 5, the Israelis overran the Sinai. The Anglo-French invasion occurred. This caused an uproar in
the UN. The United States and the USSR for once were in agreement in denouncing the actions of
Israel, Britain, and France. A demand for a ceasefire was reluctantly accepted on November 7, 1956. At
Egypt's request, the UN sent an Emergency Force (UNEF) made up of 6,000 peacekeeping troops from 10
nations to supervise the ceasefire. This was the first ever UN peacekeeping operation.

From November 15, the UN troops marked out a zone across the
Sinai to separate the Israeli and Egyptian forces. Upon receiving US
guarantees of Israeli access to the Suez Canal, freedom of access out
of the Gulf of Aqaba and Egyptian action to stop Palestinian raids
from Gaza, the Israelis withdrew to the Negev. In practice the Suez
Canal remained closed to Israeli shipping. The conflict marked the end
of West-European dominance in the Middle East. Nasser was seen as
the victor of the conflict since he won the political battle. Yet, the
Israeli military learnt that it did not need British or French support in
order to conquer Sinai and that it could conquer the Sinai Peninsula in
a few days. The Israeli political leadership learnt that Israel had a
Here was Dwight D. Eisenhower
limited time frame within which to operate militarily after which
and Nasser in 1960. Eisenhower
international political pressure would restrict Israel's freedom of
was much more moderate on
action. In 1956, the modern orthodox (and religious-Zionist parties) of
Middle Eastern affairs than future
Mizrachi and Hapeol HaMizrachi joined to form the National Religious
Presidents. Nasser was an anti-
Party. The party was a component of every Israeli coalition until 1992.
colonial nationalist.
It usually ran the Ministry of Education.

Mapai was once again victorious in the 1959 elections, increasing its number of seats to 47, Labour had 7.
Ben-Gurion remained Prime Minister.

In 1959, there were renewed skirmishes along Israel's borders that continued throughout the early 1960s.
The Arab League continued to maintain an economic boycott and there was a dispute over water rights in
the River Jordan basin. With Soviet backing, the Arabic states, particularly Egypt, were continuing to build up
their forces. Israel's main military hardware supplier was France.

Rudolph Kastner, a minor political functionary, was accused of collaborating with the Nazis and sued his
accuser. Kastner lost the trial and was assassinated two years later. In 1958, the Supreme Court in Israel
exonerated him.
The 1960's
On May of 1960, Adolf Eichmann (or one of the chief administrators of the Nazi Holocaust) was located in
Argentina by the Mossad. He was later retrieved by the Israelis and sent him into Israel. On 1961, he was put
on trial. After several months, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was hanged in 1962 being the
only person ever sentenced to death by an Israeli court. There were testimonies by Holocaust survivors at the
trial and the extensive publicity that surrounded it has led the trial to be a big turning point in the public
awareness of the Holocaust. In 1961, a Herut no-confidence motion over the Lavon affair caused Ben-Gurion
to resign. Ben-Gurion said that he would only accept office if Lavon was fired from the position of the head
of the Histadrut or Israel's Labour union organization. His demands were accepted and Mapai won the 1961
election. There were 42 seats keeping Ben-Gurion as Prime Minister. There was a slight reduction in its share
of the seats.

Menachem Begin's Herut party and the Liberals came next with 17 seats each. In 1962, the Mossad began
assassinating German rocket scientists working in Egypt after one of them reported the missile program was
designed to carry chemical warheads. This action was condemned by Ben-Gurion and led to the Mossad
director, Isser Harel, to advance his resignation. In 1963, Ben-Gurion quit again over the Lavon scandal. His
attempts to make his party Mapai support him over the issue failed. Levi Eshkol became leader of Mapai and
the new prime minister.

