The Six Day War
June 5, 1967
This is the miraculous story, of how Israel regained control of Jerusalem in 1967 (as the armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan openly prepared for battle against Israel), and gained 3* the sovereign land area, fulfilling the decree for Israel to regain control of it's Country, and fulfilling the scripture in (Psalm 122:3):
Jerusalem'built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.
Let us praise the Lord, for the miraculous assistance he provided during the six day war. It is quite clear that divine intervention occurred during this period.
Highlighted below in yellow, we emphasize some of the elements of the story where we believe God intervened.
-
Day One
On June 5th, by 7:30 AM, two hundred Israeli Air Force (IAF) planes were in the air, heading towards Egyptian airbases. Though flying very low, so as not to be detected by the scores of Arab radar sites, a Jordanian radar facility detected an unusually large number of aircraft heading towards the sea. The officer on duty immediately sent a message, "Inab," the codeword for war, to Jordan military headquarters in Amman. The message was encoded and passed on to Egypt's defense minister in Cairo.Miraculously, however, the Egyptian coding frequencies had been changed the previous day, and the Jordanians had not been updated.
That morning, with the element of surprise in their favor, the IAF obliterated six Egyptian airfields'two in Egypt proper and four in the Sinai Desert'destroying 204 Egyptian planes, half of their air force.
Though Egypt had sufficient anti-aircraft ammunition to destroy all the attacking Israeli planes, miraculously, no order was given for these missiles to be launched. The Israelis accomplished their mission with practically no resistance.
The total air superiority achieved on the first day of the war drastically reduced the enemies' combat abilities.
Today's Highlights: Israeli airstrikes destroy two-thirds of the Syrian Air Force, more than 300 Egyptian aircraft, and most of Royal Jordanian Air Force. IDF completes the capture of Rafah and El-Arish. The "Government House" in Jerusalem is captured from the Jordanians.
-
Day Two
IAF planes and pilots had now been involved in almost constant battle for twenty-four hours. The pilots were weary, and the aircraft low on ammunition and fuel. Inexplicably, the enemy did not take advantage of this weakness. Though in control of extensive forces in the Sinai Desert, and certainly capable of mounting a ferocious counterattack, Egyptian leaders were reduced to giving incoherent and disorganized instructions to their troops.Israeli troops pressed on in the Sinai front. After capturing the Egyptian eastern outpost Abu-Ageila the day earlier, they now approached the heavily defended Kusseima outpost.
As the Israelis drew near, they heard massive explosions.
When they arrived they saw that the Egyptians, for no apparent reason, had destroyed their equipment and abandoned the base! As the day continued, it became clear that the Egyptians were hastily abandoning many of their outposts, some with all their supplies left behind.
In one such incident on the second day of the war, an Arab tank commander surrendered his obviously superior army to an Israeli force of 12 tanks.
He later claimed that while only a few enemy tanks were present, a desert mirage made him see hundreds (The Six Day War: Recognizing the Miracle).
Today's Highlights:
Israel seizes Gaza, Kalkiliya and Ramallah.
A miraculous account of an Israeli Scout:
In the battle of Ammunition Hill on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem,
an Israeli scout Fell into a Jordanian trench during the moonless night at 2:00 o'clock on Tuesday morning and started shooting form the hip causing the fall of Ammunition Hill, and this was the necessary prelude to the capture of the Old City 30 hours later.
"Ammunition Hill" in East Jerusalem, the mountainous area of northwest Jerusalem, and the fortress at Latrun, all fall into Israeli hands. Jerusalem is now encircled by Israeli forces.
Day Three
Political pressure mounts as leading nations call upon Israel to accept a ceasefire proposed by King Hussein of Jordan. At the last moment, this ceasefire was nixed by the unwillingness of King Hussein to comply with the terms of the ceasefire he himself initiated!
Indeed, "the hearts of kings and rulers are in the hand of G-d." This allowed the IDF to finish the task of completely annihilating the enemy's military infrastructure, and to bring the Old City of Jerusalem under Israeli control.
The Old City had been under Jordanian control since 1948. For nineteen years Jews had been banned from visiting its holy sites, including the Western Wall, where Jews had prayed for thousands of years.
On this day Jerusalem was reunited, and once again a united Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish people.
Today's Highlights:
Israel captures many cities. The most notable ones: East Jerusalem (including the Old City and the Temple Mount), Sharm El-Sheikh (taken by the Israeli Navy), Judea, Jericho, Gush Etzion and Nablus.
Day Four (June 8th)
Hebron, a holy city that houses the resting place of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs. A city which in its recent past had boasted a sizable Jewish population and fifty-eight synagogues. But for some time now, Jews had been banned from living in this city, and its synagogues were destroyed.
The IDF entering Hebron found white sheets hanging from the windows, and an Arab population surrendering peacefully.
The war in the West Bank was concluded. Israel now had full control over the entire region.
Day Four (The Big Lie) - June 8th
Arab countries were bombarded with Egyptian and Jordanian propaganda claiming that American and English planes were assisting Israel in pounding their bases and country's forces.
This canard caused much distress to American and English embassies and citizens across the Middle East.
Embassies were shut down, and innocent people driven from their homes.
The "Big Lie" backfired on its perpetrators.
On June 8, King Hussein contacted the English, pleading for assistance and asking them to pressure Israel to stop its incessant attacks.
England ignored the request, largely because of Hussein's backing of the lie.
Today's Highlights:
Israel takes control of the holy city of Hebron,and Al Qantarah El Sharqiyya in the Sinai Desert. This places most of Sinai in Israeli hands. Jordanian bridges are destroyed.
