On June 8, 1967, exactly 40 years ago, I entered Old Jerusalem. Like the other soldiers around me, I had a sense of the monumental significance of the unfolding events. 2000 years of longing had just been satisfied. Raised on a secular social democratic diet, we nonetheless studied the bible and Jewish history in school, as was mandatory in Israel at the time. So we stood shoulder to shoulder at the Wailing Wall with tears in our eyes.
Prior to the start of the Six Day War Israel went through a month of preparations. Here are some scenes published, starting May 23, in what the Air Force called Readiness Bulletins.
Say it with flowers.
Attaching an air to air, series R-530 to a French made Mirage jet-fighter.
The ladies of the battery posing with the 30 mm gun.
Getting ready for enemy aircraft that never came.
Working the teleprinter May 23, 1967.
Final touches.
On the lookout at the Lebanese border.
All available equipment brought out of mothballs.
Three Hawks in search of prey.
The Air Force Bulletin has dual usage.
Lunch is served.
From the Yeshiva to the base in an instant.
Armored column with full air support getting ready.
The troops are still equal to the task. But, alas, leadership is not.
Biblical studies and Jewish history are not a required part of the High School curriculum in today’s Israel.
The IDF rocks. On this great day in Israeli history, know that most Americans stand with you, the people of Israel, in your never ending struggle with your bloodthirsty neighbors. A columnist I enjoy reading referred the blossoming relationship between Hugo Chavez and the potentates of the Arab world as a “truck and bus production of the Hitler-Stalin pact.” Just so.