In 1963, Yigael Yadin started to excavate Masada. In 1964, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria formed a unified military
command. Israel finished work on national water carrier. It was a large engineering project. It was created to
transfer Israel's allocation of the Jordan River’s waters toward the south of the country in retaliation of Ben-
Gurion's dream of mass Jewish settlement of the Negev desert. Arabic people in the region responded by
trying to divert the headwaters of the Jordan. This grew conflict among Israel and Syria. In 1964, Israeli
Rabbinical authorities accepted that the Bene Israel of India were indeed Jewish and most of the remaining
Indian Jewish people migrated to Israel. The 2,000-strong Jewish community of Cochin had already migrated
in 1954. Ben-Gurion quit Mapai to form the new party Rafi, he was joined by Shimon Peres and Moshe
Dayan. Begin's Herut party joined with the Liberals to form Gahal. Mapai and Labour united for the
1965 elections, winning 45 seats and maintaining Levi Eshkol as Prime Minister. Ben-Gurion's Rafi party
received 10 seats. Gahal got 26 seats becoming the second largest party.
In 1966, black and white TV broadcasts started. There was the first public performance of Naomi Shemer's
classic song "Jerusalem of Gold" on May 14, 1947. Syria, Egypt, and Jordan amassed troops along the Israeli
borders. Egypt crossed the Straits of Tiran to Israel shipping in 1967 too. Nasser wanted the UNEF to leave
the Sinai or threaten war. On May 26, 1967, Nasser said that, "The battle will be a general one and our basic
objective will be to destroy Israel." Israel considered the Straits of Tiran closure a Casus belli. Egypt, Syria,
Jordan and Iraq signed defense pacts and Iraqi troops began deploying to Jordan, Syria and Egypt. Algeria
also announced that it would send troops to Egypt. Between 1963 and 1967 Egyptian troops had tested
chemical weapons on Yemenite civilians as part of an Egyptian intervention in support of rebels. Israel
responded by calling up its civilian reserves. Israel's economy was halted. Israel formed a national unity
coalition including for the first time Menachem Begin's party, Herut, in a coalition. Prime Minster Levi Eshkol
gave a national radio broadcast. Moshe Dayan was appointed Defense Minister. Dayan was sworn in at May
5, 1967.

Then, Israel launched a pre-emptive attack as part of the Six Day War in 1967. They first destroyed the
Egyptian air force. They destroyed air forces of Jordan and Syria. By June 11, the Arabic forces were routed
and all parties had accepted the cease fire called for by UN Security Council Resolutions 235 and 236. Israel
gained control of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and the formerly Jordanian
controlled West Bank of the Jordan River. East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel.

Residents were given permanent residency status and the option of applying for Israeli citizenship. The
annexation was not recognized internationally (the Jordanian annexation of 1948 was also unrecognized).

Other areas occupied remained under military rule (Israeli civil law did not apply to them) pending a final
settlement. The Golan Heights was also annexed in 1981. On November 22, 1967, the Security Council
adopted Resolution 242, the "land for peace" formula, which called for the establishment of a just and lasting
peace based on Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967 in return for the end of all states of
belligerency, respect for the sovereignty of all states in the area, and the right to live in peace within secure,
recognized boundaries. The resolution was accepted by both sides, though with different interpretations,
and has been the basis of all subsequent peace negotiations. After 1967 the US began supplying Israel with
aircraft and the Soviet Bloc (except Romania) broke off relations with Israel. Anti-Semitic purges led to the
final migration of the last Polish Jewish people to Israel.
After 1967, Jewish people could visit the Old City of Jerusalem. They could pray at the Western Wall (which is
the holiest site in modern Judaism). The first Jewish settlement was formed in 1968 by Moshe Levinger. He
led Religious Zionists to do it. It was in a town near Hebron called Kiryat Arba. No other religious settlements
existed until after 1974. During 1968, Israeli forces attacked the Fatah or the Palestinian militia. They or the
Israeli military came into Karameh, Jordan. The attack was in response to land mines placed on Israeli roads.
The Israelis had high casualties and the attack wasn't viewed as a success. The Palestinians claimed victory.
The Fatah and PLO movement became famous worldwide by the late 1960's. In early 1969, fighting broke
out between Egypt and Israel along the Suez Canal. In retaliation for repeated Egyptian shelling of Israeli
positions along the Suez Canal, Israeli planes made deep strikes into Egypt in the 1969–1970 "War of
Attrition." In early 1969, Levi Eshkol died in office of a heart attack and Golda Meir became Prime Minister
with the largest percentage of the vote ever won by an Israeli party, winning 56 of the 120 seats after the
1969 election. Meir was the first female prime minister of Israel and the first woman to have headed a
Middle Eastern state in modern times. Gahal remained on 26 seats, and was the second largest party.
In December 1969, Israeli naval commandos took five missile boats during the night from Cherbourg
Harbour in France. Israel had paid for the boats but the French had refused to supply them.
Yom Kippur War
In July of 1970, the Israelis shot down five Soviet fighters that were aiding the Egyptians in the course of the
War of Attrition. After this, the U.S. worked to calm the situation. By August of 1970, a cease fire was agreed.
New developments came in the 1970's. By September of 1970, King Hussein of Jordan drove the Palestine
Liberation Organization (or the PLO) out of Jordan. By September 18, 1970, Syrian tanks invaded Jordan.
Syria wanted to aid the PLO. At the request of America, Israel moved troops to the border and threatened
Syria. This caused the Syrians to withdraw. The center of PLO activity shifted to Lebanon where the 1969
Cairo agreement gave the Palestinians autonomy within the
south of the country.

