Grandma's army

A WAR OR NOT A WAR? It was neither the intention of Israel or Lebanon to start a war between the two countries. However, a military conflict began in July 2006 when Hizbollah terrorists ambushed an Israeli army border patrol, kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing three others. Stuart Palmer, one of my fellow residents in “Protea” (senior residence home), coined the above title in a booklet of his personal reflections. Stuart and his wife were living in Haifa, which was in the line of fire (together with Tiberias, Nazareth, Safed ), when the “war” broke out. [Since retiring, Stuart has become the Northern Area Director of ICAN (Israeli Citizens Action Network) and a member of BIG (British Israel Group), whose organisations are actively involved in advocating Israel’s position in the conflict with the Palestinians and now Hizbollah.] According to Stuart’s well-researched booklet: In the space of a few days, two million Israelis became under the threat of the thousands of ro...

  Since their expulsion from Jordan in 1970, a force of close to 18,000 PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organisation) members were encamped in scores of locations in Lebanon. It was estimated that 5,500 were foreign mercenaries from Libya, Iraq, India, Sri Lanka, Chad and Mozambique. Israel later discovered enough light arms and other weapons to equip five brigades: Katyushka rockets, anti-aircraft network, hundreds of tanks. Syria brought surface-to-air missiles – creating yet another danger for Israel. Israeli strikes and commando raids were unable to stem the growth of this PLO   army. The situation in northern Israel became a living hell. Thousands of residents either had to flee from their homes, or to spend large amounts of time in bomb shelters. Israel was not prepared to wait for more deadly attacks to be launched against its civilian population before acting against the terrorists. Following the attempted assassination of the Israeli ambassador in London, Israel att...

  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...

THE INTERVENTION OF WORLD POWERS IN ISRAEL’S WARS From the end of World War I, both the US and the UK played a significant role in Israel’s struggle for Independence. The isolationist  policy which the United States exhibited towards Israel prevented any significant relations being fostered – even before the War of Independence. The exception was the American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgentau, who sympathised with the plight of the starving Jewish population in the Old Yishuv. It was due to his efforts that Jewish organisations abroad established a special Fund, which eventually became the JOINT. Following WWI, and the forming of the British Mandate in Palestine, relations between the US and the Palestinian Jews were weakened even further. The only activities which remained were the Jewish Hadassah medical establishment and the recruiting of funds by the Zionist organization in America. With the Nazi persecution of the Jews in the end of the 1930’s, the US a...

                                                                                                           Unfortunately, no country which is surrounded by hostile forces can survive without an army. Sadly, the world has yet to accept the Jewish nation’s full return to their ancient Homeland. Until they are fully accepted by the world, they must be ready to defend their country. The Jews went from being a defenseless people, before modern Israel existed, to now having a state with an amazing capacity to defend itself. The Israeli army can best be described by its contrasts. On one hand, it is a modern army, founded in 1948. On the other hand, it traces its earliest t...