Grandma's army

  When the fourth Arab-Israeli war began on October 6, 1973, many of Israel’s soldiers were away from their posts, observing Yom Kippur   (Day of Atonement). The Arab armies were able to make impressive advances, with their up-to-date Soviet weaponry. Iraqi forces soon joined the war, and Syria received support from Jordan. After several days, Israel was fully mobilised, and the Israel Defense Forces began beating back the Arab gains - at a heavy cost to soldiers and equipment. The reluctance of the United States to help Israel changed when the Soviet Union   continued to supply weapons to Egypt and Syria. The U.S. President, Richard Nixon , countered by establishing an emergency supply line to Israel. As a result, the Arab countries imposed an oil embargo . European countries refused to allow American planes carrying weapons to Israel, to refuel. On October 25, an Egyptian-Israeli cease-fire was secured by the United Nations. Israel’s victory came at the cost of h...

  3. SIX DAY WAR President Eisenhower did not honour his assurance that Israel could rely on the US to ensure freedom of navigation in the Tiran Straits and Gulf of Aqaba. In May 1967 Egyptian president, Abdel Nasser, announced that the Straits of Tiran would again be closed to Israeli vessels. He subsequently mobilised the Egyptian military along the border with Israel, and also ordered the immediate withdrawal of all UN personnel. On 5 June 1967, as the UN was in the process of leaving the zone, Israel launched a series of pre-emptive airstrikes against Egyptian airfields and other facilities. Egyptian forces were caught by surprise, and nearly the whole of Egypt's military aerial assets were destroyed, giving Israel the advantage of air supremacy. Simultaneously, the Israeli military launched a ground offensive into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula,   as well as the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. By the sixth day of the conflict, Israel had occupied the entire Sinai Peninsula. ...

1. THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 1948 The U.S. did not send any military aid to Israel, both before, during, and after the War of Independence. Not only that, but they took an active part in preventing Israel’s attempts to smuggle weapons into Israel, mostly when Americans were involved. The biggest example was Adolph Schwimmer, whose story was told in previous blogs. Since then, until today, the U.S. State Department has been hostile towards Israel’s interests. Even Ronald Reagan, who was perhaps the most friendly President, did not question the State Department when it came to Israel’s most sensitive issues. The only exception was during the time when Mike Pompeo, was President Trump’s Secretary of State. Not only did Israel have to contend with five Arab States, but the U.K. decided to give the Egyptians a hand when they saw that Israel’s air-force was proving their superiority. After sending armed scouting flights over the battle area, they blatantly attacked four of Israeli’s fi...