The area controlled by the PLO became known by the

Golda Meir was the 4th Prime Minister of
Israel and the first Woman Prime
Minister of Israel too. Her alma mater
was the University of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee. She had 2 children.
international press and locals as "Fatahland" and contributed to
the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War. The event also led to Hafez
al-Assad taking power in Syria. Egyptian President Nasser died
immediately after and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. After the
1967 Israeli victory, there was more Soviet antisemitism and
enthusiasm for Jewish people to go into Israel. This caused a
wave of Soviet Jewish people to immigrate to Israel. Many took
two suitcases to leave. Most Jewish people were refused exit
visas and were persecuted by the authorities. Some were
arrested and sent to Gulag camps, becoming known as Prisoners
of Zion. By 1971, there were violent demonstrations by the Israeli
Black Panthers. This made the Israeli public aware of resentment
among Mizrahi Jewish people at ongoing discrimination and
social gaps. In 1972, the U.S. Jewish Mafia leader, Meyer Lansky,
who had taken refuge in Israel, was deported to the United
States. During the 1972 Munich Olympics, two members of the
Israeli team were killed. Nine members were taken hostage by
Palestinian terrorists.
A botched German rescue attempt led to the death of the rest along with five of the eight hijackers. The
three surviving Palestinians were released by the West German authorities eight weeks later without charge,
in exchange for the hostages of hijacked Lufthansa Flight 615. The Israeli government responded with a
bombing, an assassination campaign against the organizers of the massacre and a raid on the PLO
headquarters in Lebanon (led by future Prime Minister, Ehud Barak). In 1972, the new Egyptian President
Anwar Sadat expelled the Soviet advisers from Egypt. This and frequent invasion exercises by Egypt and Syria
led to Israeli complacency about the threat from these countries. In addition the desire not to be held
responsible for initiating conflict and an election campaign highlighting security, led to an Israeli failure to
mobilize, despite receiving warnings of an impending attack.

The Yom Kuppur War or the October War took place on October The Yom Kippur War
6, 1973. It was on the Jewish Day of Atonement or the holiest day During the Arabic-Israeli conflict and
in the Jewish calendar. It was a day when adult Jewish people are the Cold War
required to fast. The Syrian and Egyptian armies launched a well-
planned surprise attack against the unprepared Israel Defense
Forces. During the beginning, Israel struggle to repel the forces
fighting them. Both the Soviets and Americans (at the orders of
Richard Nixon. Nixon ironically said anti-Semitic statements on
tape in private conversations) rushed arms to their respective
allies. The Syrians were repulsed by the tiny remnant of the Israeli
tank force on the Golan. Yet, the Egyptians captured a strip of
territory in Sinai. Israeli forces crossed the Suez Canal. They
trapped the Egyptian Third Army in Sinai, which was 100 km. from Date: October 6-25, 1973
Cairo. Over 2,000 Israelis died from the war. It resulted in a heavy Location: Both banks of the Suez
arms bill on both sides. Israel was vulnerable. There was a Canal, Golan Heights, and
superpower tension. After the war, both Israelis and Egyptians surrounding regions.
were more willing to negotiate. By January 18, 1974, extensive Result: Israeli military victory with
diplomacy by U.S. Secretary Henry Kissinger led to a political gains for Egypt
Disengagement of Forces agreement with the Egyptian and Israel. This resulted in
government and on May 31, 1974 with the Syrian government. the 1978 Camp David
Accords too.
The Yom Kippur war caused the Saudi government to initiate the
1973 oil crisis. This was an oil embargo in conjunction with OPEC Belligerents
against countries trading with Israel. The boycott caused severe Israel Egypt
shortage in oil. The price of oil massively increased worldwide. Syria
Many countries later broke off relations with Israel or downgraded
relations. Israel was banned from participation in the Asian Games and other Asian sporting events. Elected
parties in Israel were state funded. The new system made them independent of wealthy donors. The Knesset
members gained more power over part funding. The Knesset was less dependent on existing party structures
and able to take their funding elsewhere. Before the December 1973 elections, Gahal and other right wing
parties united to form the Likud (led by Begin). In the December 1973 elections, Labour won 51 seats. This
left Golda Meir as Prime Minister. The Likud won 39 seats. In May 1974, Palestinians attacked a school in
Ma'alot, holding 102 children hostage. Twenty-two children were killed. In November 1974 the PLO was
granted observer status at the UN and Yasser Arafat addressed the General Assembly. Later that year the
Agranat Commission, appointed to assess responsibility for Israel's lack of preparedness for the war,
exonerated the government of responsibility, and held the Chief of Staff and head of military intelligence
responsible. Despite the report, public anger at the Government led to Golda Meir's resignation.