Day Five (June 9th)
After suffering significant casualties in the offensive to overtake the Golan Heights, Commander Musa Klein's platoon had only twenty-five men at his disposal. But they continued upwards.
When they reached Tel Fakhr, Klein ordered his men to charge the position, unaware that it was one of the most heavily fortified Syrian positions.
It had bunkers, trenches and a double row of wire, along with an arsenal of antitank guns, machine guns and 82mm mortars.
The handful of IDF soldiers were worse off than sitting ducks . . .
Syrian Captain Ahmad Ibrahim Khalili gave his men instructions not to fire until the Israelis reached the wire.
In no time at all, however, it was too late.
In the Syrians' own words: "The Jews are already inside, and we've taken heavy casualties."
Commander Klein and his men were victorious, and continued up the Heights.
An Account by Yisrael, a cab driver drafter to fight in the 6 day war:
"The Israeli soldiers didn't have to parachute out of the Nord airplanes which took them to the Tiran Straits.
They landed like spoiled tourists in the airport, because the Egyptian regiment which was on guard there fled before the Israeli trips were visible on the horizon.
After landing, I was sent with another reserves soldier, an electrician, to patrol the area.
When we had distanced ourselves two kilometers, an Egyptian half track appeared before us filled with soldiers and mounted with machine guns on every side.
We had only light weapons with a few bullets that couldn't stop the half track for a second. We couldn't turn back, so we stood there in despair, waited for the first shot, and for lack of a better idea, aimed our guns at them.
But the shots didn't come.
The half track came to a halt, and we decided to cautiously approach it. We found 18 armed soldiers inside sitting with guns in hand, with a petrified look on their faces. They looked at us with great fear as though begging for mercy. I shouted 'Hands up!' As we were marching them and I had returned to a state of calm, I asked the Egyptian sergeant next to me, 'Tell me, why didn't you shoot at us?'
He answered, 'I don't know. My arms froze ' they became paralyzed. My whole body was paralyzed, and I don't know why.' It turned out that these soldiers didn't know that the Straits of Tiran were already in Israeli hands; why didn't they elminiate us? I don't have an answer. How can one say that G-d didn't help us."
IDF Director of Operations Maj. Gen. Ezer Weizmann
Gen Weizmann was asked by Mr. Levanon, the father of a fallen pilot,
how he explains the fact that for 3 straight hours, Israel Air Force planes flew from one Egyptian airstrip to another destroying the enemy planes,
yet the Egyptians did not radio ahead to inform their own forces of the oncoming Israeli attack?
Ezer Weizmann, later who later served as President of the State of Israel, was silent. He then lifted his head and exclaimed, "The finger of G-d."
Today's Highlights:Israel seizes the Straits of Tiran. Israel breaks through the Golan plateau.
Day Six - June 10th
The Israelis were originally reluctant to invade the Golan Heights. It would be an uphill battle against a well-entrenched and fortified position, protected by an army of 75,000 Syrian troops.
The Syrian troops and munitions were entrenched in deep bunkers which were immune to air attack. One noted Israeli general estimated that such a battle would cost the Israelis 30,000 lives.
Incredibly, though, after only seven hours of heavy fighting on June 9th, IDF commanders established strongholds in the northern and central sectors of the Golan.
The next morning dawned with the Israeli forces apprehensively awaiting another day of fierce fighting.
The Syrians, however, had other plans. In a sudden panic, before the Israelis even approached their positions, they pulled out of the Golan and fled in total chaos, leaving most of their weaponry behind.
The moutaintops that were strategically utilized to murder Jews in the Holy Land were now in the hands of the Israelis.
The final offensive was completed and, on that day, a ceasefire was signed.
Today's Highlights:
Israel captures the strategic Golan Heights and Msada. A ceasefire goes into effect at 6:30 PM.
Day Seven
A day of rest for God. As God has taught us in Genesis, he works his miracles in a specific way, teaching us that it is important to work for six days, and then reserve one day for holiness (a day of rest, the day of the sabbath).
This pattern is found throughout the bible: Six days of work, one for rest.
God told the children of Israel to plant and harvest their land for Six years, and then let the land rest on the seventh year. The 7th year is a sabbath (or sabbatical - a period of rest).
"Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard." Leviticus 25:3,4.
The Jubilee: Seven Sabbaticals of 7 years:
"You shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you." Leviticus 25:8-11.
The Jubilee is composed of 7 sabbaticals (49 years) and then on the day of Atonement, the trumpet announces the start of a new Jubilee.
The 7000 year clock:
Some believe that our human existence, based on punishment for the original sin by Adam and Eve is to live in a world in which sin exists, but for a short time: 6000 years of sin, and 1000 years for rest.
Most scholars agree that Adam and Eve were created approx. 4000 bc. That means that our sinful existence has been alive for approx 6000 years.
Revelations talks about a new heaven and Earth (the Millennial Kingdom), the 1000 year reign of Jesus after the Tribulation and after judgement day. (Revelation 20:1).
If you believe God's majestic plan follows a 7000 year cycle, then this would lead us to believe the Jews and Gentiles are nearing the end of the current era, and the millennial era is not far away.
In Closing
A euphoric and relieved Israeli population now awaited the day when they would once again be allowed to visit the Western Wall, the Kotel, in the Old City of Jerusalem. On the holiday of Shavuot, the holy site was opened for civilians.
More than 200,000 came; they cried, prayed, and thanked G-d for His incredible miracles and salvation.
On the very next day, the Chabad-Lubavitch tefillin booth was established in the plaza facing the Wall.
In its first year alone, one and a half million people donned tefillin at the Wall.
The booth, now a permanent fixture of the Western Wall, is manned daily from shortly after dawn until dusk.