Peace among Israel and Egypt

Yitzhah Rabin (or the Chief of Staff during the Six Day War) was prime minister after Meir's resignation. The
Gush Emunim movement wanted to settle the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They were made up of Modern
Orthodox Jewish people and Religious Zionist followers of the teachings of Rabbi Kook. In November 1975,
the United Nations General Assembly, under the guidance of Austrian Secretary General Kurt Waldheim,
adopted Resolution 3379, which asserted Zionism to be a form of racism. The General Assembly rescinded
this resolution in December 1991 with Resolution 46/86. In March 1976, there was a massive strike by Israeli-
Arabic people in protest at a government plan to expropriate land in the Galilee. On July 1976, an Air France
plane carried 260 people. They were hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists. The plane was flown to
Entebbe, Uganda, who was ruled by Idi Amin Dada back then. The Germans separated the Jewish passengers
from the non-Jewish passengers. They released the non-Jewish people. The hijacked threatened to kill the
remaining 100+ Jewish passengers including the French crew who had refused to leave. There were
distances involved. Rabin ordered a daring rescue operation. The kidnapped Jewish people were freed.

UN Secretary General Waldheim described the raid as "a serious violation of the national sovereignty of a
United Nations member state" (meaning Uganda). Waldheim was a former Nazi and suspected war criminal,
with a record of offending Jewish sensibilities.

The 1976 Lebanese Civil War led Israel to allow South Lebanese to cross the border and work in Israel. In
January 1977, French authorities arrested Abu Daoud, the planner of the Munich massacre released him a
few days later. In March 1977 Anatoly Sharansky, a prominent Refusenik and spokesman for the Moscow
Helsinki Group, was sentenced to 13 years' hard labor.

Rabin resigned on April 1977 after it emerged that his wife maintained a dollar account in the United States
(illegal at the time), which had been opened while Rabin was Israeli ambassador. The incident became known
as the Dollar Account affair. Shimon Peres informally replaced him as prime minister, leading the Alignment
in the subsequent elections.

The 1977 elections caused Menachem Begin to win and the Likud party to won 43 seats. This was the first
time in Israeli history when the left didn't run the government. The victory came about because Mizrahi was
angered at discrimination.

Talented small town Mizrahi social activists, unable to advance in the Labour party, were readily embraced by
Begin. Moroccan-born David Levy and Iranian-born Moshe Katzav were part of a group who won Mizrahi
support for Begin. Many Labour voters voted for the Democratic Movement for Change (15 seats) in protest
at high-profile corruption cases. The party joined in coalition with Begin and disappeared at the next
election. Begin wanted to heal the Mizrahi-Ashkenazi divide. He wanted to heal the Zionist-Ultra Orthodox
rift too. Begin liberalized the economy which led to hyperinflation. Israel got US. financial aid. He supported
the settlements in the West Bank and occupied territories by Gush Emunim. This would cause huge conflict
with the Palestinian population of the occupied territories.

On November of 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat broke 30 years of enmity

with Israel by visiting Jerusalem. He was invited to do so by Israeli Prime Minister
Menachem Begin. Sadat's two day visit included a speech that he gave before the
Knesset. This was a turning point in the history of the conflict. The Egyptian leader
created a new psychological climate in the Middle East that Israel and its Arabic
neighbors can make peace possible. Sadat recognized Israel's right to exist and
formed the basis for direct negotiations between Egypt and Israel. After Sadat's
visit, 350 Yom Kippur War veterans formed the Peace Now movement to encourage
Israeli governments to make peace with the Arabic people. On March 1978, 11
armed Lebanese Palestinians reached Israel in boats. They hijacked a bus carrying
families on a day outing. They killed 38 people including 13 children. The attackers This was when
opposed the Egyptian-Israeli peace process. Three days later, Israeli forces crossed Anwar Sadat was
into Lebanon beginning Operation Litani. After passage of United Nations Security younger. His mother
Council Resolution 425, calling for Israeli withdrawal and the creation of the United was a Sudanese
Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peace-keeping force, Israel withdrew its woman.
troops.

By September of 1978, U.S. President Jimmy Carter invited President Sadat and Prime Minster Begin to meet
with him at Camp David. On September 11, 1978, they agreed on a framework for peace between Israel and
Egypt. They wanted a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. They created principles for negotiations. It
made guidelines for a West Bank/Gaza transitional regime. This may cause autonomy of the Palestinians
living in territory. A peace treaty was signed between Israel and Egypt on March 26, 1979. President Carter
was a witness to it. Under the treaty, Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in April 1982. The final piece
of territory to be repatriated was Taba, adjacent to Eilat, returned in 1989. The Arab League reacted to the
peace treaty by suspending Egypt from the organization and moving its headquarters from Cairo to Tunis.
 Sadat was assassinated in 1981 by Islamic fundamentalist members of the Egyptian army who opposed
peace with Israel. Following the agreement Israel and Egypt became the two largest recipients of US military
and financial aid (Iraq and Afghanistan have now overtaken them). Sadat was a victim of racism from racist
Arabic people too.

I have chosen to set aside all precedents and traditions known by warring countries, in spite of
the fact that occupation of the Arab territories is still there. Rather, the declaration of my
readiness to proceed to Israel came as a great surprise that stirred many feelings and astounded
many minds. Some opinions even doubted its intent. Despite that, the decision was inspired by all
the clarity and purity of belief, and with all the true expression of my People's will and intentions.
And I have chosen this difficult road which is considered, in the opinion of many, the most
difficult road. I have chosen to come to you with an open heart and an open mind. I have chosen
The quotation to the to give this great impetus to all international efforts exerted for peace. I have chosen to present to
right is part of Anwar you, and in your own home, the realities devoid of any schemes or whims, not to manoeuver or
Sadat’s speech to the to win a round, but for us to win together, the most dangerous of rounds and battles in modern
Israeli Knesset in history - the battle of permanent peace based on justice. It is not my battle alone, nor is it the
Jerusalem at the date battle of the leadership in Israel alone. It is the battle of all and every citizen in all our territories
of November 20, whose right it is to live in peace. It is the commitment of conscience and responsibility in the
1977. He bravely hearts of millions. When I put forward this initiative, many asked what is it that I conceived as
lived and died for the possible to achieve during this visit, and what my expectations were. And, as I answered the
cause of peace. questioners, I announce before you that I have not thought of carrying out this initiative from the
concept of what could be achieved during this visit, but I have come here to deliver a message. I
have delivered the message, and may God be my witness.

I repeat with Zechariah, "Love right and justice."

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was a brown skinned man and he faced racist, evil insults of not looking so-
called "Egyptian enough" (when black people lived in ancient Egypt thousands of years ago. Today, many
black people have traveled to Egypt and are living in Egypt today) and he was called the term of "Nasser's
black poodle" by racist Arabic people. In Sudan, including the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile regions, from
1955 to 2005, it is estimated that nearly 4 million black people were killed or ethnically cleansed. During the
Second Sudanese Civil War, about 2.5 million people were killed in attacks widely regarded as racially
motivated against black indigenous Africans. It is no secret that many racists in Egypt don’t even consider
Egypt part of Africa when it is. Many sub-Saharan Africans (from Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea) who came into
Egypt as refugees have experienced security roundups in Cairo. Back in December of 2005, Egyptian riot
police brutally assaulted a camp of Sudanese refugees in Cairo. These refugees protested their treatment. TV
cameras have shown 28 to 100 refugees killed and hundreds of others being arrested, injured, imprisoned, or
deported. There was no massive public protest or outcry over this injustice. No passes should be given to
racist, anti-black terrorists. If someone is anti-black, that person is an enemy of liberation period.

This proves that racism wasn't just shown by some in Israel. Racism has been shown by some (not all) Arabic
people too. Sadat was a brave man. On December 1978 the Israeli Merkava battle tank entered use with the
IDF. In 1979, over 40,000 Iranian Jewish migrated to Israel, escaping the Islamic Revolution there.
By Timothy

The next part of this series shows the

final chapter of the Israel series that
deals with the modern era of time.